A true disappointment

Rating: 1/10 (18 May 2002)

Although the first film was highly criticized for its mascot injection of Jar-Jar (who didn't actually appear any more than the equally annoying C-3PO of the original trilogy), the second film takes another tone and another turn, attempting to further chronicle the downfall of doomed Anakin Skywalker.
Unfortunately in this brave attempt, it falls flat on its face.
Lucas's obviously lacking grasp of philosophy and the spiritual practices upon which he purports to base Jedi beliefs make this a true disaster for anyone watching who follows any of these spiritualist practices, because the assertion that these Jedi must be totally emotionless to function is not only ridiculous but also completely not borne out from the actions of the Jedi in the film!
That aside, the worst part of the film must be the truly forced, unlikely, and extremely uncomfortable "relationship" between Anakin and Amidala. To be so publicized, it's very forced and unlikely, and honestly it disturbed me a great deal and seemed quite unrealistic. Judging this by logic and knowing a good bit about relationships from experience, this one was portrayed in the worst way possible, and by two of the worst actors possible. The allure of Amidala's exotic costumes and accents from the first episode was all gone, leaving the wholly unfulfilling and wooden acting of Natalie Portman, who is at best bland, and of course the almost laughable Hayden Christensen, who does about as well as Jake Lloyd on the belching out of his overly hostile lines.
This has all of the glitz of the Star Wars saga but none of the fun or appeal. Of all the movies in the quintet that now exist, this is undoubtedly the worst. All the continuity flaws, poor acting, bad writing, and hyped-up nonsense make this the largest disappointment of the entire summer. Save your money unless you're one of the die-hard Star Wars fans, in which case Lucas could probably scrape up any old garbage on a plate and you'd think it was brilliant anyway.
A truly hideous travesty of the sci-fi genre, I wouldn't be surprised if a good many fans of this trilogy stop watching right now. I certainly won't be packing the theater for Episode III.