Miles and miles better than “The Phantom Menace.” Each fight scene is cooler than the next; it is just a carnival to look at. The problem lies in the gaps between the fight scenes. I’ve done some serious thinking and my conclusion is this: there is no one to root for. Anakin, we know, is the bad guy. Hard to get behind him. And Obi-Wan, with all love to Ewan and Alec, is a wooden bore. The third POV is a mish-mosh of confusing. ominous ruminations from Yoda and Sam Jackson that are among the most boring scenes in the history of cinema. This is my second viewing and I still don’t know what the hell this movie is about. Who is fighting who? Are we really rooting for a group that uses a eugenically cloned army to fight their war? Was Yoda behind the cloning? Are there enough of those robots out there to fight the Clones? When Jango Fett poison darts his hitwoman Zan, why doesn’t he just dart Anakin and Obi-Wan, too? And, um, what are they fighting about again? And wasn’t Terence Stamp in “The Phantom Menace?” Jurgen, Shappy — somebody please tell me what’s going on? Here’s why “A New Hope” is a great film and why this is a groovy sound and light show but ultimately hollow — “A New Hope” has Luke Skywalker. . . new to the World around here and we are discovering everything with him. And then there’s a Princess to save and a metal sphere than blows up planets to destroy. 1, 2, 3. Unless you are obsessed with Star Wars and have time to do follow-up reading, it is impossible to know, or to care about, what is happening. Also, there is no Han Solo character. I just don’t mean a lovable rogue, I mean a “real” character — Han Solo would fit in on Earth. Bogart could have played Han Solo. Mace Windu, Count Dooku, Senator Amidala, Jango Fett and the God-awful kid playing young Boba. . .they all speak in staunch comic book speak. Oddly, it is Jar Jar Binks’ brave Adlai Stevenson-at-the-UN stand in “Clones” that is the only moment in the entire film when something interesting happens coming from a character’s humanity. Natalie Portman is a fine actress, but she is playing this part like cardboard. Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia had wit and depth. Anyway, that said, I liked the groovy screensaver aspect of this film an awful lot — it is unmatched.