No...noo.

Rating: 3/10 (31 May 2002)

After seeing this, I wished Lucas would stop using the name "Star Wars" and call these something else.
The Star Wars movies (4-6)were brilliant for so many reasons. Episode 1 and 2, miss the magic and danger entirely.
Since the bad outweighs the good, I'll start with the good. Special effects. This is all about computer generated effects. It has a good number of terrific sequences due to the effects.
Ewan McGregor rocks again. His portrayal of Obi Wan is a total compliment.
Now, the bad. Grab a drink and take off your shoes.
CGI is either a movie's compliment or it's crutch. In this case, it was a wheelchair and a respirator. It kept the movie rolling and breathing. Some scenes felt to me like they were filler to get to the next special effects sequence. Not to mention, a couple of the effects were quite fake looking. And come on, if I really want two hours of computer effects, can I just play a video game and get it over with before going to a movie, where I'm supposed to be told a story? (I'm not bashing CGI entirely. Shrek, Monsters Inc., and Fellowship of the Ring come to mind as recent brilliant CGI.)
The acting was horrid. The cast is filled with talented actors and actresses, but they were directed wrong. Like Sam Jackson. A great actor that is, well, boring in this. And Hayden Christensen is a good actor, as proven in Life as a House. I hope this train wreck of a performance doesn't hurt his career as a serious actor.
The dialogue is another contributing factor to the flaw. In the old days, it seems to me anyway, Star Wars dialogue was short, simple, and sweet. Here, it drags along. Most of the conversations are presented in what felt like a neutral pitch. After a while, I didn't care too much what they were saying. Nothing ever seemed to come from it.
There were also some ridiculous moments where a great special effects/stunt show should've been avoided. A time consuming scene involved characters on a dangerous assembly line. Well, the thing that bugged me was, it was a conveyer belt. Two steps to the left or right, and you're off the belt, avoiding all of the big, curiously evil-looking machines on the line.
The timing was bad. Some things, many things, went on too long. Others, very few others, were too short. SPOILER ALERT, GO TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH TO AVOID A SPOILER. The scene where "Anny" grieves over his mother and goes crazy was way too short. I really woke up here, then actually became mad when it cut away. This is DARTH VADER we're talking about here. He becomes a guy who kills more of his commanders than any rebel ever dreamed of, and we can't see him go bezerk on faceless characters who barely resemble humans? Man, I wanted to see him frothing at the mouth, raving mad. Instead, I get to hear about it. I quote Homer, D'OH!
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Finally, the super-hyped Yoda fight. I actually guffawed when I saw "computer" Yoda acting like a gunslinger getting ready for a fight. With a little bread, I could've made a big cheese sammitch. Once again, there was a sequence where Yoda flipped about the room in a manner that made me ask, "How're those moves helping him win the fight? Oh wait, Lucas is showing off the CGI..."
(They showed a little clip of this on a TV commercial a little over a week after the movie was out. The stinger was, they used Spider-Man font and said..."If you only see one action hero this year...", then showed Yoda drawing his saber. What's that say about faith in this film when STAR WARS has to be compared to another movie in an ad?)
Okay, it's all off my chest. I gave this movie a four, based almost solely on Ewan McGregor and the special effects. If you have an extra two hours, and don't feel like watching paint dry, watch this.