4/10 [with explanation]

Rating: 4/10 (28 November 2004)

(Caution: May contain spoilers)
My rating: 4/10
Why?
Well...after being excited about Ep II for a while, it disappointed me. I saw it three times in about three weeks for one reason: I thought I liked it. But by the third viewing, I got sick of it.
The plot is complicated; in fact I didn't even understand it fully until the third viewing. With too many off-scene characters, it became unclear who was good and bad, and even who was who. Okay, Palpatine is obviously the Emporer, and Dooku is obviously a bad guy...but Dooku did have the right idea about the corruption of the Senate...but he's turning against it...and who ordered the clones, anyway? All that just got twisted and tangled within the plot.
Another thing, which stems from my dislike of gushy romantic mush--waaay too many Padme/Anakin scenes with rather cheesy lines only found in soaps. Maybe a little condensation of the romance line would have made the plot less dragging.
The special effects were good to a point but were overdone in many places and took over the movie. With all that jazz, the setting seemed like a completely different time and galaxy than the one we see in Eps IV, V, and VI. Ep II appears too 'high-tech,' even on Tatooine, as if Ep II happens after the original trilogy instead of before. Also, give me puppet creatures any day. The character of Yoda, who I usually enjoy, was ruined for me because of the obvious animation.
The actors: Well...the only ones I agree with are Samuel Jackson (Mace Windu), Christopher Lee (Count Dooku), Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine), and Natalie Portman (Padme). At least Portman was a main character, whereas my other choices weren't even main characters. Obi-wan just doesn't have that Jedi look, and Anakin...too kiddish. The attitude is way overdone.
Finally, one quality that all movies need to be successful in my opinion but that AotC lacks is, put simply, someone to pull for. In the original trilogy we had Han, Leia, Luke, Chewie, and the droids. In The Phantom Menace, Qui-gon and Obi-wan were likable. But in AotC, there's really no character that you can pull for, feel the ups and downs and emotions. Anakin is a bratty jerk, Obi-wan is not much better with a bit of conceit and no understanding (definitely not the Obi-wan we see in A New Hope), and Padme is a love-struck girl that doesn't have much. That leaves...the droids. Not much, is it?
However, I will say that AotC had some good effects and interesting scenes and even a few good lines. But the negative attitude, bratty star, and confusing and dragging plot bring the rest of it down. I sincerely hope that with the introduction of Darth Vader into the next film, Ep III will be better.
--