When I was eight years old, I sat in a movie theater while the closing credits for The Empire Strikes Back scrolled up on the screen, and I was pissed. Pissed that Han had been sold down the river, pissed that Luke had gotten the snot beaten out of him, and most of all, pissed that George Lucas expected me to wait three years to learn whether or not Vader was really Luke’s father. Back in 1980, that was one heck of a cliffhanger.
As Episode II ends, we’re left with no such anticipation, but more a sense of resignation, a quiet voice that says, so this is where it all goes wrong. We know the fate of the principals, and we’re just sticking it out to learn the exact details. And so, the prequel trilogy unfolds with all the suspense (and drama) of a history lesson.
Part of the problem lies in the storytelling, or lack thereof. Continued...