The Magic is gone

Rating: 5/10 (22 June 2003)

If this is the best effort they could muster, after the debacle of Episode I, then the magic of Jedi sadly ran its course. Laughable plots (Senator Amidala went into hiding by bringing along a Jedi and R2D2 as if would-be assassins would surely overlook such clues), bad acting (Ewan McGregor acted more like a brooding cynic than a Jedi teacher, Natalie Portman was more convincing as a Naboo fashion model than a senator, and Hayden Christensen couldn't make it in a high school play), mediocre special effects (eye candies abound but Yoda hopping around like Curious George on drug?!?) and inherent disadvantages of prequel make this movie a sub-par effort.

The original SW trilogy still stands as a ground-breaking cinematic experience, but the recent efforts were mere pretenders, despite supposedly leaps-and-bounds progress in computer special effects. Rating 5 of 10.