Hmmmm....how do I call this one?

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2002)

Ok...let me start by saying that I am total Star Wars fan. I grew up with the ANH, ESB and ROTJ and LOVED them all (even ROTJ)!!!
I waited MANY, MANY years for more of the same and my prayers were finally answered with TPM. Sadly, the film did NOT live up to my hopes and dreams. Far from it!! There were good points -though not many. Darth Maul was cool but very little else shone. It set the scene I suppose but ultimately it was flat, and lifeless. The poor acting left me with NO apathy for any of the characters.
Now, here we are 3 years later and I have just seen AOTC a few hours ago. And....well....I really don't know what to make of it. I wanted to LOVE it, but cos of TPM I was scared and frankly, I approached the film with a 'its probably gonna be a let-down as well' attitude.
However...I was excited and when the film started and the title music played after the all too familiar 'A long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away...' I must admit I was tingling all over, all doubt left my mind and I waited, waited to be enthralled like I was all those many years ago.
BUT.....you know what? Something was wrong. Seriously wrong! My head is still buzzing from seeing it but I will try to sum it up in as best I can......though this could be tricky.
Good Points...
1. YODA -OH MY GOD!!!! I still can't believe how amazing he was in this. That end fight is truly one of the greatest Star Wars moments EVER!!!!
2. COUNT DOOKU -At LAST someone who can act in Star Wars!! Thank you Mr Lee. It's just a shame none of the others can match your talent.
3. THE BIG BATTLE -Well, to sum up, it was fantastic. Epic, sprawling and with, best of all, loads of Jedi fighting. Most of it was CGI and the action was so overwhelming as to be sometimes difficult to follow but it was still GREAT!! I was enthralled throughout this final battle. Great stuff!!
Bad Points...
1. The Acting -This was ABSOLUTELY AWFUL. Perhaps even worse than TPM, especially as this film had so many more poignant moments in it. They really should've done better. There is no excusing it!
2. Dialogue -For the love of GOD...why is the script so child-like AGAIN!! Almost every line could be winced at. Like Obi-wan's 'BLAST, this is why I hate flying!' Though I must admit, Yoda had a few good lines like the one about Obi-wan 'losing' his planet for example.
3. CGI - I am all for CGI and the new boundaries it gives films. BUT a film loses its warmth and feeling the more you add in. The actors have enough problems struggling with the awful dialogue without having blue screen after invisible enemy after blue screen after invisible enemy, etc to work with.
4. The 'Plot' -hmmm.....this was very worrying. How did a Star Wars storyline suddenly become so confusing to follow? I know plenty of the Star Wars Universe, but at times I was left wondering just what the hell was going on. This will be explained upon further viewings but should that need to be the case? I am CERTAIN that people new to Star Wars will be totally lost at the Political angle to this story. This is such a shame.
5. The 'love' Story -ARRGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! This was SOOOO painful to watch. I just CANNOT buy into this at all. It's these scenes which could prevent me from seeing again in the cinema.
So.....What does this all mean? It means I feel mixed emotions about this film. I want to LOVE it and bits of it I really do. BUT, there are SO MANY gripes and niggles that, worryingly, I cant love it.
This is such a shame....
My mark for this film will be 7 out of 10