Star Wars is No Longer Just A Movie

Rating: 7/10 (21 June 2002)

First I want to say that I really liked it. It certainly won't win any Academy awards for acting, or screenplay. But it was mostly entertaining.
HOWEVER,
It should be obvious to all that Star Wars is no longer just a movie series. It is an empire. And the new Star Wars trilogy is designed to make money, first and foremost. It is expected that people will watch the movie, but it doesn't stop there. They will buy action figures, lego toys, video games, and books. For example, the POD Race in the Episode I, was there any doubt in anybody's mind that the sole purpose of the VERY lengthy scene was to sell a Pod Race video game?
The second motivation behind the trilogy is to push ILM to new heights. Effects that were considered complex in Episode I, are probably much more commonplace now. The script, and acting take a back seat to the effects. But to be fair to the actors, I doubt there are many actors that could do well in these roles when they are all standing in a soundstage covered in blue paper, and hopping on springboards. How could anyone get into the role under those conditions?
George Lucas has an extremely difficult job, which most people bashing him can't comprehend. He has to please a lot of different groups of people. This movie has to please the old Star Wars fans, and the new. The complexity of putting together a movie like this means that no one area can be totally polished. No, the love story was not very convincing. But there was so much more to this story that just that aspect of it. It's not the same as if Lucas was producing Romeo and Juliet. There wasn't time to develop a convincing romance and tell the rest of the story also. I think Lucas is going to have a real challenge ahead of him in Episode III because he has to make it interesting. That's not going to be easy since we know everything that has happened before Ep III, and everything that happens after Ep III. And normally at the end of a trilogy there should be some great celebration of victory with a happy ending. But that certainly won't be the case with EpIII.