an entertaining and fulfilling roller-coaster ride down nostalgia lane

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2005)

I've just seen the film at a digital night screening, and I must say: even though the film is still flawed, it's not the "revenge of the S-H-I-T" I thought it was going to be. It's by far Lucas's best attempt to recapture the magic that made so many people across the world love the original Star Wars saga.
Let's be honest, "the phantom menace" and "attack of the clones" didn't quite do the original series any justice. It seemed like George Lucas was just trying to promote his visual fx and sound studios by giving them a platform that would be widely anticipated. But I'm willing to forgive Georgie boy for his corporate money making decisions, because "revenge of the sith" is a return to form.
OK, first the bad news. The storyline still consists of hopping from one planet to another, the dialogue is still corny as ever, the acting (though improved) is still too wooden (but that's probably due to blue screen work), and the visuals still look like an elaborate video game disaster (come on Lucas, you're rich enough to pay a costume designer, you don't have to paste a head onto a cgi body!!!). But with that said, that's probably the only thing worth bitching about.
Lucas manages to make us feel for the characters for the very first time. And even though the opening sequence runs a little overlong, the dramatic build up of everything else is spot on.
I won't say anything more about it. I didn't really hate the first two prequels, but I didn't particularly like them either. But this one can 'prudently' be loved by Star Wars fans all over the globe. The circle is truly completed.
Stephen