Disappointing

Rating: 5/10 (23 October 2002)

I found this to be a fairly bland and disappointing movie. Nice set design, some very clever and creative effects and settings. But, once you get past that, there are several problems. First, there isn't any chemistry between the Portman character and Skywalker, who I found rather creepy, not sympathetic, and the dialogue between them is trite and their scenes together quickly became tiresome. Also, I found the transitions between some scenes to be rather jarring, as though some intervening scenes might have been cut out in the editing process. And the actions scenes feel rushed, just some staged set pieces with no build up, so no tension in them. I can't help but compare the very busy and noisy but uninvolving action scenes here with someone who knows how to stage a scene, like Michael Mann in Mohicans and Heat. Rating, 5/10