Star Wars, at its worse or its best?

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2005)

The Stars:
Anakin Skywalker:Darth Vader/Hayden Christiansen: Played well to the best of his abilities by Christiansen but to be totally honest I never felt that he was fully awake through his portrayal. His face showed boredom and insecurity, he did his level best with the bad script writing.
Obi Wan Kenobi/Euan McGregor: His portrayal of Kenobi is almost without flaw. His one liners give the audience some much needed relief into laughter. Without his Quips the film would have had but little element of humour.
Palpatine:Darth Sidious/Ian McDiarmid: In a league of his own, without question his portrayal of Darth Sidious is top of the range. When he delivers his lines people will get the chill in their spine, he radiates menace and violence, in his actions and his words.
Padme Amidala/Natalie Portman: Her performance in this film is the weakest link. She does a lot of crying, a lot of yearning and an awful lot of 'loving' in her lines. She looks half asleep through the entire film. But who wouldn't be with lines like: 'I'm only beautiful because I'm in love'.
Master Yoda/Frank Oz: Fabulous, accelerating, humorous, without flaw, full of power and skill. Yoda is one of the factors that make this film worth seeing. I won't spoil it, but the way he dispatches two of Sidious Guards bought the cinema to uproar, truly amazing.
Master Windu/Samuel L Jackson: Jackson does his best with the little material he has to work with. He delivers his few lines with a powerful intensity. The scene of his long awaited Lightsaber fight is worth watching over and over. Due to its intensity if nothing else.
The films special effects is second to none. The beginning battle was literally the most exhilarating special effects I have ever seen. See the movie based on this, disappointed you will not be.
It ties up a lot of lose ends nicely, but a lot of the Violence was not required. Take your young children to see this do not, anxiety they will feel.
I give it 8 out of 10. Purely for McDiarmids performance, the way it produced emotion with the Musical Score and the fact that Yoda is a breath of fresh air.