Attack of a clone of 'Empire' & 'Gladiator'

Rating: Null/10 (16 May 2002)

Well, as I wrote 3 years ago, there is much hype and there are many expectations for this film, yet it just barely comes through. I saw a midnight showing last night and almost had problems staying awake at times. Sure, the visual effects were stunning (with almost too much going on in the backgrounds), but this was the most poorly acted of the 5 films. Hayden Christensen ("Anakin Skywalker"), Sam Jackson ("Mace Windu"), and Christopher Lee ("Darth Tyranus") sound like they are reading lines right off of cue cards. And there are WAY too many love (or, 'pre-love') scenes between Anakin and Amidala. I know that's a huge part of the entire story, but I found them sooo boring. Some of the light-saber fights are good, but many other scenes were unintendedly funny (like Yoda fighting Darth Tyranus). C-3PO is hilarious - probably the most redeemable character in the film, though Ewan McGregor does a good job as "Obi-Wan"... After the film we all discussed how this was too similar to "Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" and "Gladiator" (I kept waiting for Russell Crowe to pop up in that scene). I will say that Lucas does plant the seeds for Episode III very well, as everything will be connected between the trilogies in 3 years. At least Jar Jar's role was limited in this one... Overall I'd rank this one 3rd (behind 'Empire' and the original) and give it a 6 or 7/10. Maybe if I see it a few more times (I'm sure I will), it will improve in my eyes. Still, you HAVE to see it because it is what it is: part of our film culture...