Lucas needs an editor

Rating: Null/10 (22 November 2011)

I saw this in the theater several times, as well as at least once or twice on DVD. I finally got around to watching the blu-ray, after at least three or four years of not seeing it. While it isn't as much of a mess as Episode 1 was, Episode 2 makes several missteps that are disappointing, but not offensive. The primary mistake is that Lucas got carried away with wanting more spectacle. He makes some beautiful shots. He knows how to frame things, how to make individual shots very memorable. And that's great, but the movie is packed with those, at the expense of making a movie that will stand up to repeated viewings without getting boring. The plot feels needlessly complex for a story that should be easy to summarize in a single paragraph. But each step of the story includes sequences that slather icing all over the cake that is Star Wars. Chasing Zam Wessel through Coruscant? Yes, it's technically impressive, but it feels pretty boring. It takes up too much time, cut with some very tacky dialogue, to get us to the nightclub. There are a lot of these little diversions, like the little chase through the asteroids, the entire droid factory sequence... event the romantic elements seem forced.
I can't offer too much criticism about how the story could be fixed, except that Lucas needs an editor. I don't even feel like the movie is too long, it's just unfocused. The character building scenes don't feel natural. I don't buy that Padme likes Anakin at all. She doesn't come across as being bound by her profession, she just comes across as annoyed about his dog-like devotion. Then we're supposed to believe that all that changes? As a result of his fascist political beliefs, combined with bloodlust? If Padme were a little more similar to Anakin's childlike craziness, I could probably believe it. But as the movie stands, it's entertaining. But it's not strong by itself.