What a disappointment

Rating: 4/10 (19 May 2002)

I saw this a couple of days before my finals started and really needed a break from work and an escape into another world. What better escape than over 2 hours of Star Wars, an integral part of my childhood.
Before I go into its many failings, let's look at the good points. 1) Yoda & Count Dooku fight. Classic inspired Star Wars action. 2) Ummm.....
You got me there. 2 hours and 20 of film and only 2 minutes of memorable, commendable screen time. The scene is also very late in the film so the ghastly drudgery that is the first 2 hours has numbified you to this little piece of cinema magic.
The negatives are too too many to list but a couple need to be mentioned.
A) The romance scenes. The whole cinema laughed at the sheer embarrassment of it all (one woman uncontrollably so). The acting was flat and the dialogue reached new depths of despair. I expected it to be cheesy but at least with Han and Leia you get some chemistry and a sense of attraction.
B) The special effects. Too many unrealistic CGI characters and computer game scenery. One scene in particular, the assembly line, was like watching sci-fi version of Prince of Persia. Everything seemed 2 dimensional (like much of the film) with no depth. You just can't believe in the Star Wars world. It seemed so much more believable when locations, sets + make-up were used. No set piece made me sit back and go 'Wow'. The Clone battle at the end was a pale reflection of the Snow battle from Empire. Also, to use on old critic's cliche, the special effects should support the story not drive it. All in all, it was like watching an extended edition of Babylon %.
What this film (as well as Phantom Menace) is missing most is Han Solo type character. A cynic with some attitude, a bit of spunk. Basically, someone with character who doesn't speak in robotic "I must explain story + my emotion without engaging in conversation" monotone. It's sad to say that R2's beeps shows more life than any of the script written talk.
Once again they kill off one of the better characters. In Phantom it was Darth Maul, in this one it's Jango Fett. The brief glimpses we see of him and his son are one of the few decent but of acting and scripting.
I think I've more or less run out of faith. The new trilogy thus far is missing all the magic of the original trilogy. The third film can be saved but it needs major changes, namely, get a decent scriptwriter and someone who actually directs.
I gave the film a 4 and that's only because of the Yoda, Jango Fett, + R2. Not much to write home about is it?