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Just saw it. I have to say that all of the
complaints have some validity. Characterization is sorely lacking.
There are some glaring continuity gaps. Dialogue is stilted. The
acting is amazingly dull. My biggest complaint is that the film
annoyingly chooses to tell you through dialogue what the
characters are like, and you see absolutely nothing in common
between how the character are described and how they act. The
film desperately needs some adult comic relief (I really miss Han
Solo). The directing choices are poor, and Edelstein's criticism
that Lucas crosscuts just when things are getting interesting has
some merit. And yes, Jar Jat Binks weird Jamaican accent, and
speech mannerisms, are annoying. I think that 20 years from now,
when special effects of this nature are old hat, that the film
will be relegated to the dustbin, as unnecessary padding to a
story which only really needed one film, instead of three, to
tell.
But dammit, it rocked. I was a kid again who
wanted to be a Jedi Knight and kick Darth Maul's snide looking
face. I was gripping my seat during the pod race, holding my
breath during a lightsaber duel that leaves the ones in the first
three films completely in the dust, and constantly roving my eyes
to take in every piece of eye candy that was being thrown my way.
The film also left me wanting more. Despite its flaws, the film
does a good job of foreshadowing an epic conflict to come, even
if it is frustrating to know that they could have skipped almost
all of this entire storyline and still accompished just as much
in advancing the epic. It is the best science fiction film since...
The Matrix (which I think in that same 20 years in the future,
will be looked back on the way Alien(s), Terminator, and Blade
Runner are today).
One thing to keep in mind: I deliberately
lowered my expectations for the film. I went in expecting
brainless eye candy like Twister, or The Mummy, or Armageddon,
and got something a lot more exciting.
If only Lucas had bothered to characterize and
generate a more drama, he could have rivalled the first twoi
films. Instead, we have a film which is just a bit better than
Jedi.
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