Star Wars

After having had a positive experience with "Star Wars: Episode III" on Friday night, I decided to spend the weekend with episodes I & II to see if they really were as bad as I'd thought.

"Episode I" is not a bad movie. Actually, it's a respectable, lighthearted adventure that does a fine job kicking off the prequel trilogy. The storyline that George Lucas chose to go with for the prequels was not what I was expecting, and Episode I has its share of problems, but my re-evaluation yielded positive results. On a five star scale (on which I'd give each of the movies in the original Star Wars trilogy 5 stars), I would give Episode I between 2.5 and 3 stars. And since Episode III restored a lot of good will toward George Lucas, let's call it an even 3.

"Episode II" is more complicated. While I own the DVD, I'd only seen the movie in its entirety once- back at the Ziegfeld in 2002. And after about 10 minutes of watching Episode II this weekend, it all came back to me- this was the movie that turned me bitter and caused me to hate George Lucas.
Is Episode II as bad as I remembered? Not quite. But there is clearly something very wrong with the movie. It's as though George Lucas forgot what Star Wars was all about when he wrote the script. There are elements of romance, mystery, politics, adventure, intrigue... but those elements are strewn about ineffectively.
I watched all of the deleted scenes, which feature commentary from George Lucas, as well as the film's producer and editor. Listening to their explanations for why the scenes were cut, it's easy to see that the movie itself lacked a coherent storyline, theme, and tone. Their comments for why the scenes were cut- too long and droning, not providing enough actual plot movement, yadda yadda- apply to most of the scenes in the movie itself, not just those that were cut. And you can tell that they probably know it, too.
Episode II is, basically, a mess.
Now that the prequel trilogy is complete, it's easier for me to see the purpose of each individual movie, and to judge each on its ability to do its job. Episode I's job was to kick off a new round of Star Wars, and set things in motion. It succeeded, though it was most certainly not the movie I was hoping for.
Episode II needed to showcase the growing love between Anakin and Padme, and to illustrate the manner in which Palpatine orchestrates the formation of his empire. And, it needed to lay the groundwork for how Anakin would come to feel betrayed by his friends and loved ones in the film to come.
Episode II does not do any of these things elegantly. They're mostly there in the technical sense, but the very human story that forms the backdrop of the whole trilogy just doesn't click.
Failure? Not completely. I'd give this movie 2 out of 5 stars, and now I remember why I hated it so much. I was so freaked out by the fundamental inability of Episode II to advance the trilogy in any meaningful way that I could see nothing but a train wreck coming up for the third and final installment.
Amazingly, George Lucas was able to regain control- using the force, no doubt- and steer the prequel trilogy home safely.