Everything occurs as I have foreseen it: sweeping, fast-paced, and flawed

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2005)

George Lucas brings his series to its natural Wagnerian conclusion, smack in the middle of the storyline. This, the last of Lucas' Star Wars films, is no happy ending; rather it's the ultimate crisis point. If you're looking for a "feel-good" movie, this won't be it.
Indeed, it is within this framework of sorrow and loss that Lucas gets his best overall results since episode V. Many of the actors are giving excellent performances, in spite of some admittedly mediocre dialog. The one with the hardest job, whose performance was subject to the most criticism in AOTC and probably will be in this film too, is Hayden Christenson. IMHO, considering the limitations and requirements of the part, Hayden does an acceptable job; during the film, he develops the requisite amount of killing rage, angst, internal conflict, and dogmatic authoritarian loyalty that would form the basis of the black-hat villain from New Hope.
Unfortunately, just as Mr. Lucas has once again outdone his previous efforts in the areas of visual effects and storyline, the characters are stuck in a morass of weak lines and thin motivations. No matter, we don't go into Star Wars films expecting The Godfather. (Those who idealize the "original series" and disparage the prequels for their wooden acting may have forgotten just how lousy the dialog was in those films, too.) This film delivers and disappoints exactly where expected -- to its credit, and to its shame. Where the words fail to excite, audiences are left with nonverbal acting and large-scale plot events to generate and retain interest in the characters.
And this much is successful, I think. The story is a compelling one, the atmosphere is incredibly immersive, the pacing stops just short of too quick, and the characters advance to their well-known destinies mostly unhindered by extraneous side-plotting or gratuitous comic "relief" from the likes of Jar Jar Binks.
With respect to this film's position in the industry, I will say this much: George Lucas keeps pushing the envelope of ambitious production. The Star Wars films, and this one in particular, show beyond a doubt that our current technology can tackle, convincingly, the most difficult of cinematic challenges -- for a price.