Okay, I've seen this movie twice now. The first time, I was blinded by fandom, and I really enjoyed myself. Cool, I thought, Lucas is making up for his past mistakes by letting this film be as raw and brutal as it should be. By showing us the true depths of Anakin's despair, he's allowing us a glimpse of how far his fall is to Darth Vader.

Wrong. I saw the movie again, and I was dead wrong. This film is actually worse than either of the previous two entries (I hold Episodes IV, V, and VI as separate). The brutality is nothing if not gratuitous. The woodenness of Anakin's affection for Padme--and her indifferent love in return--does nothing to explain why Anakin would slaughter children (I refuse to call them 'younglings'). I know, he's supposed to be merciless, but sheesh, could we have had at least one adult Jedi for him to cut down, instead of kids and Trade Federation scrubs? As Anakin begins his rampage, I should have been feeling sorrow, loss, anger, hatred for what he became. Instead I only felt puzzled and vaguely nauseated.

Perhaps the whole film's lack of emotional impact--or misplaced emotional impact--can be traced back to the stilted dialogue and uninspired, somnambulant acting. Reportedly, Lucas hired a scriptwriter to help make this script more watchable. But either he hired the wrong one, or the source material was so bad nothing short of Faulkner could have saved it.

Anakin was the main culprit of the overall horrendous acting. I winced every time he said 'Master.' His scenes with Natalie Portman were cringeworthy. He just didn't portray any of the menace, inner conflict, or tortured love that were supposed to have been the catalysts of his fall. I haven't seen any other roles Hayden Christiansen has played, but I hope they're better than this one.

Other actors were not saved from this script. Ewan McGregor seems to have warmed to the role a bit more, but when he's given stupid things to say, you can't help but feel for him. I did like his beard, though. Sam Jackson showed none of his fire, even in his famous death scene. I kept wanting him to yell "Ahhh! You cut off my hand, moth^%fu$%^#!" That, at least, would have been interesting. His death was fairly satisfying, I have to admit, but I wanted more for him.

Ah well. The movie did have its bright spots, even in the acting. Ian McDiarmid was watchable as Palpatine, and admirably conveyed the alternating glee and menace such a character of incarnate evil requires. And Yoda was a highlight, though his backward speech became tiresome after a while. I had to think for a moment at "Not if anything to say about it, I have."

And the lightsaber battles were good. Lucas left behind some of the more acrobatic histrionics (read: BS) he put in the first two installments. That made them a little easier to swallow. I thought the best battle was easily between Palpatine and Yoda. In fact, I think Yoda's portrayal of the alternately frail and godlike green muppet may have been the best thing out of all three movies.

And there were other things to like, some more subtle. As the movie wore on, the colors seemed to become more washed out and gray, matching the visual feel of Episode IV. And Bail Organa rode a Corellian Corvette like Leia had. The ships began to resemble TIE-fighters and Star Destroyers.

But all of that went out the window when we were finally shown Darth Vader in full costume. Okay, it still looked cool. But could Lucas have given James Earl one cool thing to say? Please? Just one? No. Instead, he says "Where is Padme? Is she all right?" And "She was alive, I sensed her." And "Noooooooooooooooo!" Blech.

All in all, I am quite disappointed. I basically lived and breathed Star Wars since I was a kid. I loved the movies like they were a part of me. And I know Lucas made the movies he wanted to make. I just wish he'd made the movies I wanted to see, with some of the mystery, dignity, and insouciance of his earlier masterpieces.

Too much to expect? I suppose so.


Recommended:
No

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older