What a great fit in the saga!

Rating: 10/10 (17 May 2002)

I have been hearing people complaining about how uninspired this film is emotionally. I believe this is for good reason. We have seen how ships in Phantom Menace had beautiful lines and style, but as we move through time towards A New Hope it becomes utilitarian and functional. This has been explained as a move from an age of the Republic's beauty and art into an age of Trade Federation cold capitalism and ultimately into an age of Imperial totalitarianism. I believe a similar thing is happening with personality styles. We have a republic that is sick and dying and being torn apart, and much of it is based on the fact that the politicians are mostly bureaucrats and passionless, and that a Jedi's guiding principle is restraining emotions. Since these are the people who are getting the wool pulled over their eyes by charismatic separatists like Dooku and Sidious, you can see why they are destined to fail. Like many civilizations in decline, they are apathetic and listless, and they are bound to be boring in comparison to their descendants Han Solo, Leia, Luke Skywalker in the coming rebellion who have a reason to light a fire in their eyes and hearts. They are like the revolutionaries that fought for freedom in America. They are the Jeffersons and Reveres of Star Wars. Comparing a Naboo Senator and a pack of cool headed Jedis to the gang on the Millenium Falcon is unreasonable. It is like comparing George W. Bush to George Washington. It all depends on whether you are trying to defend freedom from a position of power, or fighting for it from a far off empire's "Most Wanted" list. Remember, England promised the death penalty for anyone who signed the Declaration of Independence. America is an old republic now, I see no passion in leadership here either. To sum it up. If Han, Leia, and Luke were running the Republic, I doubt they would have been all that interesting either. Eddie Keever