Okay, I'm back from watching it. My turn. Warning. I have a lot of gripes. Keep in mind this is star wars, so I am starting from the pinnacle and working down.
In my mind, there are three (major) things that killed Ep I.
- The pacing
- Anikan Crusher
- Jar Jar
While 2 and 3 are not so much an issue now, I think AotC still suffers from #1. Though the dips into mediocrity are not so deep, they seem pretty noticable.
Jar Jar is there, but not so in-your-face annoying. And in a move of poetic justice, we can now think of Jar Jar whenever anyone asks the question "whose stupid idea was it to hand power to the chancellor anyways?"
Anikan still annoys you, but it's a "Charlie X" sort of annoyance vice a "Wesley Crusher" sort.
The other factor that stunted my enjoyment was the acting. I actually think the acting was better in Ep I. Liam Neeson is a much better jedi master than McEwan. It just doesn't suit him as well. Likewise, I never felt the sort of emotion from Anikan that they were obviously trying to suggest he had.
There was not enough of a group dynamic and not enough focus on the core characters. Part of this links back to the acting and chemistry... it just wasn't there like it was with ep 4-6. But part of it is plotting. It felt a little more like a documentary.
I really think I might have enjoyed the movie a bit better if the Count Douku/Trade Federation thing hadn't have been spoiled for me. Ah well.
Good things: yoda. It is as good as you have heard.
Storm... ahem, CLONEtroopers being the calvary and sympathetic? That came off very well, I think.
Another thing that came off well. I pretty much agree with what everyone else has said about the Ani/Padme scenes being a big stumbling block for the movie... heck, I was expecting them to start strolling down the beach and have an announcer chime in and try to sell you a collection of favorite love songs. However, I don't think it is that bad... with a culling of a few scenes, it could have been tolerable. The biggest problem was that it ran across the grain with the rest of the movie. While they are slowly trying to build up a romance on site A, over at location B Obi-Wan is tracking down a threat to the empire. However, like I said, I thought it came off fairly well in the end. The clincher scene before they get chained up took me off guard... even though I knew it had to happen.
Jedi fights were cool. But as much as I hate to say it, they were better in Ep I. There, I said it. Flame me! I expected more of these scenes to make my heart jump into my throat. Only one did: Yoda.
"Agressive Negotiation" was funny. It needed a bit more humor to fit the SW feel, I think.
Lee was good.
That's it. No big uniting thesis. Better than AotC overall, but worse in some ways. Worse than the original trilogy. 4/5
In other news, I did like a few additional glimpses into the SW universe, especially the diner. It made the universe seem more gamable.
In still other news, I also have the revised SW RPG. Very nice brush ups... just wish they had done it right in the first place.
In still other news... the Minority Report movie looked like a great spycraft setting.
