Interesting these Clone Wars do not seem.

Rating: Null/10 (25 July 2002)

First and foremost - Entertaining. I wish I were a kid and hadn't gone to film school. Thank God my daughters will be able to enjoy this story from Episode 1 to Episode 6 (and in that order). I envy that fact because for them, the story only gets better. Now to my clouded thoughts.
When you are left to imagine what the Clone Wars might have entailed, (mentioned in ANH) there is a bit of mystery to them. The event itself seems almost bigger than the Star Wars story itself. But when you see Lucas's version of it, you are left disappointed. Why do we like Star Wars? Because we all want to be Jedi. Good or Bad. It doesn't matter. Why do you think Samuel Jackson wanted to be in this film? Maybe he'll get a cool death scene if Lucas is up to giving this character motivation. I mean really, what is the point of Mace Windu? Jedi do not seem so mystic, powerful, or even cool anymore. They got smoked by droids.
Anakin has fear inside of him. Fear that his mother is dead. Then she dies in his arms. Fear to anger to suffering. We get to see a glimpse of anger. Whoopee do! One thing you learn as a screenwriter: Don't write it! Show it! And by that I mean, don't tell Padme you wiped out the sand people, children and all. Show it. The fans wanted to see that. Then Anakin can simply tell her: "I killed them." Grin evilly. "All of them." I mean, would you have like to hear that Luke got his hand cut off or were you happier seeing it? Point made.
As I'm sure the majority have already mentioned, the love story is forced. Hayden is a good actor but Lucas holds him back. Natlie is just bad. "I think that Count Dooku did it" made me wrinkle my eyebrows and say "Are you kidding me?" But this is only a product of the writing. If only these actors would have known what went down in the first film. Lucas's dialog in the first script (ANH) was at best, average. In actual filming, Harrison Ford rejected most of his scripted dialog. He stated to Lucas that "people don't talk like that".
Yoda busting a move is great fun. And though it is left to discussion, Dooku is tough as well. I guess Kenobi gets his 15 seconds of fame killing Maul because he's tossed like a rag doll when confronting Dooku. Anakin looks good fighting with two lightsabers.
Lucas has a great idea. Although he can tell a story visually, that doesn't make him a great writer nor a great director. The majority of fans would say The Empire Strikes Back is the best film. Point well taken because Lucas didn't write the screenplay nor did he direct it. Hmmm... I might be stepping on some toes but too bad. Lucas was off creating his own Empire (LucasFilm). A good thing this is. I would say, hmmm?
All that aside, did we really need any information from TPM? I'm getting off the subject. I don't know if Lucas will write a brilliant script concerning the transformation of Anakin to Vader. But it doesn't matter. We get to see Vader in his glory in ANH and ESB. As stated by Lucas, The Star Wars films are about discovering your true potential by moving away from the comfortable and the familiar to explore what's out there and what you're capable of. Let's hope he finishes these prequels with that in mind.