Critical Favorite: Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

I just finished re-watching all six Lucas-era Star Wars films in episode order (I-VI) with the commentary and want to give my reviews of each film. Let me preface by saying that I am a lifelong Star Wars fan who grew up with the original trilogy and literally have no memory of a time in my life before SW. As such, I am not going to be totally unbiased in my reviews, but I will try to be somewhat objective.

Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, Han, Luke, and Leia are now all important leaders and heroes in the Rebel Alliance, which is hiding on the barely-habitable ice planet of Hoth. The Empire eventually finds their base and attacks it, scattering the rebels around the galaxy, with Luke going to Dagobah to be trained by Yoda, and Han, Leia, Chewie, and the droids playing cat-and-mouse across the sector with Vader and the Imperial fleet before finally being captured at Cloud City on Bespin. There, Han is frozen in carbonite to be sent to Jabba the Hutt, and Luke, attempting to rescue his friends, is forced into a confrontation with Vader for which he is not ready and which will forever change his life.

This is the most critically-praised of the SW movies, for reasons I only partially understand. As a kid this was always my least favorite of the movies, probably because it's very talk-y and there are no big space battles. As an adult, I've come to appreciate it a lot more due to the character development and its slightly more mature take on SW, but it's still definitely not my favorite of the saga.

THE GOOD

• This is the first movie (both in my viewing order and in the order made) not directed by George Lucas, and because of that, this is also the best movie by far for dialogue. Irving Kershner and the actors rewrote a lot of the lines on the set, and as a result the banter between Han and Leia and Lando is generally good and for once the characters talking is a highlight rather than a lowlight.
• Assisted by the above point, this movie is great in the character development realm. Not only in terms of Han, Leia, and Luke, but also the supporting characters like Chewie and the droids.
• Boba Fett and the Slave I
• "Apology accepted, Captain Needa." You can almost see Hayden Christensen's malicious sneer as Vader says that line.
• I gained a lot of respect for Kershner while listening to the commentary. He had his own spin that he wanted to do on SW, but he also had great reverence for what Lucas had done in ANH and he made sure to be faithful to the spirit of that movie in every way possible.

THE BAD

• Hate, hate, HATE that they replaced Boba Fett's voice with the actor who plays Jango in AotC. The original Fett voice actor had an awesome menacing, gravelly voice and the new voice sounds pathetic by comparison.
• I'm not a big fan of stop motion animation and there is a lot of it in this film. The AT-ATs look fine, but the tauntauns do not. However, the closeups of the animatronic tauntauns look incredible, so it evens out a bit.

THE UGLY

• Apparently the Falcon is able to reach a different planetary system without hyperdrive. No indication is given of distance or how long that took, but we know that that Hoth is on the outer rim where stars are far apart, so most likely any trip that took less than decades would require near-lightspeed velocity that would have some severe relativistic repercussions. Considering Luke seemed to do quite a lot of training during that time, it's possible there is an unacknowledged time lapse of several months, but certainly not years.
• I am forced to wonder what Vader's real plan was. We know he wants to overthrow Palpatine and that he wants to use Luke to do so, but he repeatedly says that he is planning on bringing Luke to the emperor. Was he just saying that for show, all the while planning on smuggling Luke away somewhere secret until he could convince him to join hist plot against Palpatine? Anakin already saw how Palpatine would gladly cast aside an old, less powerful apprentice (Dooku) for a younger and more powerful one (himself), so there's no way he would be stupid enough to actually deliver Luke to him. Doing so would be signing his own death sentence. Yet he inexplicably does that exact thing in the next movie and then looks shocked when Palpatine does to him exactly what he did to Dooku. So maybe Anakin is really just that stupid? Who knows.

RATING: 10/10

Review of DS9 Episode 1.04 “Babel”

I'm in the process of rewatching Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and reviewing/recapping each episode in detail. Join me in my in depth look at the deepest and most complex Star Trek series to date.

