I was expecting a good movie...and Lucas let me down...again.

Rating: 3/10 (5 June 2005)

Imagine my hopeful surprise to hear that Revenge of the Sith was gaining wide-spread acceptance in the movie-lovers community. "So much better than Ep 1 and 2!" and "Two thumbs up!" and "Oooh! Dark and Angsty!".
I now know the extent of the Dark Side's power. It blinds people and turns them into annoying fanboys filling the coffers of George Lucas with their hard earned dollars while he wipes his brow with a hearty "Finally...It's over." Well, that's about the only thing I agree with. At least it's over.
I wasn't walking into the theater expecting a masterpiece, but even my limited expectations were thrown out the window during the first half an hour. The pacing of the movie was all wrong. Like a Powerpoint presentation instead of a movie...even going so far as to use the 'blinds' transition and numerous others that raped the original style of Episode 4-6's wipes and smooth scrolls.
Beyond the timing and quick editing, the core of the movie simply isn't that good. A weak plot that was dull even during the action - an obvious side effect to Lucas' lack of joy writing it - only made the style of the movie worse. HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! All to cover up the fact that it really isn't that exciting.
The acting, once again, was terrible. Lucas has the ability to take a perfectly good actor or actress (McGreggor and Portman specifically) and drain them of any kind of charisma and realistic emotion. Only McGreggor as Obiwan seemed to eventually overcome - not to say he didn't suffer at times.
The 'effects' were nice. But even then, I noticed scenes that felt rushed and chopped together. All CGI scenes were amazing, but when the actors needed to be filmed, it seemed like they were secondary to their environments. You can see where the plywood and paint floor ends, and the CGI begins in many scenes.
I was hoping for a lukewarm conclusion. Something that said "Hey, look, at least it's done." Now, I can only thank God that Lucas is done with it. I'm tired of my childhood memories and loves being destroyed by this man.
PS) This movie needed more Wookies.