Better Than Episode I, But Still With Issues.

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2003)

Let's just cut to the chase as there are already several thousand reviews on this film, and certainly by now most people have seen this movie: Episode II is a much better film than "The Phantom Menace" by reinserting more of the familiar elements from the beloved original trilogy. That said, even with help, Lucas still needs to work on his dialogue and character direction.
Make no doubt of it, Lucas is the consummate technology man. His innovations in sound and video are nothing short of remarkable, and a lot of that is applied here. And Lucas certainly listened more to his fans on this one by reducing the annoying Jar Jar Binks and giving him a reason for being there (and a real reason to dislike him in the interest of story purposes). More of the elements that made the originals so likeable were put in this film: bounty hunters, a larger role for C-3PO and R2-D2 (although Threepio utters some real "groaner" puns), more lightsaber battles, some ship combat, monster fights.... And yes, these elements did pick up the pace from the last film and help a lot, but it still lacked something. I think some of the elements were there to keep fans a little more satisfied this time around.
Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan still is an excellent choice for the role. Natalie Portman, while beautiful, still looks uncomfortable in this film, as if she's not really sure of how to handle the character interaction or dialogue (which is unfortunate, because she really is a great actress). And as a side note, the DVD version of the film removes the disbelief of her quick recovery of one of her falls later in the film. Hayden Christensen is another actor who seems to be really uncomfortable with the dialogue (both he and Portman seem like they're about to choke on any romance related conversation, making the love affair seem less passionate and more confused). However, in Christensen's defense, his speech after facing the Tusken Raiders is very effective and chilling for what the character of Anakin Skywalker needs to be. The familiars from the original films do their jobs well, Temuera Morrison makes for a better Fett character, and Samuel L. Jackson is finally allowed to cut loose (and heads) in this film.
By far, the best elements of this film are the final battle sequences, which is a true CG wonderland. This is where Lucas excels, and it shows. The pre-Clone War battles are heavy with action, and the Yoda battle seems to remain a fan favorite.
Lucas needs to remain in charge of the visuals, and naturally, be the final say for how the story ends/begins. However, although not likely, he needs to let someone else work on the dialogue (leaving Lucas for approval, but little else), and perhaps have someone on set to better work on directing the actors in terms of motivation and direction. He has a truly great and talented cast, and they need to be used as such. His work on "American Graffiti" and the original "Star Wars" were great, but I think 25-30 years later, some of the artistic tastes have definitely changed about the man.

To recap: "Episode II" is by far a better film than its predecessor, but it still wasn't the topper to "Empire Strikes Back". Hopefully the criticisms from this film will be applied to "Episode III", and like this film, be crafted into a more satisfying product than the one before. Despite some flaws, I did enjoy the overall movie.