Bad writing, worse effects.

Rating: Null/10 (22 May 2002)

As I was watching this film, I kept Roger Ebert's immortal words in mind, that he "couldn't recall a single line of memorable dialogue."
This is exactly what's wrong with this film. The writing is atrocious. In the original, where the lines were original, witty, and delivered with great effect, in this film, I dreaded every time a character opened their mouth.
For example, C3PO to R2D2: "Idiot!"
Wow.
In fact, R2D2 is the only one with a shred of their future/past dialogue.
Also, Ebert helpfully pointed out that what lines there were were culled from every single cliche ever made. Again, he was right.
For example, Annakin on his mother's death: Mom, I'll miss you...soOoOoOoO much.
Regarding the "look and feel" of this film, I would say it lost too much using digital effects. The actors have no environment to play off of. Many of the animated characters lack weight and physical presence, without even the slightest hint that they actually exist.
But now it's time to say something nice about this film: It didn't suck as much as phantom menace. For that, I would say it's the 2nd worst film in the series, or 4th best, depending on how you look at it.