Chemistry and physics

Rating: 5/10 (12 December 2015)

I had not seen this movie in years, remembering it to be god awful. I remembered wrong - though it's still very(!) flawed.
I have two main beefs in this movie, which I summarized in the title of the review: it's lack of chemistry and physic...al presence.
With chemistry, I refer to the chemistry between the characters, and as Anakin is in the center of the story - the lack of chemistry between him and the others. It's most obvious between Anakin and Padme, where a strongly chemistry is heavily implied, but completely absent from the movie. The same goes to the bond between Obi-wan and Anakin, where they talk about it as a love/hate parent/child relationship - but it doesn't come of like that at all. McGregor and Portman seem genuine in their attempt to portray such a chemistry, but it doesn't make any sense when seen in relation to Christensen's performance. Now, I don't want to put all the blame on Christensen, as I am sure he is acting as he is directed to act. It seems like Lucas really wanted it to be obvious, beyond any doubt, that Anakin would turn to the dark side. So instead of having Christensen act as a normal human being (or corruptible Jedi), he has him acting like an angsty 13 year old. Which wouldn't have been much of a problem if any of the other characters acted accordingly.
With physical presence, I mean: the interaction between the actors and the CGI. I don't think the technology was ready for what Lucas was trying to achieve with it. Lucas has been a really important person when it comes to SFX, and pushing the limits of movie visuals. In all his movies, including this one, he has played an important part in developing the methods, technology and techniques used by movie makers. I am really happy for him daring to take chances on this. But that doesn't change the fact that big chunks of this movie looks really, really bad. You can almost the green screen shining through the backgrounds. Either limiting the story, or working more in tandem with practical effects, would have helped this movie a lot. Not only to stand the tests of time better, but to feel more rooted in (a) reality. To give the characters - both human and cgi - a physical presence.
The dialogue gets a lot of critique as well, but I honestly believe that it would have worked a lot better if the aforementioned problems had not been there. Especially the "sand"-lines delivered by Christensen wasn't as jarring as I had remembered. His super awkward hitting on Padme was, though - because of the lacking chemistry between them. He felt more like Torgo (from Manos: Hands of Fate) than Bond.
So that's the bad parts. What I didn't remember was that there were many parts of the movie which I thought were nice, though far from used to their full potential. The opening scenes in Coruscant had some gems. Obi-wan jumping out the window to catch the droid was a really good scene. The execution wasn't perfect, but the the reckless yet calculated part of it really shows of what a Jedi can be. Their control of the force, combined with a cold bravery, opens for thrilling scenes - but is sadly not really employed that well. Cheesy as it was, Anakin dropping out of their vehicle could fall into the same category. (I also wish they would have Obi-wan do a real investigation, more noir-like. Oh well.) The droid factory scene was also a nice callback to movies like Modern Times, where the interaction between man and mechanics can lead to some great stunts and moments. Again, this movie only delivered a hint of what could have been. Sadly. A good gladiator fight are always fun. Less good ones are less fun, but I still enjoyed it. I'm also glad the movie allowed Yoda to show his mastery. I remember how much I enjoyed that scene when it arrived in theaters. Now, much later it felt forced (no pun intended) and abruptly ended. Anakin and Obi-wan laying awkwardly on the floor didn't help.
I might be way to forgiving on this movie. Probably because this is Star Wars, and at heart: I still really like the story of Anakin becoming Darth Vader. The execution is disappointing, I wish they had done much differently, but I take what I can get.