This isn't a bad film, just different....

Rating: 10/10 (21 October 2012)

Honestly, a lot of the negative reaction to this film, aside from it's flat dialogue (a well known trait of George Lucas films, but also present in the original Star Wars), came from the fact that people had rigid expectations. They wanted a space western, full of Han Solo type characters, epic classical warfare, and a visual style that was identical to the original.
Lucas however had always planned the Star Wars saga like an epic novel; the era of the Republic was always going to be one that was markedly different from the era of the Empire. He displayed a remarkable understanding for how history unfolds, and how humans doom themselves. His goal was also not merely to produce entertainment, but actual art; something that spoke about timeless truths. The Jedi may not articulate it very well, but there is a depth of real philosophy at work under the entire film. One of the sources of inspiration for him, was the idea that certain truths are beyond culture, and have been expressed many times in different ways. He wanted to express them again, in a way modern people could understand, no matter what their cultural background was.
It isn't actually a bad movie.
Compared to some recent attempts in Hollywood to craft a perfect film, painting by numbers, with scene after scene of music-video like cool (but shallow) ideas, which results in utterly bland entertainment - this is actually interesting. It is interesting because it does not try to be perfect - no film can be; by not trying, you often end up with something more imaginative.
It has actual substance.
The Jedi order, the Republic, the galaxy, it's planets, it's species, it's people - they are all caught in a time of change, yet have no understanding of the forces shaping their lives.
The Jedi order, hold a historical position that is like a mixture of Roman legionary, Knight Templar, or martial artist monk. The influences underpinning them are surprisingly diverse. They share traits from many different cultures; monastic communities from medieval Europe or Asia, mysticism and philosophy that wouldn't be out of place in ancient Europe, ancient India, ancient Persia, or ancient China.
In other words, they represent a certain tradition that has been present in all human cultures, in all times. They represent the best of that tradition, and not the corruption and dogma that it so often became associated with.
The force they fight is nothing less than the problems that our civilisation deals with to this very day. They fight the worst tendencies in our lives, the ones that determine whether we are happy or not - whether a politician is corrupt or not - whether we hurt others or not - whether we are comfortable in our own skin or not - whether we can maintain a relationship or not. Anger, hate, fear, bigotry, self-doubt; all the psychology that we know collectively as "evil" - and the people who use it. These forces manifest as corruption, exploitation, slavery, war, racism and are exploited by opportunists and fanatics - the antithesis of the the Jedi order. It is the story of the decline of a civilisation, and the decline of a single man.
In short, it is actually a very good film.
Worth your time, worth deep consideration, worth multiple viewings.