The worst in the series?

Rating: 5/10 (21 June 2008)

Yes, of all six. At this point, nothing(or infinitely, insignificantly little) remains "real" in these movies. That, in itself, doesn't have to be a problem. But we can tell. It doesn't feel right. Sin City doesn't have this problem, nor does 300. The effects are, technically speaking, amazing, but nothing else in this really goes beyond being "decent". The romance lacks credibility(and yes, I am aware that some of it was left on the cutting room floor, but we're going by the finished product, not the intent). The overall story... well, Lucas gives many fans something they may have wanted in spite of there being absolutely no basis for it, and sacrifices it making sense in doing so. This tries too hard to tie in with the OT(which, I should point out so that no one mistakes me for someone who grew up with it, I didn't attentively view until Episode I was out). The dialog gets to be downright painful, with one even contradicting something in the first(written by the same guy, a few years earlier...!). The plot isn't that engaging, and things that ought to be in the next are here(and vice versa). The pacing is reasonable. The light-saber bits could be considerably better(they are particularly unimpressive compared to Phantom Menace), and at times, it's the tamest it's been since Return, although it isn't all bad. The action in general, mostly, it's just overdone, and goes on for too long. There are cool ideas and concepts, but their lackluster execution results in them merely being unable to be used soon by more talented film-makers. The title could be that of a 50's schlocky sci-fi flick. The battles do have notable, interesting aspects... in the editing and cinematography, mainly. The actors have put in solid performances elsewhere, or, at least, less embarrassing ones. Characters could stand improvement, and, you know, consistency. The score is still good. The DVD holds over a dozen(not all more than minutes long) featurettes, deleted scenes, trailers, TV-spots and a commentary. I recommend this exclusively to those who must watch all of Star Wars. 5/10