30 seconds of meaningful cinema

Rating: 4/10 (13 July 2007)

The Star Wars trilogy (IV to VI) was path breaking - the special effects were like never before seen, the story had meaning, the cast was interesting. There was substance, there was excitement. Now Mr. Lucas has lost all his magic and turned this into a meaningless franchise of useless drivel. Episode I was horrific - the menace of Jar Jar Binks has me cowering. I skipped EP II. But I was a captive audience (as in on a long bus ride) to Episode III. The special effects made me feel like I was watching a video game in progress. The robots all died after three shots, screams and their eyes exploding! Anakin was played by arguably the worst actor ever - who told Lucas that Hayden Christensen could act? And Natalie Portman was no better. Yoda and Obi Wan were the only engaging characters. Even Samuel L. Jackson flailing about with his light saber couldn't save this travesty. The last 30 seconds when the metallic mask was finally put on Darth Vader, dotted some is and crossed some longstanding ts. But was the 2 hour long torture necessary? This is one to be avoided at all costs. A word of advice to Mr. Lucas regarding numbers 7, 8 and 9 - please do not go there!