A virus that causes people to talk gibberish starts spreading through the station. It’s a race against time to find a cure before everyone is incapacitated...or worse.

Like the previous episode, this is another inconsequential “terrarium” ep. The “virus that makes people act weird and it’s kind of humorous but then we find out it’s actually killing them” trope has been done a lot (and a lot better) in ST and it really has worn thin by now. Aside from some very minor character development for Quark and some great early scenes with O’Brien, this is a very forgettable episode.

THE GOOD

• The O’Brien scenes at the start are great. I love his sarcastic comments, and Colm Meaney is such a great actor (with an awesome accent) that I would be entertained watching him read lines from a quarterly earnings report.
• The shot where it pans through the inner workings of the replicator and then focuses on the sabotage device right as it turns on is a cool one.
• Some good Quark scenes. It’s interesting how he fluctuates between bravado and cowardice seemingly at random, a trend that holds throughout the show’s run.
• Nice continuity mentioning Keiko’s school established in the previous ep. It’s easy to take for granted since all shows do it nowadays, but at the time DS9’s serial storytelling was brand new for ST (and relatively uncommon on TV in general), and the fact that I don’t even notice it most of the time is probably a testament to how well it is done.

THE BAD

• Another claustrophobic episode that takes place essentially all on DS9 (aside from one scene on a runabout).
• *Sisko takes sip of coffee* “O’Brien!” I cringed. They may as well have used a laugh track and a womp womp trombone to go along with that dumb gag.
• A lot of really bad acting from Avery Brooks.
• Jadzia gets nothing to do for the second time in three eps.

THE UGLY

• Odo shapeshift count: 1 (a metal cart...and also the handheld device on top of the cart, oddly enough), 4 total for the series
• Not sure which runabout Kira takes. It’s either the Yangtzee Kiang or the Rio Grande because it doesn’t have the Ganges’ extra module on it.
• The ship that is trying to escape DS9 isn’t visible during the exterior shots of the station and the runabout.

RATING: 6/10

Back to Where it All Started: Episode IV A New Hope

I just finished re-watching all six Lucas-era Star Wars films in episode order (I-VI) with the commentary and want to give my reviews of each film. Let me preface by saying that I am a lifelong Star Wars fan who grew up with the original trilogy and literally have no memory of a time in my life before SW. As such, I am not going to be totally unbiased in my reviews, but I will try to be somewhat objective.

Nineteen years after Palpatine reformed the Republic into the new Galactic Empire and destroyed the Jedi Order, we find ourselves following the story of some young rebels fighting against that Empire as they go on a mission to destroy the Empire's new planet-destroying battlestation, the Death Star.

Going back to where the whole saga got its start, especially immediately after watching the prequels, is always a very special experience for me. Seeing how everything plays out in Episode III gives this movie so much more meaning and emotional resonance. When Luke whines and daydreams, one can't help but remember seeing his father do the same thing in the same settings in the prequels. When we see what a strong and confident leader Leia has become at age of only 19, we can't help but remember her mother, who became queen of Naboo at age 14. And then there's Anakin, now fully immersed in the persona of Darth Vader and embracing his evil choices, while still not quite being able to let go of his childish petulance we saw so much of in the prequels. Every character, setting, and passing reference to the galactic political scene has much more significance when viewed in the context of the prequels.

