Don't forget the Spoiler Space, gang...half of the stuff I read I would NOT have wanted to know about if I didn't already just see the movie.
I'm inclined to agree with Geoschmo and Will. As Star Wars, my friends agreed that it was disappointing, but I'm really beginning to wonder if they're just forever seeking the 'gee whiz!' effect of the first movie(s).
As a stand-alone movie, I feel that it was more decent than as 'two of a series'...I was entertained and got my matinee money's worth. It had the scenes that were promised in the trailers, scope AND scale, and scenes that made me go 'wow'. I agree that character development was at an all-time low, but I don't have the expectations that some people did. It was leagues better than the first one, especially in utilizing CGI to enhance and further the story versus for the the sake of using it. Plot holes aside, their biggest crime might simply be putting too much activity into too little time. The movie was decent length, about 2:22 or so, but character development could have progressed given additional time, at the risk of making the movie 'slow'. Although I question Hayden Christensen's acting ability, I'm not sure much could be done with the lines he was given.
All in all, I'd probably see it again for some key scenes alone. For a movie that tries to deal with some adult issues while maintaining a 'PG' rating, it's all right.
As a side note for mention of Empire Strikes Back, which I also feel was still the best of the series: rumor has it that one of the reasons that it turned out that way was because of director Irvin Kershner...one of the only people who wasn't a yes-man to Lucas.
http://www.salon.com/ent/col/srag/19...ner/index.html
zen
::edit:: I made a link! woohoo!
[ May 20, 2002, 17:08: Message edited by: zenbudo ]