Therapeutic Writing Excerise - **Contains Spoilers**

Rating: 4/10 (23 May 2005)

That's it?.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! :) I loved Episode IV, saw it at 8 years old, had the action figures too. My favorite was ROTJ though... I've since taken MY kids to see Episodes I & II, realizing that Lucas added some cotton candy in the stories to attract kids that have seen sci-fi flicks all their lives. Sci-Fi is nothing new to an 8 year old in 2005. BUT - I went to episode III not so much for my kids, but for myself. The question WHY was going to be answered... Luke's father in ep. IV appeared to be pure evil, but we would see what and how his human side was turned and how/why he became the "Dark Father"...
After the movie was over (I saw it three days ago) I was disappointed and couldn't rationalize why. All the background was given, some things explained, and all was setup for ep. IV but it didn't leave me thinking it was "Wonderful". The story seemed rushed and not well planned out. After muddling over it here's my reasons why-
Padme' - She has become much more dependent, and almost weak. Not like the strong character she was in earlier episodes. Her character was never full of angst and worry like in this one.
Anakin - An errant confused, impatient teenager. Almost whiny too. Padme' even calls him "Annie" - ouch. Who wore the pants in their little family?
Convincing Anakin to serve Palpatine - Just non-sensical. Maybe Anakin had a screw loose or something. So worried about his love, but so willing to leave her side, then almost chokes her to death. At first it was for a secret knowledge to save Padme',but then it became "either your with me, or against me". It seemed so easy, almost too easy for Palpatine and then it didn't make sense.
Darth Vader - his creation and subsequent time in the movie MIGHT add up to 5 minutes. This is not Anakin anymore, but a new character with different motivations and perceptions. (The only character to receive less development in 6 movies was Chewbacca.) No glimpse into his thought processes except when he screams "Noooo". Maybe he was a little bit insane... I hoped Lucas would have put more of thought into it. The changed Anakin/Darth Vader is after all the central character of all 6 movies.
Death Star - Just appears in mid-construction outside the window. (The planetary weapon that is the main tool of the Empire in ep. IV) No mention of it, no reason, no explanation. It took 18-20 years to build while Luke grew up.... Did the Jedi's just miss it?? (?!?) Was the ability to destroy a planet needed after asking them "Are you with me, or against me??" ___ If you were like me and expected everything to make sense and all things to be explained - you will walk out with some of the same questions you brought.
It was entertaining, my kids loved it. My problem was I thought it would answer more questions and resolve some mysteries around the main character. If we haven't already seen ep. IV - It would have been wonderful -- All-in-all it is just a movie.
I hope Mel Brooks is paying attention - Spaceballs 2 has some really really great potential...