How do you spend millions of dollars and end up with this?

Rating: 4/10 (16 May 2002)

George Lucas has proven that money and fame have taken away from his ability to tell stories. What went wrong? Well let's take a look at this bland, dull, and heartless movie:
Acting? What's acting? You know there's a problem when the best acting in a film comes from the computer generated Yoda. Hey Lucas, you have the talent, we know that they can act, how did they end up looking like actors in a high school play?
Writing? Oh, yeah sure like writings important when you have all kinds of neat computer graphics to look at. Who needs to develop things like dialogue? Really what the point? We have millions of dollars to blow - lets go film a couple of shots in Italy! God knows that with all the CG work on this movie it matters were they film.
Details? Okay, I am starting to get picky here, I know, but come on this stuff gets in the way of good story telling. Here is my short list of details that suck:

What's up with the '50s dinner in the middle of Curasant? Give me a break. I am sure - just like here on Earth - that a giant Alien short-order cook is the best resource to investigate a crime.

Senator what ever her name, packs her own luggage! This girl has people risk their life's for her, yet she packs her luggage. Here is a government official who knows her place.

If I am in charge of building a massive army and some guy wearing a Jedi uniform walks up to me, am I going to take him on a grand tour of our secret Clone Army and tell him all of our strategies? Well yes of course I would.

Okay, I am building this super big army of droids on this crazy planet in the middle of nowhere. No doubt that I am using some of the best military technology of the time, but still I fail to notice a massive invasion force of Jedi's and Clones. I think we have an Intel problem. Sure, the Count and the future Emperor planned it that way, but no one else seems to question the ease and surprise of the invasion. Something's wrong here people!

But the details are not the major issue. The issue is that Joseph Campbell is turning in his grave. The original films had the same problems with detail, but they had something that brought the movie to a level above the petty details, they had a story, a human story. This one, as with Episode I, does not. No matter, I'll still go see the next one on opening night.