Grade: D, but not a typical critic's comments (vague spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (27 May 2002)

First of all, At 29 years of age I'm a huge fan of Star Wars, in spite of its so-called "imperfections" critics were too quick to point out in Episodes IV, V, and VI.
Second of all, I bit the bullet on Episode I and didn't trash it so harshly as others, be they fans or otherwise. In my opinion, everything about Ep1 was necessary. The lead character was a kid - Anakin. It makes sense that he would appeal to a younger audience as much as an older one. Hence Anakin's lines ("I'll spin - that's a good trick"), and regrettably, the entire existence of Jar Jar. I gave it the benefit of the doubt by convincing myself that it couldn't be a complex plot, and that it was a background piece to move things forward into the second film. With the exception of the Darth Maul/Jedi fight in Episode I, I didn't think much of the rest of the movie, but seeing the fight scene made me very eager to see Episode II where it was rumored to have a lot more Jedi fights, less Jar Jar, and more of a complex plot.
Now to Episode II.
1) The acting: I'm not going to sit here and trash the acting. Most of it is done by relative unknowns, like the originals. At the time of Star Wars, there were still those who would have asked, "who's Carrie Fisher?" or "who's Harrison Ford?" To me, its trademark Star Wars. Hats off to all of them. Grade: A-
2) The graphics/CGI: Lucas has been accused of using far too much CGI to compensate for a weak story and/or dialogue. I disagree. The graphics in this movie are stunning, CGI or not. Coruscant was amazing - if it was a true vacation destination I'd surely be there. To trash the graphics in Episode II means you also must in Lord of the Rings. Lucas has always talked about scenery as a complement to the screenplay, not a substitute. However, if the screenplay's weak and the scenery strong, it obviously looks one-sided. I thought Yoda was done really well, the backgrounds were amazing, and the space scenes were great. Grade: A+
3) The plot & Screenplay: Grade: C- a) The Love Story - way too long. Having already seen their son and daughter in later movies, I can guess that they fall in love. We didn't need to see so much development here. An hours' worth could have been told in 20 minutes, plus the scene before the execution. It would have been good for the strong-willed yet practical and diplomatic senator Padame to be council for Anakin, further challenging where he places his trust and loyalty for council. Someone he loves, or someone he's supposed to respect? Looking back at the Star Wars' trilogy, we knew of the chemistry/feelings between Han and Leia via some quick and/or witty scenes. The rest was implied. Should have been the same here. Oh, credit where its due - Natalie Portman is HOT and dresses accordingly.
b) Anakin's Plight - showed him more whiny than truly torn. Why not show him doing more damage when he's really p***ed? Could have shown him challenging Obi Wan more, either verbally or perhaps physically. If they could have shown Anakin using Dark Side traits to win his battles, it would have been more effective and convincing.
c) The Clones Story - seemed weakly strung together. Will probably have to see it again to understand why no one in Jedi royalty saw it all coming.
4) The Fight Scenes: I may get flak for not jumping on the Yoda bandwagon, but I thought they were all poor. Yes, the Yoda scene was good, but quality-wise the Obi Wan fight was better. My reason? In every other fight scene with the exception of the non-existent one between Anakin and the Tuscans, the good guys never won on their own merits. Someone always came in and saved the day, especially in the Yoda scene. Here I was really hoping for more of the Darth Maul-type scenes from Episode I. Even two-on-one battles would have been ok if they were handled in that manner. Grade: D-
In conclusion, I think Lucas missed the mark and expectations of his target audience, if I'm not too arrogant in assuming I'm part of it. He captured more of what was "true" Star Wars (from a fan's perspective) than he did in Episode I, but if he would have spent as much energy on the Jedi fight scenes as he did the love story, this would have been an A+ movie.
Despite my poor rating, I still look forward to 2005, which Lucas claims will be "very dark". Still beats Star Trek!