THE GOOD

• In many ways, this movie looks much better than the prequels. Even though they were extremely limited in what they could do technologically in 1976, the fact that every set and every prop and every person is fully and totally physical gives the movie a much more "real" feel to it than the often cartoonish previous three movies. I think the practical effects age much better too. Even though I've seen this movie probably over a hundred times, I still let out a small gasp at the opening shot of the Tantive IV being pursued by the star destroyer. The models used are amazingly detailed and real-looking and in many ways just look better than the cgi fests in the newer movies.
• In a similar vein as above, I love how dirty and grimy everything is in this movie. And the props also are amazing looking. It probably helps that they were modified real life guns, but Han's German Mauser-based blaster pistol and the stormtroopers' Sterling submachine gun-based carbines in particular are absolutely gorgeous props. Everything in the movie has such a tangible quality that is lacking in the prequels.
• Harrison Ford. What a massive stroke of luck for George Lucas to find him and cast him for this role and this movie. He is perfect in every way, both as an actor and specifically as Han Solo. He is one of the very few people who can speak Lucas-written dialogue and make it sound great. And really, there is no better compliment I can think of for an actor.
• Alec Guinness adds a lot of legitimacy to what could have potentially been a very silly movie. He is the another rare actor who delivers his dialogue so well that you never notice if it is poorly-written or not.
• The third great actor in this movie is Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin. He posses a calm confidence and air of supreme authority that the petulant Vader does not provide. He is the real villain of this movie and without him the Empire would probably seem cartoonish and not seriously threatening. His cold, calculating menace really adds to the sense of danger for Leia and the rest of the Rebels.
• I really like that the special edition added in the scene with Jabba and Han in the docking bay. Han's actions make a lot more sense with that context added.
• Aurally, this movie is stunning. Between John Williams' legendary score and Ben Burtt's genius sound design the whole movie is a treat on the ears. This is true of all the SW movies, but since this was the first one made and set the tone (literally) for the others, it gets the mention.

THE BAD

• Luke is kind of whiny and annoying. Not nearly as bad as his dad was, but he's a little hard to like, especially when next to charismatic figures like Obi-Wan and Han.
• All of the added cgi for the special edition sticks out like a sore thumb and just plain looks bad. The only exception is maybe some of the stuff from the space battle, which looks ok but not great.

THE UGLY

• The security on the Death Star is atrocious. Why, on a station with millions of Imperial troops, do only a handful stormtroopers at a time ever go after the heroes? And why, in the face of a fighter attack, do you scramble only 6 TIEs for defense when you have thousands on the station? The movie's budget could explain the latter, but it's all extremely silly if you think about it.
• It also makes no sense for the Rebel fighters to enter the trench so far away from the thermal exhaust port, where they are sitting ducks for the TIEs. And why do the fighters who aren't participating in the trench run not cover the ones in the trench?

RATING: 10/10

Review of DS9 Episode 1.03 "A Man Alone"

I'm in the process of rewatching Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and reviewing/recapping each episode in detail. Join me in my in depth look at the deepest and most complex Star Trek series to date.

A Bajoran that Odo put away for murder years earlier appears on the station and has a confrontation with the constable. Shortly after that he is found dead, and all the evidence points to Odo having done it. A search for truth ensues.

This is episode is very much whatever the station equivalent of a ship-in-a-bottle episode would be (stationary terrarium? I got nothing). The entire episode takes place on DS9, and as a result it feels rather low stakes and unexciting. That is unfortunately a trend of the early seasons. The wormhole is a gold mine for fascinating and creative storytelling, but for whatever reason (probably budgetary), much of the first few seasons are spent solely in the Bajoran system and the setting gets extremely claustrophobic as a result.

That said, this isn't a bad episode, just an inconsequential one. The mystery and its resolution are cleverly done, and the plot threads all weave together in a very tidy way that I appreciate as a writer. But the conflict between Odo's sense of justice and Starfleet rules will be done much better in later episodes, and the suspense is very minimal because nobody will really believe that Odo is the murderer. Overall, a mediocre episode by DS9 and ST standards.

THE GOOD

• Cleverly-written mystery with a neat resolution
• Some interesting glimpses of Odo's philosophy and into Dax's history and her Trill nature.
• All of the main characters get involved and play an active role in the story (well, O'Brien is active in the B plot). When you only have 42 minutes to work with, it's impressive that they are able to do that.
• Jadzia is really the highlight of this ep. Terry Farrell has said in interviews that she felt lost and overwhelmed as a 28 year old woman trying to portray a 300 year old being who has lived eight lives, and some of her unease does show through a bit, but overall I think she does a wonderful job. It helps that she is built like a legit Amazonian, because her attempts to project nobility are enhanced by the fact that she towers over many of the other actors.

