I was a little disappointed in the movie, because with the exceptions of Christopher Lee and Ian MacDiarmid (is that his name? Palpatine, I mean) I thought the acting was weak. Even Ewan MacGregor wasn't given much to do, and Natalie Portman (whom I usually think is good) seemed pretty sappy, too. Then again, much of the writing for the love scenes was silly "you are in my very soul" stuff, so it may not be her fault.

But (and in this case it's a very big but), the visuals were breathtaking! I'd love to live on Naboo!

I think the difference between Lucas and Tolkien re singing is not American versus English, but Sci Fi versus Fantasy, and to some extent movie versus novel. The whole idea of heroic song, while not absent from techno sci fi, is much less prevalent than it is in fantasy, whether by English or American (or Canadian or continental) authors. And while Lord of the Rings is an interesting comparison, remember that all the songs were left out of the movie. Legolas doesn't go around singing all the time, Bombadil was cut entirely, and the spontaneous outbreaks of balladry just don't happen. Remember that the director/"auteur" of that movie was Australian.

I think, in defense of Celtic Soul, that a lot of what people on this list (and elsewhere in the world--this is not a mudcat gripe) see as deficiencies in the world are put down as Americanisms, even by Americans. But very often there are other explanations.