Leaden and disappointing given the potential

Rating: 4/10 (16 May 2002)

The only thing really worth seeing was the lightsaber fight between Yoda and Dooku. That was really cool. Unfortunately it was also really short. The other lightsaber fights were pretty lame. They should have gotten a better actor to play Anakin Skywalker. It might be an ok teen movie, but for any adult the alleged love scenes are not at all convincing. Obi-Wan Kenobi is strangely a weakling in this film. He should know by now that Anakin is turning to the dark side. Samuel L. Jackson is a good fighter but is oblivious to what's going on around him and makes bad decisions. There is no hero in this movie and Yoda is the only great character. That none of the Jedi realize that the chancellor that they work with every day is the dark emperor is a little hard to believe at this point. The acting is generally stilted, which is forgivable but they sure could use a Harrison Ford--someone who clearly enjoys both the humor and adventure of his situation (being an actor in star wars) and makes light of it enough to bring some spirit into his character. Some parts of the plot don't make much sense. After dazzling heroics, a promise to never fail again, and a compelling reason to protect Padme, Anakin seems to get bogged down in weak enemies and give up his responsibility to protect her in the conveyor belt scene, for example. Padme goes on vacation as soon as she gets home, does no work as a senator and doesn't even keep up with news, and spends most of her time emerging from doorways dressed to allure to meet her spurned Jedi protector. Anakin shows her that he is turning to the dark side and that he has killed indiscriminately out of hatred and vengeance, and yet she does not seem concerned by this and never brings it up with Obi-Wan or Yoda as you would expect her to do. Samuel L. Jackson has Boba Fett and Count Dooku under the sway of his light saber, but he leaves them to go fight drones. It seems clear that Yoda could have kicked Count Dooku's ass, but he waits too long to strike a blow and Dooku escapes. And the way the jedi kill seems inconsistent with the struggle between Luke and Darth Vader in the original Star Wars series. If Luke kills darth vader he becomes him. When Vader strikes down Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan becomes stronger than ever before. Why doesn't this struggle between the light and dark have meaning in the actions of the jedi in episode 2? Indeed, where is the struggle between good and bad? It seems that good is really just a confused few led by Yoda.