THE BAD

• Nothing is overly bad, but the episode lacks suspense and doesn't explore much in the way of interesting sci-fi, and the story in inconsequential. It is essentially a cop procedural set on a space station, and that is of little interest to me.

THE UGLY

• Bashir retcon watch (WARNING: this section contains major spoilers for a future story arc) — Does he allow the bubble in the holosuite to burst on purpose? I think that with the way his mental abilities are portrayed post-genetic-engineering reveal, he definitely could have controlled it better than that if he wanted.
• Rom is totally different from future eps. He talks different, is way too confident, and doesn't have that awkward bent-over shuffling walk. 
• Hulk Kira count: 1 — This is the first of many times we see Kira beat up a much larger dude (during the riot scene). It looks utterly ridiculous for a tiny woman like Nana Visitor to be literally tossing around dudes twice her size and yet we are forcefed it throughout the entire series. When Jadzia beats people up it's believable because she is built like a warrior, but Visitor is so petite that it's impossible to buy when she does it.

RATING: 6/10

The Best of the Best: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

I just finished re-watching all six Lucas-era Star Wars films in episode order (I-VI) with the commentary and want to give my reviews of each film. Let me preface by saying that I am a lifelong Star Wars fan who grew up with the original trilogy and literally have no memory of a time in my life before SW. As such, I am not going to be totally unbiased in my reviews, but I will try to be somewhat objective.

The Clone Wars have been raging for three years now. Obi-Wan and Anakin have become great war heroes, and Padme is now secretly pregnant with her first child (well, twins but she and Anakin don’t know that). Meanwhile, Palpatine’s plans are nearly at fruition, as he begins to actively tutor Anakin on the Dark Side, leading to a final confrontation between him and the Jedi council, with Anakin stuck in the middle. Anakin believes Padme will die in childbirth, and Palpatine has promised he can save her, so in order to keep Palpatine (and thus Padme) alive, Anakin betrays the Jedi and becomes Darth Vader. The rest is history.

The movie is really the payoff of the first two prequels. Everything come together here, as the fatal flaws in the Jedi, the Republic, Anakin, and corrupt humanity are all exploited by Palpatine to execute his brilliant and carefully-laid plan to become the supreme ruler of the galaxy. Even if you were one of those people who thought the politics of Episodes I and II were tedious and unnecessary, you can’t possibly argue that the way it comes together in this movie is anything short of genius.

There are very few flaws and many, many high points, which is why overall this is my favorite of all the SW films. The way it ties the two trilogies together in terms of everything—aesthetics, storyline, characters, settings, etc.—is amazing and spine-tingling. So many scene just give me the chills, from Anakin burning in the lava, to seeing Alderaan and Bail and his wife cradling the infant Leia, to Beru and Lars holding the infant Luke watching the twin suns set. The last third of the movie is probably the best forty minutes of cinema I have ever experienced. Thank you, George Lucas, for sharing your artistic vision with the world. There have been some bumps along the way, but as a fan I really appreciate what you have done. Bravo.

THE GOOD

There are too many good parts in this movie for me to note them all, but I’ll try to hit some of the absolute best points

