Better than Ep. 1, but...

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2002)

Although it's been said many times before, it's worth repeating: Ep.2 is better than Ep. 1. The story is a bit more adult, something actually happens in this film, and Lucas relies a bit more on the actors than the computer generated images (CGI) to keep you watching. But being better than Ep. 1 isn't that great a stretch, and Ep. 2 still has a number of holes that needed patching to make it a great film.
The good points of AOTC include the design, solid acting (mostly) and lots of action towards the end. There were moments that filled me with geekish glee, and the city / weapon / ship design all looked good and suitably impressive. But at almost two and a half hours in length, the eye candy can only distract you for so long.
AOTC suffers on a number of fronts. The love story seems stuffed into the film, slowing the film to a drag in places. Dialogue between Anakin and Padme seems forced and unbelievable. Maybe Padme likes whiny, petulant young men, but with the amount of whinging Anakin does you'd think she would get sick of it.
There is also a number of unnecessary scenes in AOTC, seemingly placed to either pad the story, or because it would look cool. There are solid chunks of this film that could be cut out of the film with minimal impact to either the film's story or the overall narrative.
The "looks cool" factor also comes into play quite a bit, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but also adds an unnecessary layer to AOTC. A huge number of creatures, weapons and vehicles can be seen througout the movie, and while I went "whoa, cool!" at a number of them (eg the seismic charges) they were just there to make Lucas look clever and to give toy makers things to sell.
My biggest complaint of the film is that it completely lacks any form of subtlty or deeper meaning, no matter how hard it tries. Every time the characters come close to some realisation or a point the audience would have to think about, AOTC telegraphs it so every four-year-old in the audience can follow it. The conspiracy involving the Dark Lords of the Sith is so open and easy to follow you have to wonder why the Jedi still haven't gotten it. It strikes me as odd that in a film where a decapitation occurs centre screen that the narrative caters for children.
I hold the Empire Strikes Back as the best of the Star Wars series because it suprises you - AOTC holds no suprises, just a number of sequences where things look really, really good. It is a great build up for Ep. 3, which I can't wait to see, but I am hoping for a bit more depth than AOTC provides.