Nostalgia value aside, really quite pointless

Rating: Null/10 (1 June 2002)

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. But then, I have a bad habit of enjoying bad movies, so perhaps I can be excused... What I did not enjoy about this film was the acting - or rather, the lack of it. In an effort to bring depth to their roles, the actors have valiantly over-emoted and over-acted what minimal basis there is to base a character upon. Ani is your stereotypical teenager, chafing at his chains of underdeveloped independence. Padmè is also stereotypical, the strong woman who is eventually overwhelmed into love. The bad guys are all very, very bad, and the good guys are all very, very good. Except of course, Ani, who is a bit of both. I can see what Lucas was trying for in his script, I really can, but in his bid for technology and digital imaging he has lost the very thing that made the original Star Wars episodes so appealing, the very humanity of the characaters. Instead of Ben Kenobi as a man who has become wiser through the years, we are given an advice-spouting mother hen of a Jedi who can barely control his apprentice. (Don't they learn about discipline in Jedi school?) Instead of Luke we have Ani (whine for whine, question for question, they basically balance eachother out). Instead of Leia we have Padmè, who near the end of the film shows some of her daughter's chutzpah, but then just falls back into "I'm a female bossed around by men except when I'm really determined to do something utterly foolish" mode. Yoda has turned from old wise guru to incredibly agile spinning-top type small guy with a short future. Where is the equivalent of Han Solo and his trusty side-kick, Chewbacca? There is no "slightly on the wrong side of right" guy for us to cheer with, jeer with, or just plain watch as he wreaks havoc amongst all his friends. There is no risk-taker. The two droids are among the best acted of the characters in this film, only because through the simplicity of their roles, they can't become more wooden (metal?).
But back to what I liked about the film. I liked the story. No, I really did. I find it fascinating to see the background to the story we all know so well - to watch the parents of our future heroes meet, to see their characters reflect so well what their children will become. I find it interesting to suppose what will happen - what will make Ani finally turn to the dark side? We have seen him tempted by power, we have seen him torn by emotion. But at heart, he's a good guy with no emotional control. What makes him snap? We don't know. (Well, I don't, and refuse to find out until the next installment.) My guess is that something along the lines of an early death after childbirth for Padme, followed by a withdrawal of the right to raise his own children by the Circle of Elder Jedi (due to what we all recognize as a rather heated temper and unpredictable nature) Ani decides not to trust the "good guys", and goes with the only other option open to him. With the blandness of the personalities on the side of good, I can't really blame him. My advice to Lucas would be to get away from the cool digital stuff (sigh - boys and their toys!) and get back to what made the first films such a success...a great story told through interesting acting.
One other note...I believe I read somewhere that this is a kid-friendly film. Not in my opinion, no sirree. Too many boring love scenes, too many violent fights, no characters at all that I would like a child of mine to identify with. (I'm sorry, but I don't see the future Darth Vader as a role model.) The effects are cool, the droids at the end spectacular. But this is something that will not go away, children will still be able to see it in the years to come.