Better than Episode One, But that's not saying much...

Rating: 6/10 (24 May 2002)

I must start off by saying that I am a huge Star Wars fan and contrary to many reviews that i have read i did not like Episode 2 entirely. It is above and beyond the shallow Episode One but that's not saying much. Episode 2 is almost equally as shallow filled with archetypes but no characters. Plug in formula plot. And so many special effects shots that you start to think that Lucas is making a cartoon with people in it. Add to this that the editing is done with a meat clever and Lucas has almost no clue how to direct and you get this new era of Star Wars. I'm not implying that the first three movies are works of perfection. They have their flaws like all movies but they do offer something that these two new efforts don't; a sense that these characters actually exist in this world. That they actually live and breathe day to day in this universe. I don't fault the actors in not bringing life to the characters as much as i fault the writing. The hammy dialogue doesn't sound like people talking but like people needing to say very little just to advance the plot which is necessary in order to show more effects.
As I mentioned before this was way above EP1 especially since Jar Jar is in only about 3 minutes and Anakin is now a less annoying teen. Still however i find that after watching the movie a few more times it really isn't that much different. Only on the surface. IT wows you at the end having you leave the theater with a smile. That's great, the first time. But watching the movie again, when the wows are not wows anymore and you realize that the movie is as empty as before. There are no characters to really cling to here. There is no real plot but something strung together that leads me to remember Lucas once saying that the effects served to tell the story more effectively and if you watch the original trilogy again that rings true. The effects tell their part intertwined with a better constructed plot. Now it seems that the story is here to serve the effects. Lucas seems obsessed with having digital shots all over, not realizing that digital effects can not do it all.
Bottom line: Watch it once and you'll be okay. Watch it again and you realize that you wasted your money. You could have just stayed home and watched the far superior original trilogy and used that money on far less expensive food and drinks.