Lucas improves, but not without a few missteps

Rating: 8/10 (12 April 2005)

As I said in my review of Episode I. The reason I think people hate the new Star Wars films is that they expected Star Wars to be perfect, and it wasn't. It seems that most people think in terms of whether a film was great or it sucked. So if you don't think a film was great (as in it was okay) they immediately decide that it was bad, especially if it's predecessor was considered great.
Like Episode I, this film flawed, good but flawed. Gone are the days of boring pretentious court room scenes, but they are replaced with new cracks in the armor.
The love story could have been beautiful if not for the fact that the dialogue is so cloying. Although it doesn't affect the movie in full since it only primarily appears in scenes between Anakin and Padme, this may be a throw back to old romance movies that Lucas grew up with, such as the couple rolling around in the grass. Lucas has done many throwbacks and referenced films he grew up with, here it didn't work.
My assessment from my last review proves correct, Jar-Jar has been downsized to a representative of Naboo. He appears, then leaves, then appears again for a moment, then leaves, small doses work very well.
Then comes the casting of Hayden Christensen, while he isn't as bad of an actor as Jake Lloyd, who portrayed Anakin Skywalker in Episode I. Christensen has very expressive eyes, and I can welcome him into the part because of his resemblance of both Luke Skywalker and Jake Lloyd's Anakin. It's when he opens his mouth that I lose my admiration of his acting ability.
He seems to lack confidence in himself and his ability to say Lucas' words, even though they may be corny his lack confidence can also be seen in Shattered Glass as well. Mark Hamill originally said that while he was doing his first reading for Luke Skywalker he thought "Who talks like this?" to compensate he just read it sincerely. This is the best advice anyone could give Christensen. He would be a great actor if he could just gain confidence in himself and his ability.
Besides that and a few nitpicks, like Episode I, this is a decent addition that, again, does not deserve the hate it receives. The visuals continue to thrill, the story sets up for the next/final chapter, and Ewan Mcgregor catches eyes as he appears to be one of the best actors in the trilogy, developing his Obi-Wan closer to Alec Guinness's. While I'm giving it a 7 out of 10, the same as Episode I, but I really wish I could give it more of a 7.5 out of 10. Since it is not necessarily as great as the original films, but I prefer this film over Episode I tremendously, simply because I would rather take corny scenes and fun scenes over boring scenes and fun scenes.