at least the special effects were good...

Rating: 6/10 (2 June 2002)

*** possible spoilers ahead ***
for me, the star wars series peaked with the empire strikes back and went down hill after that. i was hoping that this latest installment of the series would reinvigorate my appetite for the star wars universe but in the end it was only mildly successful.
some of the things i liked:

the blade runner city sequence in the beginning. a bit overblown but visually entertaining nevertheless.

the cg creatures in the arena combat sequence, a great tribute to the master of stop motion effects, ray harryhausen.

the large battle sequence at the end, lots of action with the jedis and armored storm troopers. scifi combat at its best.

some of the things i didnt like:

the bad acting and dialogue. ugghhh

the silly love story. enough said on that topic

the overall look and design of the star war vehicles and droids. a minor irritant, but everything in this movie (and the phantom menace) looks far more futuristic and superior than those vehicles seen in the original trilogy and yet this all takes place prior.

the lightsaber battle at the end. the whole sequence was disappointing with our two heroes lying helpless on the ground defeated by 80 year old christopher lee. not since raul julia took on jean-claude van dame in street fighter(1994) has there been a more visually mismatched duel. throw in yoda with his jumping light saber attacks and you have an unintentionally hilarious showdown.