Impressive Special Effects

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2002)

This is technically speaking a very impressive film. The level of detail evident in the special effects shows that an enormous amount of work must have gone into producing them. If you're not a Star Wars fan, but you like watching "cutting edge" special effects, you won't be disappointed with this.
As for the plot, acting etc., this is all pretty much standard Star Wars fare, so expect a story which moves at a pace designed for a hyperactive 5-year-old with a severe attention deficit disorder and acting as wooden as Yoda's walking stick. And women beware - there's really only one significant female character in the entire movie and in this one there is a token ripping of her costume to excite the boys/men at whom this film was so obviously targeted.
And for all those who moan that it's not as good as the original three films, your memory is playing tricks on you. The acting in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" in particular is absolutely appalling and the plot of the whole series is contrived, paper thin and full of holes. The dialogue in "Empire" (particularly between Han Solo and Princess Leia) often borders on the excrutiating.
Sorry to burst your bubble - it's just that when the original three came out, you overlooked this because the special effects were so groundbreaking and you were probably young and impressionable when you first saw them. Either that, or you were and still are the sort of Sci-Fi geek who won't watch anything
Not that I think the current film is any worse for its faults. It really is a spectacular audio/visual experience. Just don't try and look for anything deeper because it's simply not that kind of movie.