Attack of Director Sitting on Laurels

Rating: Null/10 (27 December 2002)

When I first saw this on theatrical release I thought yes, it's better that Phantom Menace, perhaps it's a return to form. A second viewing on DVD soon changed that. I wanted it to be up to the standard of the original trilogy, but sadly it isn't. Take out Yoda's finest moment and there's precious little left.
The script is poor - hard to believe that there are big-budget films from respected directors that still have the lines 'i've got a bad feeling about this'. The special effects are (mostly) as good as you'd expect but since you can see brilliant effects in a typical 20-second TV commercial these days, that isn't enough. The acting is variable - Ewan MacGregor is a fine actor but in this, as in Episode 1, he is just miscast and wooden. But perhaps the real kiss of death is Hayden Christensen as Anakin. The character is supposed to be undergoing the inner turmoil that will eventually see him turning to the dark side, but he comes across as a whining teenage brat who'd be more at home in a TV soap. I never thought I'd find myself doing this in a Star Wars film, but in the 'getting it on' scenes between him and Portman, I had to fast forward. I just couldn't stand it.
And finally - I may be missing something fundamental, but I cannot help but wonder why none of the clones actually look like the original they were cloned from. Give up now George, or at least hand over the reins to somebody else for Episode 3.