Made it big on hype

Rating: 3/10 (20 March 2008)

I admit that when I first saw this film in theaters, I thought it was the greatest. Now I realize that the 16 years between ROTJ and this film would have made me like anything called Star Wars. My wife actually had not seen the other films before this and could have watched them all in episode order. Too bad the movie was too painfully slow and boring to allow that. It's obvious that this film rides the coattails of the others too much. Providing back-story doesn't have to be boring. I haven't even bought the DVD version because I know I'll probably never watch it. Indeed, this film foreshadowed problems with the whole prequel trilogy. Lucas could have improved on the originals with better writing, story and character development. Other reviewers are right in saying that the effects have taken center stage. Style over substance, analogous to our entertainment culture as a whole.