Visually stunning yet lacking

Rating: 7/10 (16 May 2002)

This movie exactly fits the expectations set by the four preceding Star Wars movies. The acting is mediocre at best, grating against the cheesy script: for example, in a near death situation, Anakin states, as though it were the most serious thing in the world, "I have a bad feeling about this." The graphics are, of course, incredible, and the adrenaline rushes were worth the $5.75 entrance fee, and some of the scenery was fabulous, but if the movie had to stand on its own without being part of the Star Wars mania, it would be barely memorable at all.
Basically, I think that everyone who is the least bit curious as to the continuing saga of our Skywalker heroes should see it, but newcomers to the series shouldn't buy into it simply because of the publicity. The plot moves too quickly for that, and the scenes are so spliced that it's sometimes hard to remember what's happening. However, I rated it seven out of ten stars simply for the effort it must have taken to produce something so large in scale.