Ceri saw Episode Two on Sunday as well, it seems.

The one good lightsabre battle was ruined by focusing on facial closeups rather than having us see the actual battle.

I’m not certain which battle she has chosen as the best, but I think it’s all a continuation of the trend begun in Gladiator of making battle look as confusing as possible, because that’s what it would seem like if you were in the middle of it.

Yoda did not kick butt, he looked damn silly

I must agree. I think it was silly because we’re used to him being dignified, however. Would it have been silly if he were six feet tall? Size matters not, especially when you’re facing a lightsaber blade.

Amidala did not emote.

This is a let-down from the first film in what way? Honestly, how could she improve when playing opposite Wooden Christiansen?

The computer generated “riding-a-bucking-animal” shots were horrible.

Oh, gods, yes. Absolutely dreadful. All of them – the beast-riding in the arena, the beast-surfing in the field… funny how we balk at the organic CGI but the droid and machinery CGI is just fine. We have firm standards concerning how live things are supposed to move. It’s probably a subset of the Fight Or Flight instinct: “You know, that big bear-like thing isn’t moving the way it should… why are these flags popping up in my brain?” Not-moving-right means something’s more wrong than usual.

The movie had poor script, poor directing, poor acting (probably due to the aforementioned script) and poor characterization.

And not enough actors of decent caliber to even partially save it. I cheerfully agree. I enjoyed it anyway. It’s a space fantasy. A B-movie. It’s supposed to be campy. The bad CGI is right up there with stopping the film in A New Hope so the doors could open or close, then recording again and hoping the actors hadn’t moved. If it was a Good, Quality Film, I don’t know what the fans would make of it.

Lucas can’t write, can’t direct. We know this. He cast Ewan McGregor to make it all okay, though, and actually gave him screen time and a plot to carry. I wish Christopher Lee had been given more to do. At least he didn’t die; he might actually be in the next one. We’ll see.

Fascinating note: This soundtrack is actually in chronological order, a huge improvement over the last one.

So, of course, now the burning question is… when do I play NSW next?