Good story, good effect, let down by script

Rating: 5/10 (18 May 2002)

I'm not a Star Wars fan - no, not even the original trilogy, which I actually saw in a cinema when it first came out (so, yes, I'm in the over-45 category). But I suppose it's impossible to live anywhere in the industrialized world without knowing hordes of people who *are* Star Wars fans, so I was more or less forced into going to see SW2 when it came out.
Actually, I was pleasantly surprised in a lot of ways by this film. The alien settings are truly spectacular and original, the effects are, as you'd expect, exceptional, and even the story line is involved enough to be interesting.
There are two things that really let this film down, though. The first is the script, which once again demonstrated that George Lucas is much better at making money than writing. Page after page of wooden, stilted dialogue, poor puns and cliches and other attempts at humour. If Lucas actually thought up the plot (which isn't half-bad), he really should hire some professional screen-writer to produce the script. It would have improved the film manyfold.
The second problem is the acting, particularly that of Hayden Christensen. Actually, I can't quite make up my mind whether it's Christensen's fault or whether he was struggling to make something of the horrendous lines he was given to say, but there are a few points in the film where he is called upon to show some true emotion and he really doesn't pull it off very well.
The other actors do a reasonable job, although none of the characters really has much personality. Someone like Han Solo is really needed in the these first three films to give a bit of life to the cast.
Star Wars fans will, I suppose, love this film. For the rest of us 'true' sci-fi fans, we shall continue to wait until someone actually has the courage to spend as much on a *real* sci-fi film as has been squandered on Star Wars over the years. Anyone out there game enough to do a decent job on, say, Asimov's Foundation Trilogy? Aw, please...