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If you're a "big Star Wars fan," then it follows you know Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, the most evil man in the universe. Those familiar with the movies would, at the very least, admit a traditional romantic escapade between Amidala and Anakin would be antithetical to the entire Star Wars saga.
Anakin saw his mother die during the development of his relationship with Padme-and you expect him to give you "chemistry" with her? Also, Anakin had always been restricted from romantic connections, a condition of his membership in the Jedi order. Therefore, we can assume Anakin knows nothing of romantic social traditions and is expected to have an akward experiences on the way to love. If you wanted Tom Hanks or Hugh Grant as Anakin Skywalker, with sappy, fun scenes at the park, ice skating, or walking home in the rain, then #1 your appreciation of this type of genre is sadly misguided, and #2 the dramatic framework of the epic would collapse.
In Episode II Anakin is obviously becoming darker, angrier with his environment, as we would expect from someone soon to be leader of an oppressive, evil Empire. This movie could not function in any other way-to do so, that is, to give audiences touching romantic dialogue with characters who seem to be falling head over heels in love-is inconsistent with the broader storyline, and more importantly, outside the normal expectations of a sci-fi film. (Do you remember Sigourney Weaver or Arnold Schwartzenegger falling in love with anyone in their sci-fi films?)
Granted, love is an important component in this story-but Anakin and Amidala are so different, so powerful, so important to the grand scheme of things, that suspension of our traditional expectations of a romantic courtship is necessary to fully appreciate the scope of the story.
Apart from this typical harangue on Episode II (namely that Anakin and Amidala are "sticks" as Roger Ebert put it) the movie is a fantastic achievement, and can stand on its own as a great movie in any of several genres, sci-fi, action, drama. The special effects were, at the time, the best ever. (The Two Towers and Matrix Reloaded now hold that title.) For fans (real fans) of the previous episodes, the Yoda lightsaber scene was likely the most amazing few minutes of film ever experienced- for me, it was.
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