Regarding the general idea that the PT was just too synthetic and smooth looking, I would like to compare the production methodologies of the PT versus what James Cameron used for AVTR. I'll just paste a post I made at TFN a few months ago. This was in response to a claim that somebody made that there was all this great subtext and symbolism in the PT movies. (My argument was that most all of the subtext and symbolism there we, the audience, project onto it and it is not usually intended by Lucas.)
The making of the [PT] is VERY well documented, and so I think it's obvious that there's not some Great Hidden Mystery buried in the movies.
The scripts were obviously written in a hurried, haphazard manner, with plenty of late changes. It wasn't like the writing of ANH or ESB where there were multiple drafts, each unique with their own reflections on the story. The process for the PT (most especially AOTC and ROTS) was:
(1) Lucas comes up with very, very crude outline and gives vague instructions for the art design team
(2) Art design team comes up with numerous illustrations of characters, settings, creatures, vehicles, etc.
(3) Lucas approves select designs and set-construction and digital asset creation begin
(4) Lucas utilizes those designs as some combination of inspiration and guide as he writes the one and only draft of the script
This process is well-documented on the DVDs, "Making of" books, testimonials, etc., etc., etc.
And since that's the process, there's obviously no time or inclination of Lucas to include narrative depth and philosophical ideas into the process.
In fact, even the stories themselves were often changed at the very-last second - critical parts of the story. Examples include Sidious revealing that he's Anakin's father and the identity of Sifo-Dyas (who was originally Sidious, then implied to be Dooku, and then the EU created a different story).
So, most of the depth of the PT was created by the large, first-rate design team that LFL hired, because they did the vast majority of the idea- and data-conjuring.
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If we then look at the production of the PT movies themselves, we can see that, again, there's no opportunity for depth in the performances, blocking, or improvising. In fact, by every account of the PT I've ever heard, the productions were virtually raced along in Australia (for AOTC and ROTS). You can see this in the documentaries, and there are many quotes to this effect throughout the production. Actors were given minimal "aids" to counteract the all-digital process.
To draw a comparison to a movie that made more money than all the PT movies combined, look at 'Avatar': There, it was also a largely digital production, but James Cameron had a strict edict that the acting was paramount. (He usually talks about this in reference to the motion/performance capture, but it also applies to the production itself.) For the scenes where the Na'vi aliens are pleading with their deity to save a life (of Grace and then Jake), ethereal music was pumped in loudly and everybody was "coached up" to get into a trance-like mood. Another example would be the scene where the Na'vi are fleeing as Hometree is being destroyed by the military. There, stagehands were throwing little Nerf ball-like objects at the actors and other tricks were used to make them LITERALLY dodge and flee shrapnel. The 'Avatar' production also took, I believe, seven or eight months. (It actually occurred in three separate phases, but I think the primary performance capture period was this long, I believe.) The PT movies, on the other hand, were filmed in 60 days, plus about 14 more for pick-ups.
That's all, basically, a fact.
The question is, does any of this show up in the movie? My strong opinion is that, yes, it does. In the PT (especially AOTC, in my opinion) it's almost clinical - there's a tonal bifurcation between the actors and the sets around them. Lots of the lines the actors speak them as though they have no clue about the context - virtually the full Invisible Hand scene is like this, to cite just one example. Conversely, in 'Avatar', there was (light) talk about an Oscar nomination for Zoe Saldana....and she was a cartoon character in the movie! Whatever flaws 'Avatar' might have, I don't think anybody could say that it was flat or clinical.
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So, what I'm saying is that I think that SW in general, but ESPECIALLY the PT, are unquestionably light. The movies' VERY tight budgets of time and money also resulted in a tight budget of thought and complexity. Viewers can IMAGINE and PROJECT complexity and depth in the movies, but that's not the same as the moviemakers intending that. The PT is pretty much WYSIWYG. For the most part.