Monetary motivation leads to the Dark Side, and George turned a long time ago.

Rating: 4/10 (31 May 2005)

I won't say I absolutely hated it. At least it kept me awake and entertained (when I wasn't cringing or laughing out loud at the wrong moments). But sometime after Return of the Jedi, Lucas either lost or gave up his abilities to write and direct. Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones both proved that to this die-hard fan who was a 4-year-old when A New Hope was released. Star Wars was a big part of my childhood. I feel depressed about the way these prequels were handled. All three could have been so much better.
Flashy action scenes and great CGI alone, do not a great film make. What's saddest to me is that while this film was supposed to be about Anakin/Vader, the best scenes were Palpatine's. That character's progression from Senator to Emperor was the only high point in this prequel trilogy, story-wise. The rest was choppy, graceless, often needless, horribly cheesy, and in some cases (especially with Padme's death in this film), contradictory to the original trilogy.
I would like to blame acting, but honestly, even Oscar-winners cannot be convincing when given shoddy material. While I might have preferred a somewhat older and more mature actor for Anakin in this film, Hayden did do far better this time than in Attack of the Clones. But the writing made it almost impossible for the actor to stand a chance at being a convincing Darth Vader. And the lovers' scenes were nauseatingly stupid due to (once again) lazy writing, as well as a total lack of chemistry between the players. Padme seemed too matronly, and Anakin too much a horndog.
But hey, if you like lots of great light-saber fights and cameo appearances by names and old favorites and wicked cool bird-beaked-lizards (that creature was the best thing about the CGI), by all means, enjoy! Like I said, I won't say I hated it. The previous prequels prepared me for shallow effects being the only enjoyable thing, and I got what I paid for. But it's still disappointing knowing George Lucas could have done so much better, but instead chose the high-paid, I-can't-go-wrong-with-the-Star-Wars-name, ego-trip.
I wonder if he even watched his old films before writing this screenplay?