Good and Bad

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2002)

I'm talking about the movie, not the characters. Since we've seen the results in the original trilogy, I didn't think there would be much suspense, as in the Phantom Menace. I was surprised.
I can't give out the details here, but from political intrigue to romantic subplot, Lucas partly redeemed himself by blending multiple story lines just like in Empire Strikes Back. What let this movie down, though, is the slow pace in many of the scenes. I especially detest the long race sequences. First few seconds, it was cool, but it gets old very fast, and I'm surprised anyone would like sitting minutes watching the same maneuvers over and over again. The action scenes were good, and the long wait is what made them even better. You learn so much about the characters.
Still, there's one more fault: Lucas is not a good writer when dealing with the "mundane." The initial scene between Anakin and Padme when the met again was so cheesy. Anakin has a habit of blurting out his feelings instead of letting us see him in action. This unsophisticated storytelling ruined a few scenes as a result.
This is a movie no Star Wars fan should miss. Then again, Lucas could have done a much better job, and we wouldn't have had to sit two and a half hours. It could easily have been a 100-min enrapturing blockbuster.