A mild improvement on Episode 1, but still a pale shadow of it's predecessors

Rating: 1/10 (14 May 2002)

CGI reigns supreme, at the expense of compelling character development, laudable dialogue and exuberant performance - all of which made the original Star Wars trilogy a noteworthy, and immensely entertaining cinema experience. The audience is so distanced from the characters in Episode 2 that we don't care about their fate when a halfway decent action sequence, that places them in peril, presents itself. Alas, the newest addition to the "saga" is unengaging, "pretty" and not alot else. Lucas and co. need to understand that technical proficiency does not a good movie make, and return to their roots as tellers of fantastical space tales populated by vital characters that you wanted to be, or be with. Somewhere between picture book and computer game, Episode 2 is not abysmal - just...sad.