Not as weak as the Phantom Menace but still weak...

Rating: 3/10 (18 May 2002)

I admit it wasn't as bad as the last movie but the movie is at best mediocre. The charm of the first movie, a New Hope, was the one story line of the little band of heroes just escaping from one scrape to another and finally ending with the big Death Star climax. In Empire, we got two story lines, Han, Leia and gang and Luke and Yoda. Again, Han just escapes from one scrape to another and Luke face Vader and loses. Great stuff. Jedi had three story lines. Lando and the fleet, Han & the Ewoks, Luke and Vader on the station. It was a bit much but it worked. Weaker than its predecessors but it was still good.
Flash forward a few decades and we all greatly anticipated the great epic that was Star Wars: Jar Jar Binks. Enough said. I saw the movie three times and came away enjoying it by blocking out Jar Jar the 2nd and 3rd time.
This time I expected very little. I wasn't disappointed. The story line jumped all over the place. As soon as I got interested in someone (the bounty hunter at the beginning, Bobba Fett's dad) they're gone, just a flash in the pan. Christopher Lee should be a great villain but we don't see him until the end. Ewan McGregor just seems to be walking through his parts and leaves me not caring about Obi Wan which is sad since I was a huge Sir Alec Guiness fan. I didn't expect much from Christiensen, I mean Canadian TV to Star Wars is a bit of a stretch, so I forgave him his annoying pouty moments. I thought Portman was great, beyond the fact that she puts Carrie Fisher to shame looks wise. Yoda of course steals the show but too little, too late and any way when a puppet is the best part of a movie... hmmm...
I'll see this movie two more times. I had to do the same in order to enjoy Phantom Menace. Maybe I'll soften after a few more sittings. But I'm afraid the magic of the first three movies so many decades ago will never be recaptured by Lucas