Almost as good as the original trilogy

Rating: 9/10 (1 July 2005)

While this movie doesn't quite capture the charm of the original trilogy, and while the characters still aren't as good as the original trilogy, this movie makes up for these sins with enough action and emotional intensity to nearly put it in the class of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Lucas did a pretty good job with continuity between the two trilogies, considering that he had already painted himself into a corner with such fan pleasing moves as deciding to include the droids in this trilogy. Of course, the special effects were excellent, but this film did offer more than just that, as we finally get to see Anakin Skywalker transform into Darth Vader, and we get insight as to how this happened.