Great Story...Poorly Told

Rating: 2/10 (16 May 2002)

The entire Star Wars saga is a fantastical and brilliantly imaginative concept, but, ironically, in the hands of its creator, the story is done a great injustice. Unlike Episodes IV,V and VI, which benefited from both simplicity (Lucas couldn't go overboard in A New Hope) and outside influence (different directors amongst other input in V & VI), Episode II is beleaguered by Lucas's autocratic control of his creation. Plainly, Lucas is a bad storyteller. In Episode II, all the elements that made the first three films classics are there: the strong, and interconnecting themes of good and evil, the inventiveness and most definitely the effects. However, the merits of these elements are largely lost in Lucas's inability to use the power of images and the techniques of film to tell his tale. He insults the audience by relying on unnecessary exposition, worsened by elementary dialogue, to carry his plot points, rather than letting a telling glance or a shadowy sneer do the work for him (e.g. Ankin/Amidala scene by fire or before they enter the coliseum, etc.). This compounded with flat direction and poor editing, create an unbalanced film lacking in emotion. Unfortunately, when you get down to brass tacks, there are some outstanding scenes and imagery in this film that if reworked could have yielded a much more effective product. I love Star Wars, and will probably give this film more credit than it deserves, as it helps close another chapter of a story that I feel so connected with, but I can't help but think that if this weren't part of the "Saga" I'd be p***ed I spent my 10 bucks to go see it.