What a Star Wars movie fan needed.

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2005)

I saw ROTS last night and I am still trying to process everything I saw. It will probably take at least one more viewing to fully appreciate it, but here is my initial-reaction review.
Before I begin, let me baseline my Star Wars fanship. I am 37 years old (9 years old when ANH came out). I am a fan of the movies (seen all the sequels and prequels on opening weekend.not the SEs), but don't go overboard (don't read the books or comics, never dressed up, never waited overnight). I've seen the OT movies maybe 10-15 times. I've seen TPM and AOTC maybe 5 times each. Here is what I thought of each of the movies: ANH (10): Truly one of the great sci-fi/fantasy films ever made. Still holds up today. Had no objection to any of the SE changes.
ESB (9.5): Great movie. Loved the Yoda stuff. The revelation at the end may be the all-time greatest movie moment. SE changes were a great enhancement.especially to the Hoth scenes.
ROTJ (8): Not as good as a whole as the previous two. The Jabba sequence is among my favorites in the series. Ewoks are kinda lame. The final conflict with Luke/Vader/Emperor is great. (ROTJ: SPOILER WARNING) However, given what I saw in ROTS, I don't believe Anakin makes up for what he has done by killing the Emperor (more on this below). Didn't like the SE/DVD changes so much in the one.
TPM (6): What a disappointment. How did something with so much potential (intro of Anakin, a young Obi-Wan, intro of Luke/Leia's mother, the Jedi council) go so wrong? Too much childish humor (Jar-Jar is a nightmare), a rotten plot and unforgivable that they allowed Anakin and Jar-Jar to he heroes by accident. There are a few good moments.notably Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan/Maul.
AOTC (7.5): Hardest to review. Dizzying highs (Courasant chase, Yoda/Dukoo, Kamino, and the Genosis Arena..possibly the best action sequence in any SW film) and horrifying lows (everything C-3PO says, Anakin/Padme dialog, and politics that are confusing even for a SW fan). Better editing and dialog could have put this among the best in the series.
And now, on to the main event (CAUTION: SPOILERS BELOW): ROTS (9): Overall, it is one of the best SW movies and yet is VERY different from anything else in the other films. It is dark.very dark.at times disturbing. I was expecting to be blown away by the beginning battle sequence, but wasn't. However, the film gets better as it goes along. The relationship between Anakin/Palpatine is really what drives this movie. The manipulation is terrific. The big shocker for me (LAST WARNING: SPOILERS) is that Anakin turns to the dark side BEFORE Padme's death. I had expected her death to be the thing that drives him over the edge. I am still not sure how I feel about the reasons for him turning. The atrocities he commits, especially against the Jedi, are where the films really gets to you. This is why I don't believe Anakin can ever really be redeemed. His motivation for killing the Emperor is no different from his reasons for turning to the dark side.preservation of his family. In Nazi Germany, if Goebbels killed Hitler to save his own son's life, does that forgive a lifetime of sins? The climax of the film, Anakin/Obi-Wan and Yoda/Sidious, is great stuff. However, after the climactic fights, the movie seems a little rushed to close out the loose ends. I would have rather they had expanded the end, similar to the end of Return of the King, but this is a minor point. Overall, it was as good, if not better, than I was hoping for. It is a true Star Wars movie and really closes of the series in style, tying the OT to the PT wonderfully.
Eric