Mavimao said:
The real problem with AOTC is that the idea is sound but is ruined by the execution.

…

There’s a great story here! But George’s weaknesses in storytelling and direction hamper the whole thing and the execution is lousy.

I do think one shouldn’t nitpick too much with this movie, but unlike other films with glaring plothole issues that you can forgive, AOTC is so boring and badly acted that these plotholes just stare at you like a thousand deer in headlights.

The real problem is that the script was written in like 2 months. It seems George was more occupied with developing the digital cinema thing. (Maybe it’s because his eyesight is getting worse with age but sub-1080p resolution is fit for cinema now?) And not occupied enough with making a good movie.

There were some discussions either on here or on TFN I don’t remember where, about how the plot might have had developed through the early drafts. And there’s some really good ideas in there that coupled with better direction might have made it a good film. But it seems like there just wasn’t time to develop those ideas due to the very short pre-production period. So we got a very simplified and sieve-like version instead.