Missed It By That Much

Rating: 6/10 (8 April 2006)

Although I have always had misgivings about the "Star Wars" prequels, and felt vindicated by the wretched "Phantom Menace" and insipid "Attack of the Clones," I'd hoped all the hype about "Revenge of the Sith" was true. Alas, while Lucas succeeded in breaking his slump, "Sith" is still not in a league with the first three films. The irony is that "Sith" fails primarily due to John Williams' obtrusive score. There's WAY too much music. It drowns out dialog essential to following the convoluted plot. This is ironical because Williams' original music was a big part of the driving force behind the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
I wished Lucas had saved his effort and made the epilogue films instead of the prequels, since Annakin's character never dominates the proceedings in the way Obiwan's does. Since we know Obiwan doesn't die until "Star Wars," this robs the movie of any of its suspense. However, with a toned down score, the movie would merit an "8". As presently presented, however, it barely musters a "6".