Doesn't live up to the hype.

Rating: 5/10 (27 May 2005)

After reading the great reviews I was really looking forward to seeing this supposed "Great" movie that was finally as good as the original trilogy. I am a die-hard Star Wars fan and even thought that the criticism of episodes 1 and 2 were unfairly critical. Sure they were not as good as the originals (by far), but they were still entertaining movies that were better than 90% of the garbage that comes out of Hollywood today. The final showdown in Episode 1 between Qui-Gon, Obi-wan and Darth Maul was one of the best fight scenes I have ever seen. Very well done and very intense. I really hoped that Lucas finally got it right and concentrated on the development of characters and story line and not just the eye-candy. I hate to say it, but Lucas you blew it.
The acting was extremely wooden for the main characters. Is it really the acting or the directing and writing? I don't know. I do know that I was never convinced of the reason that Anakin finally decided to turn to the Dark Side. The story was just not there and Hayden Christensen did not convince me. Natalie Portman has done extremely good work in other films. I felt nothing for her character here. The acting of Ian McDiarmid as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is superb. Ewan McGregor was solid as well. Yoda may very well have been the best actor in the bunch.
It comes down to the problem that I never felt worried for any of the characters. There was no realism to the movie to create worry. When all of the characters can do multiple triple back-flips, kill anything that attacks them without effort, be able to fall off of cliffs with no damage it takes all of the drama out of the film. Even R2D2 can defy gravity and just jump out of the fighter with no damage. In the original trilogy you kept saying to yourself "how the hell are they going to get out of this mess?" You were on the edge of your seat. The extreme use of animation turns it into a cartoon with cartoon actors. The reason the first trilogy was great was because you could identify with the characters because they seemed real and their situations seemed real. The characters in Episodes 1 through 3 have none of these same qualities.
I think that the secret to the original trilogy was the superb acting of Harrison Ford. This guy was Uber-cool, charismatic and everyone wanted to be Han Solo. In Revenge of the Sith, there really is no one for you to relate to or even care about or root for. Harrison Ford made everyone around him just "click". The incredible banter with Princess Lea, with Chewbacca and even the droids added humor to the film that seems sorely missing in RotS. The attempt at humor in RotS is forced and relies on slap-stick and the quick laugh. How many times do we hear R2D2 scream for the quick laugh? Everything has been dumbed-down and it is unfortunate.
There really was no purpose to introducing new characters like General Grievous. Again, no character development to even care about him or despise him. The battles between the droid army and the clone troopers seemed just like background and filler. No real purpose to it other than eye candy.
I will have to see this film a second time to confirm my thoughts. Believe me, I really WANT it to be a great film.
This movie is a definite must see just to see how the Star Wars story comes together. I still found it very disappointing and undeserving of the "great" ratings that it is receiving.