The Lucas Lite machine has cloned its final self.

Rating: 3/10 (29 May 2005)

In the wake of this film, the risk of George Lucas's bubble finally bursting will rise as he now gets around to doing all those 'other' film projects he's had on the back burner for nearly 30 years. It fathoms the imagination as to how a man could attain such mythical status and a billionaire's portfolio over a directing and writing mini-career that's degenerated since ever since his THX student days (yes, even American Graffiti was overrated). I won't re-walk previously tread ground. The critics of this film have adequately, even eloquently, derided the gross defects of Revenge of the Siths. Many have said it doesn't hold a candle to the original trilogy. I'll be happy to go out on a limb to say, on the contrary, it is perfectly faithful to the mediocrity of the five previous installments. As for the reasons why this film seems to enjoy 8.0+ respectability on this site I would first ask the IMDb to remind us what steps it takes to avoid 'ballot stuffing' and then go on to say that the people who appreciated this film must either a) be under the age of 13, b) were under the age of 13 when New Hope (the first prequel sequel) was released, or c) have become so intoxicated by the direction that cinema has gone since the original Star Wars that they have forgotten that special effects, regardless of how well-executed should never be considered more than frosting on a well-layered cake. They do not replace the classic essentials of story and character.
To his credit, Lucas did take a gigantic leap when he invented Industrial Light and Magic and allowed us all to plunge into fantasy worlds we'd all never dreamed possible before. However, that's all he did. The man is first and foremost a shrewd and dedicated entrepreneur whose brilliant marketing successes in combination with his admitted penchant for working in semi-seclusion have kept him glued before a mirror that only reflects his own artistic grandeur. A self-absorbed ouroboros of sorts. Unfortunately, a stubborn man with billions to spread around will rarely suffer the true backlash of a reality-check.
It is revealing about George Lucas strengths and weaknesses that he founded his three companies, LucasFilm, ILM and Skywalker Sound well before even the first Star Wars went into production. LucasFilm started up the same year as his very first film, THX-1130. Steven Spielberg, in contrast, had developed a solid film and television career well before he developed his Amblin company. With Lucas it has always been business sense before the creative drive. The irony of the 'Lucas phenomenon' is best seen in his winning of the Irving Thalberg award in 1992 for LIFETIME achievement when he was only in his forties. For what? A reworked student film, a flick about cruising for chicks 'n beer and a feature-length video game trilogy? I say the prize was all about start-ups.
All in all Revenge of the Siths was an unwitting piece of humor. My favorite scene was the race between a drunken bump-along flying salamander and the giant double-edged pizza cutter that culminated in a thousand foot plunge down a cylindrical canyon that somehow led them right backon top again?!? As for the writing? Unlike what some have said, the dialogue is more than self-referential, it is self-spoofing. You could have a field day developing bogus foreign language subtitles.
The best service one could render George Lucas is not go to see this film, start him on the road back to poverty (granted it will take 1200 years) and then a) get him off his Lucas Valley ranch, b) re-enlist him in film school, and c) thrust him out into the real world to learn about real 3-D people before attempting any further serious drama. Enough with the sugar-coated airbags. He's got to learn how to make the cake.