parresia

i did?

just kidding.

Hey Jeremy, I'm not the only one who thinks the acting between hayden and portman was bad:

Natalie Portman has always enjoyed good press, but she was at her best as a child in "The Professional." She's just overwhelmed here. ---Washington Post

Like everything else in this film, the romance doesn't feel natural or spontaneous. It's like an arranged marriage, there to meet the constraints of Lucas' blueprint. Someone has to get together and produce Luke and Leia, and Christensen and Portman approach it with all of the enthusiasm of two people trapped in a breeding laboratory. Their performances are self-conscious and flat, or maybe Lucas simply isn't good with actors anymore.
The Sacramento Bee

Rumor has it that Christensen tested well against Portman, but it’s not evident onscreen. Their romance, pivotal to the moral darkness that will ultimately spell the doom of Skywalker, is lacking in maturity and chemistry, revealing none of the weighty emotion that is capable of toying so ominously with the psyche. Christensen is wooden, and Portman seems more aware of her draping headgear and loopy hairdos than with her imminent love interest.
Aufmuth.com

I'm this far into the review, and I’m hard-pressed to talk about what I didn’t like. I could talk about how weak some of the dialogue is, or how I think Natalie Portman gives a boring and, at times, wholly unbelievable performance. I could, but all this great stuff keeps crowding it out, and I feel like the Grinch, like my little black heart is just so full of rediscovered STAR WARS love that it’s growing, swelling, and I’m practically evangelical.
---Aint it cool news

There are at least 30 more reviews like the ones I just posted, but that's the general idea.

Sweetie,

Thanks for the reviews. I think the problem was with the scripted dialogue, in part, by Lucas. Christensen did a good job with what he had to work with (in my opinion).

Too bad Lucas just didn't take another 2 years to really really do the film Star Wars fans are looking for. Or too bad Lucas didn't let some others like Irvan Kirshner (dir. Empire) come in and help him out with the story.

What's done is done though...our only hope is his final chance to vindicate himself in Episode III. (Unless he decides to do the rumored Episode VII, VIII, and IX).

Leave it to the professional critics to suck the life out of a movie ;-) Their thoughts betray them. These are of like ilk to they that embraced the dark side in their reviews of the original films. Really, the acting and whatnot in Episode II is no better or worse than the acting and scripting in Eps IV – VI. Recall Mark Hamill's crummy acting and stupid lines, the lack of anything resembling a plot in Empire, or the sheer silliness of Endor. And these are great films! The favorites of a generation in fact!

This is actually the first Star Wars film that I missed seeing at its Big Newport opening (I'm getting too old and crotchety for the crowds and uncomfortable seating) and so I settled for a local theater that was showing 12:01 on three screens, knowing that I could walk up an hour before the show and get a good seat. I still had a great time. The stage is certainly set for the doom and gloom of Ep III. So many revelations too — though not of the same caliber as "I'm your father" or "There is another." The long dead fanboy in me has reawakened and I am genuinely excited for Lucas's finale.

Jeremy, in addition to taking more time to do the film right, I think Lucas should have done what the director of Lord of the Rings did and filmed Episodes I, II and III all at once. That's just my opinion, for no real big reason except I think it would have given him more time to work on the films all together and then work out the kinks.
I would agree with you about the dialogue, but Lucas brought in someone else to write it for him.
But yeah, to be fair I do think Hayden did a good job with what he had to work with. When I read all the reviews before seeing the movie I was thinking he was going to be absolutely horrible, but he really wasn't that bad. As for his love-interest, even the guys at my work thought that she was "pretty" but that her line-delivery was at times a little laughable. If the guys at my work aren't oogling all over a girl that really says something to me!
Anyway, I can't say I'll ever be a huge Star Wars fan, but then, I don't think you'll ever be a huge Edward Gorey fan so we're pretty even there. But don't worry, I love you despite your inability to see the genius of good old gorey. To each his own...

Dane,

I agree with much of what you said concerning the anticipation for Lucas' newest installment (Episode III)-- even at age 27 I still can't help getting excited about Star Wars. Lucas has a lot of work to do in Episode III, so let's hope it's as they say: "Third one's a charm."

I did want to take some issue with you however concerning Episodes IV-VI. I think Empire is a wonderful plot, and a very nice "middle" story between "A New Hope" and "Return." I happen to really enjoy all the Endor stuff too, hey, I like cuddly things. :-)

I think the dynamic between Leia and Han is par none; I think the dynamic between C3-PO and R2-D2 is a blast, and I think the sobriety of Skywalker is inspiring (in a Sci-Fi kind of way); the love developing between Solo and the Princess; Lando and his rock/hard place situation; Boba-Fett; the awesome light-saber battle between Luke and Vadar...I'm just still trying to understand why you found Empire silly.

Anyway, (going out in style)

may the force be with you.

Sweetie,

I like Edward Gorey. I do too have a strong admiration for him...I just take it more seriously than you do. You seem to find him funny...I find him educational.

I know you find him to be educational and funny....I just have a hard time laughing...

Star Wars is growing on you....admit it.

:-)

Honestly, I didn't think you had a strong admiration for Gorey. That's really good to know because now I can break the news to you: Instead of planning our wedding as I ought to be, I've been daydreaming about a Gorey-themed bedroom for our newborn. Yes, even down to the little spiders delicately sewn into the bedding of the bassinet.
(you do trust my decorating judgement, yes?)

...well, maybe you do take your admiration for him more seriously than I do..

Aloha once more. To clarify! No, I never thought Empire was silly - just the Ewokiness of Endor in Jedi (c'mon, how much cooler would it have been if we were privy to the Wookie-fraught Battle of Kashyyyk rather than Attack of the Care Bears on Endor!). In fact, of the Big Three, Empire is my fav. It's dark and brooding and though its sole purpose is to take you from New Hope to Jedi and raise the stakes on the way, I always found it strangely satisfying!

Really though, I love dearly all the Star Wars entrants (well, we'll down-grade that to "like" for Menace which suffers from an over-abundance of Endoritis in spite of the fact that Endor isn't in it). I merely made mention of those "issues" to point out that the criticisms of Clones are the same criticisms that have been levelled at Lucas by naysayers even in those early years of the franchise. If you look at New Hope, Mark Hamill is a far worse actor than Hayden Christiansen (thankfully, he improves vastly by the time Jedi comes around) and is saddled with some of the dumbest lines in cinema history (anyone for a little "I used to bullseye womprats in my T16 back home, they're not much bigger than two meters"). Critics moaned as much about the Ewoks as they did about Binks. Even the titles for Eps V and VI were mocked as much as "Attack of the Clones."

Really I think my point is that critics make their meal-ticket by being overly critical. Star Wars has never been about art. Star Wars has never been about raising the bar for acting or screenwriting. Star Wars has been - and always will be - about having a real darned-good time. It's fun. It's relaxing. And heaven forbid it be taken seriously.

People! I am very sad with everyone. All speak bad about this ou that, but Star Wars is Star Wars. Has errors... OK! Patience! Lucas is a human. Star Wars is the best film that I seen. For me, should have an EP VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII...