Great CGI, but where's the script?

Rating: Null/10 (20 May 2002)

Once again, the CGI is fantastic and the action scenes breathtaking. However, during the first hour I was amazed to find myself actually getting bored! The acting seemed to be labouring under delusions of being grandiose, but it came across as merely wooden and unconvincing, and the romance between Amidala and Anakin Skywalker didn't have the merest hint of life or originality. Nevertheless, Natalie Portman does the least bad job of everyone concerned and at least manages to salvage some sort of dignity. Oh, and looks quite pretty as well. :)
However, things perked up a bit in the second half when the war machine rumbled into life, and the fight between Yoda and Count Dooku has to be seen to be believed! There are some scenes which are fabulous to behold. You know they're not real, but still you're stunned anyway.
But when will Hollywood learn that flashy CGI is no substitute for a decent script? There's no excuse for spending millions on a film which has a line like (and I paraphrase) "sand is rough and gets everywhere. Not like you, you're smooth all over". Good god.