• The opening shot with the space battle might be the best space battle shot of all time. You think it’s just one Republic cruiser in frame and then the camera follows the two Jedi fighters around and on the other side--holy mackerel. What a great shot to start the movie on. That entire space battle is exactly what I had in my imagination reading Michael Stackpole’s X-wing novels as a kid and it was a real treat to see it for real.
• In ANH, Obi-Wan describes Anakin as having been “seduced” by the Dark Side of the Force. Well in this movie we see how incredibly apt of a verb that was. What Palpatine does to Anakin is really a masterful seduction--not a sexual one, but one of power. He knows Anakin’s weakness and exploits it, promising him the power ostensibly to save the one he loves, but really knowing that the power, once tasted, will become and end in and of itself and Anakin will be seduced down a path he can’t retrace (and ironically lose the one he loves as a result). The scene in the zero gravity opera is particularly great in this respect.
• ”So this is how liberty dies—to thunderous applause.” Goosebumps. Every. Time. Padme is kind of an incidental character in this film but at least she gets the best line by far in the whole trilogy.
• Seeing Anakin burn in the lava. And I’m saying that only half-jokingly. Yes, Anakin is a frustrating character and he deserved it for what he does, but also as a kid growing up I always read references in the EU to Anakin being burned in the lavas of Mustafar and that’s why he needed the suit. To finally see it happen and see him become Vader was something I never thought I’d get to experience. It really was the payoff moment for the entire prequel trilogy.
• Vader taking his first breath.
• The entire ending montage, with Alderaan, Tatooine, and Vader, Palpatine, and Tarkin standing on the bridge of the star destroyer as the Imperial March plays. Amazing.

THE BAD

• "ANAKIN...YOU’RE BREAKING MY HEART." 
• Really most of the dialogue is bad, unfortunately, but the above line is probably the one that makes me cringe the most. 
• The cgi isn’t as bad as in AotC, but some moments are still very fake looking, like the flip Dooku does off the railings before the fight with Anakin and Obi-Wan. 

THE UGLY

• I have never been able to decide if Mace Windu actually beats Palpatine, or if Palpatine fakes getting beat in order to force Anakin to save him. He looks legit terrified after Mace beats him and it’s hard to believe he knew Anakin would arrive right in the nick of time and save him. Mace deciding that Palpatine should be summarily executed is also extremely un-Jedi-like and I’ve never totally bought it. That whole sequence is rather confusing, probably due to the numerous re-edit Lucas did in post-production (originally it was very different, apparently).
• In the commentary, Lucas says that there was a whole subplot filmed of Padme helping to form the beginnings of the Rebel Alliance (along with Bail Organa and Mon Mothma), but that storyline was sadly cut from the final version. Someday I hope we get extended versions of the prequels like Lord of the Rings did so we can see stuff like that (as well as the rumored epic 7-hour cut of TPM that has never been released publicly). Unfortunately, since Lucas has given up the franchise to the soulless Disney corporation, I’m pretty sure that will never happen.

RATING: 10/10

Review of Deep Space 9 Episode 1.02 "Past Prologue"

I'm in the process of rewatching Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and reviewing/recapping each episode in detail. Join me in my in depth look at the deepest and most complex Star Trek series to date.

A Bajoran terrorist named Tahna Los barely escapes pursuing Cardassians and requests asylum aboard DS9. He turns out to have a history with Major Kira, who advocates for him. He insists that his days of violence are over, but with the help of Plain Simple Garak, who uses the naive Bashir as his unwitting accomplice, the crew of DS9 discover that Tahna may not be sincere about his intentions on the station, and the tense confrontation that results will influence the future of Bajor.

The is the first “normal” episode of the show and it continues the high quality storytelling and character development from the pilot. The plot here is pretty complicated, but the writing is sharp and the directing and editing is tight, which gives the whole episode a polish that is rare for a show so early in its run, particularly by ST standards. TNG is great, but there is no doubt that is stumbled a lot in its first two seasons. While season 1 is probably my least favorite from DS9, that is mainly just because the show continually got better as it went, and not due to any real flaws with the season, aside from perhaps some claustrophobia setting-wise.

In general, Bajoran episodes are among my least favorite ones on DS9 (probably mainly because they always feature Kira, who is my least favorite character on the show), but the excellent use of suspense and tension and some really great pacing (not to mention a lot of great moments with Garak and/or the Duras sisters) makes this episode highly enjoyable in spite of poorly-acted Kira tantrums and those awful drab Bajoran uniforms.

