great plot, extremely enjoyable and absorbing

Rating: 10/10 (18 May 2002)

Without revealing anything, I'd like to say that as a history buff who has read widely about the rise of Nazism (eg. "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by Shirer, "The Gathering Storm" by Churchill) that I saw many parallels between the subterfuge that takes place by the Sith in this movie and the rise of Nazism (re. the acquisition of emergency powers). Clearly, some though went into the plot in this one, and I was extremely impressed at that depth of recognition about just how surprisingly dirty evil people can get. Good isn't necessarily smarter than evil.
I enjoyed everything about this movie. I think some of the critics are being far too hard on this movie, and look upon the original trilogy somewhat romantically. I well-remember seeing A New Hope back in 1977, and it didn't impress me as much as I had hoped (though I read Lucas' novelization first, and enjoyed that). The Empire Strikes Back was a fantastic movie, though I hated the scene with the space slug, and how they could walk around outside the ship unproducted - major gaffes in an otherwise good movie. Return of the Jedi was quite uneven - has everyone forgotten the Ewoks?

What everyone DID love unabashedly about the original trilogy at the time was the wonderful detail, and I had a friend who essentially became an artist because of it. Lucas put an effort into building a world. I think he knows that was one of its strengths, and the latest movie has an unbelievable amount of texture and detail that demands repeat viewings. Yes, the battles were frenetic and overwhelming in action, but shouldn't they be between Jedi and mechanicals?
Christensen was a big strength of this movie, and in fact he reminds me very much of a teenage relative in terms of his angst. It was a spot-on portrayal, as far as I was concerned. Yes, the love scenes were awkward and the dialogue was a bit formal and awkward ... but Lucas IS trying to portray a romance between (essentially) a teenage knight and a queen, and this IS Anakins first love, and he IS a disturbed character. It Anakin had lines that were completely polished I would have found it too unbelievable. Were we any smoother as teenagers in our first love?
Thanks, George, I can't wait until the next one.