Star Wars fans need some perspective

Rating: 1/10 (24 May 2005)

I can only shake my head when I see review after review on IMDb giving this film a 10/10 rating. Did all of you slip into a comma and have a wonderful dream and wake up thinking you watched a spectacular film? I am beside myself to explain how ANYONE could rate this film even 5/10.
As far as acting, writing, and directing, this has to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. There are several scenes that are so painful, it is beyond belief how they could ever escape an editors eye, let alone be approved by a director. The scene where Palpatine is begging Windu not to kill him is so laughably acted it should be considered a crime. Sam Jackson was not much better in the same scene. I honestly don't blame the actors because they have both proved to be excellent. It just goes to show that a good director can make the difference between a terrible scene and a great scene, no matter how it is written.
Speaking of writing, this is another area where the film is absolutely dreadful. Lucas has proved without a doubt that he has lost all touch with reality. There are so many lines in the film that make you want to crawl out of the theatre in shame. The final insult takes place when the newly minted Darth Vader screams out NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. This has to be the lowest point in any movie I have ever seen. What was he thinking? I would not expect that kind of hackery from a straight to video B movie.
I won't even go into the plot holes, or the fact that Anakin's motivation to turn to the dark side is laughable, and becomes even more absurd when he turns to the dark side so quickly without nary a struggle. Even worse (yes it can actually get worse) the relationship between Padme and Anakin has zero chemistry, they don't seem to be anymore in love then two dead dodo birds. And somehow Padme goes from being mildly pregnant to giving birth in the matter of minutes. Then I get slapped in the face again when she spontaneously names the babies (which look very large and mature for newborns) then dies of a broken heart. So much for Motherly instinct.
Visually, the movie is a new high mark for digital technology, and I'm sure no one expected anything less. It does not always work, and often there is actually too much eye candy going on. But something like that is more than forgivable if the writing and acting is carrying the film. Unfortunately, the film clunks along at an uneven pace. More often than not, a scene is thrown in just to technically tie up a few loose ends and not to serve the story. There are parts of the film that are quite good, but for every good scene there are 3 scenes that should have been left on the hard drives, or another few takes to get them right. Actually, it almost appears that Lucas filmed 1 take for most of the scenes, it really feels that way. Who does he think he is, Ed Wood?
The bottom line is, RotS lacks emotion, feeling, and plays like it has no soul. It is the result of a director and writer that has precious little experience and it really shows. Lucas has done tremendous things for the movie business, but his pride got in the way. He should have handed off the writing and directing duties to someone else. The concepts are solid, the story is interesting, but the execution is so utterly flawed is becomes a farce wrapped in spectacular visuals.