THE GOOD

• Garak!! I think arguably the best part about DS9 is the deep roster of great recurring characters like Garak, Dukat, Weyoun, Damar, Martok, etc. The overall acting talent of the main cast is pretty average at best, but the recurring characters are almost always a highlight of any episode they appear in. And of all the best recurring characters, Garak is my favorite (well, he and Damar are tied as my favs). Andrew Robinson’s acting is incredible and he absolutely oozes a serpentine quality that is perfect for the enigmatic Cardassian tailor. Watching him toy with Bashir in this episode is like seeing an apex predator play with its food. You really never know what Garak is going to do next, and every scene with him is just a joy to watch.
• I love seeing the Duras sisters here. They are cartoonishly evil but immensely amusing. For better or worse, they capture your full attention every time they are on screen. And having another TNG cameo effectively reinforces what Picard’s presence in the pilot was showing--that these two series are taking place at the same time in the same basic setting.
• “Go over my head again, and I’ll have yours...on a platter.” One thing I love about Sisko is his ‘no BS’ attitude. Even the ever-petulant Kira was cowed by that dressing-down.
• The Odo and Kira scene in the security office is good. Even though I don’t care for Kira very much, their friendship is nice and Rene Auberjonois is a really great actor who gets to shine here.

THE BAD

• The Bajoran clothes and uniforms are ugly and I hate them. Every Bajoran-centric episode is 10% less enjoyable due to that alone.
• Some mediocre acting from the guy who plays Tahna, as well as by Nana Visitor, drags the scenes down a bit where it’s just the two of them.

THE UGLY

• Runabout roster: Ganges, Yangtzee Kiang, Rio Grande
• Odo shapeshift count: 1 (rat), 3 total for series
• If Gul Danar looks familiar, that’s because he is played by Vaughn Armstrong, who has played a total of eleven different ST characters to date. This is his second appearance, with his role as a renegade Klingon in the TNG season 1 episode “Heart of Glory” being his first, and Admiral Maxwell Forest on ENT being his most numerous and recognizable.
• I was curious why the Ganges has a extra module on its dorsal side that the Yangtzee Kiang doesn’t have. Turns out that is an advanced sensor module, which explains why the Ganges can monitor the Yangtzee around the moon but not vice-versa.
• It’s unclear why Tahna said he needed a warp-capable ship for his mission. Everything seems to take place within the Bajoran system, so a sublight ship would work just fine. However, the top speed of a Danube-class runabout is Warp 5, which about 200 times the speed of light. Since it takes them about 2.5 minutes to get to DS9, that implies that DS9 is 9 billion kilometers away, or about 60 AU. For reference, Neptune is about 30 AU from the sun, which means that DS9 and the wormhole are probably very far out on edge the Bajoran solar system and would make a sublight journey possibly take a very long time, increasing the chances his plan would be detected and stopped. 
• The Cardassian ship takes about 4 minutes to reach DS9 from the Cardassian border. The top speed of a Galor-class cruiser is around warp 8 (about 1000 times the speed of light), which means the Cardassian border is only .008 light years away, or about 493 AU. This implies that a large part of the Bajoran system’s Oort cloud (if it has one) isn’t even in Bajoran space, as the Oort cloud is believed to be able to extend more than a lightyear from its parent star. 
• Dax and someone else should have been piloting the Ganges, not Sisko and O’Brien. It makes no sense for the CO and chief engineer to be doing that job. It would have been nice for Dax to actually have something to do in the episode, too.

RATING: 8/10

The Saga Continues: Episode II Attack of the Clones

I just finished re-watching all six Lucas-era Star Wars films in episode order (I-VI) with the commentary and want to give my reviews of each film. Let me preface by saying that I am a lifelong Star Wars fan who grew up with the original trilogy and literally have no memory of a time in my life before SW. As such, I am not going to be totally unbiased in my reviews, but I will try to be somewhat objective.

