June 3, 2002 -- The Star Wars saga staggers on with Episode II, a slightly better effort than Episode One. The latest installment in the popular movie series has a stronger storyline, but suffers from weak performances and poor romantic chemistry.

Star Wars Episode II is more of an adult-oriented film than the first. It has a love story and the emergence of dark, chaotic forces and the weakening of the Jedi Knights and the Republic. The romance is between Anakin Skywalker (played by Hayden Christensen of "Life as a House") and Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman reprises this role from Episode One). Among those returning from Episode One are Ian McDiarmid as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. This film also deals with the evil forces working to tear apart the Republic and the events that lead to the first signs of the emergence of the dark side of Anakin Skywalker. This episode is to Episode One as "The Empire Strikes Back" was to the first Star Wars film.

Probably the best performance in the film is by veteran actor Christopher Lee of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. He plays Count Dooku. He fits into this role as neatly as he fit the similar role of Saruman in "Lord of the Rings." He plays the part with gusto. In fact, he seems to be the only actor having any fun in this too-serious film. An interesting character, Jango Fett (played by Temuera Morrison of "Vertical Limit") is also explored in this film. Fett is a villain with more complexity than most. He is enigmatic and interesting. He should be more so in the next film in the series. The most hated character in Episode One, Jar Jar Binks, is back, but mercifully his role is quite limited. The dynamic Samuel L. Jackson appears again as Mace Windu the Jedi Knight. Like McGreggor and most of the other actors, Jackson's role is paper-thin. There is almost no character development outside of Anakin Skywalker.

As in Episode One, the ever-advancing state of digital graphics takes center stage. There are spectacular battle scenes, some eye-popping aerial chases through the city, wonderful vistas and magical landscapes. A light-sabre battle featuring an acrobatic Yoda is interesting when you consider how far Yoda has come since we first saw him as a clumsy puppet in the first Star Wars series of films. It seemed a bit funny and a bit sad to see the thoughtful Yoda slip so far out of character. Still, it is a great-looking film.

What dramatic power there is in Episode II still seems to derive largely from the other films in the series. Like Episode One, this film seems stilted and pretentious. The power of myth in the original three films seems greatly weakened in the new series. There is no equivalent character in the new series to match the charisma of Harrison Ford. Yet the story is stronger in Episode II than it was in Episode One and there is more dramatic tension because of the more serious story line. The failure of the film is that it has few charismatic characters, but it does seem to working its way towards developing some good characters for the next film. This film rates a B.

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