Ego, George, ego!

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2005)

Like many of the reviewers here, I grew up with the "Star Wars" movies and was enthralled by them. Of course, looking back, I can see their defects: the clunky writing, stagy dramatics, the weird mishmash of acting styles, and so on, but there is an attraction to the movies even today. As much as I wanted to love the last of the "Star Wars" movies, I cannot embrace it completely. It has the same problems as the previous ones: lifeless dialog, non actors and non acting, and a triumph of computer graphics over any human engagement or emotion. The difference this time is that things have been pumped up to an almost operatic excess, but without the rigid underpinnings that would make it work. Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader remains the same as his Anakin Skywalker, a lumpen, petulant crybaby who's transformation into Vader is so unconvincing as to be laughable. Lucas' own misstep here, I think, is to fall back on the lame love story between Skywalker and Amidala; Skywalker is more interesting in his moments of hubris and arrogance (Christensen's petulance comes off more convincingly here), than in his stilted, grade school "all we need is our love" scenes with Natalie Portman, who is as much a non-actor as Christensen is. The scene of Vader (now possessing James Earl Jones' iconic voice) screaming "noooo!" in slow motion shows that Lucas did not pay nearly enough attention to the quality of his script as he claimed he did, or those who surround him are as bereft of dramatic judgment as he is (honestly, were any of you out there moved by that hokey moment?). That said, the computer effects are impressive, there is no doubt about that, the fight scenes are excellent, especially the concluding Vader/Kenobi duel (at least when no one is talking or attempting to emote, though Kenobi's final words to Vader are effective). Lucas is to be congratulated for not tip toeing around Vader's transformation into a cruel figure, he slaughters little children, his friends and allies, and even nearly kills his own wife. These scenes work simply because the innate dramatic intensity of the scenes (the the weight of the entire series) come to the forefront, rather than the unconvincing dramatic chops of his leads. The fact that a good portion of the movie is fighting, flying, and killing is what, in my mind, rates it as high as it does, these scenes are excellent in their own right. If only Lucas' ego hadn't gotten in the way, and he turned the script over to a writer of talent!