Attack of the Clones begins ten years after The Phantom Menace. After an assassination attempt on (now) Senator Amidala's life, Obi-Wan and Anakin are called in to protect her—Anakin as her bodyguard and Obi-Wan as a detective following an intergalactic trail of evidence to discover who is trying to kill her and why. The investigation leads him to discover many dark secrets about the Jedi, the Republic, and who has been pulling the strings this whole time. As a result, a war erupts between the Republic and the Separatists under the control of the mysterious Sith lord, Darth Sidious. Begun, the Clone Wars have.

Let me start by saying that this is definitely my least favorite of the six Lucas films. The love story is tedious, there's no exceptional actors to make up for the absence of Liam Neeson, the cgi is too much, and Anakin is so unlikable that you almost stop caring that he will eventually turn evil. George Lucas loves to describe Anakin's story as a tragedy in the vein of a classic Greek play, but a tragedy where the tragic figure is not sympathetic is not a very good tragedy at all.

All that said, I still enjoy this film a bit. The politics are probably the saving grace of this one.

THE GOOD

• Christopher Lee is the one great actor but unfortunately he doesn't even appear until halfway through the movie. Still, every scene he is in is a treat.
• The way Palpatine has manipulated everything is absolutely masterful to see. It can be lost in the mess of cgi and Anakin's temper tantrums, but in this movie it's established that Palpatine (possibly through Dooku) created a clone army with the intention of starting a civil war eventually and giving that clone army to the Republic as massive Trojan Horse. He then orchestrated the assassination attempts on Padme, in order to lead the Jedi to Kamino where they would discover the clone army created for them (and also made sure Padme and Anakin were placed together so he would develop a forbidden attachment to her--the fatal weakness he would eventually exploit to turn Anakin to the Dark Side). Meanwhile, he continued to play the Separatists from both sides to artificially create this conflict to keep him in office and allow him to accumulate more executive power. Finally, the whole time he was grooming Anakin and pushing him to explore his dark side so that he could eventually make him his new apprentice. All around it's a brilliant work of art to see in action, and really he deserved to become emperor because he was way smarter and more competent than the Jedi or anyone else in these movies.
• Love seeing the Slave I. It might be my favorite ship in the SW universe.

THE BAD

• Anakin is a petulant, unlikable, self-centered brat. I almost couldn't wait for him to fall into the lava in the next movie because then I wouldn't have to look at his stupid whiny face anymore. However, if you think about it, Vader was occasionally petulant in the original trilogy too, so I guess it's in character (strangling people for disagreeing with him, for example).
• The cgi is just...way too much. The alien that Obi-Wan meets in the diner in particular just looks so fake. And it really makes me angry (probably irrationally so) when they tell us repeatedly in the commentary that not a single clone trooper suit was built and they were all 100% cgi. The whole movie feels inconsequential and fake because of how overboard they went on the cgi.
• The love story is hard to watch. It's not believable that a brilliant, mature, and successful woman with a good head on her shoulders would fall in love with a petulant, emotionally unstable child. And Anakin is straight up creepy towards her in the scenes on Coruscant and Naboo. The scenes on Tatooine where he finally quits creeping on her and they talk like friends are actually very good and with more interactions like that, the love story might have been more believable.
• The dialogue, as always.

THE UGLY

• The fact that the Jedi don't seem concerned about the origins of the clone army and just decide to use it without asking any questions is pretty massive incompetence on their part. In fact, throughout these prequels their complacency and incompetence makes me think they deserved to get wiped out. Yoda is the worst offender here, as he is supposed to be extremely wise and powerful and yet throughout the movies he repeatedly makes critical mistakes that lead to the fall of the Jedi (allowing Anakin to be trained, using and trusting the clone army, not figuring out who was pulling the strings, etc.).
• I know the Expanded Universe is not canon and now isn't even part of SW anymore thanks to Disney, but the EU background for Boba Fett was that he was from a race of elite warriors called the Mandalorians and he has fought against the Jedi in the Clone Wars. This movie establishing him as a stormtrooper clone and a kid instead is just...infinitely less interesting.

RATING: 6/10