Mediocrity .. but better than Menace

Rating: 5/10 (16 May 2002)

After sitting through almost two and half hours of special effects I have gotten some new respect for Lucas. Not for his overall storytelling which is mind-numbingly weak, but for his overall insistence on using special effects to sell the movie. For parts of the movie, it is actually quite engrossing. However, I was disappointed in the overall movie as I expected a much better effort following the disasterous Menace. Anakin and Amidala do not come close matching the fire, the spark, the wit (basically everything) of Leia and Han and Anakin is actually quite a drab character overall. Thankfully, Jar-Jar is an inconsequential bit-player in this movie and for that, we can all be thankful. I would rate this movie a 'C' and going by the 1-10 scale .. a '5' is a fair value for the movie. Not as dreadful as Menace .. but not as satisfying as the original trilogy.