a nice fill in the gap to the Trilogies

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2005)

This movie, I must say, was pretty cool. Of the prequels however, I still must say I found Phantom Menace somewhat most satisfying (despite Jar Jar). Simply put, Darth Maul was just a cool villain, what can I say? I mean you KNEW Obi-wan was in trouble when he faced Darth Maul (even if you knew Obi-wan would win). I just loved those kinds of moments. Anyways, to get back to Episode III, I just love the progression of story and just seeing how Anakin turns to the dark side made a lot of sense. One of the best scenes, oddly enough, was when there were no special effects at all but just seeing two characters (Palpatine and Anakin) just talking. The way Palpatine throws little doubts into Anakin about the Jedi way is just so snakily well-done, I was surprised I was still watching the same movie. And, when that black metal mask finally is placed on Anakin's head, there's a great sense of finality, not only for the Anakin's character, but for the series as well (given the fact this is supposedly the last Star Wars film George Lucas makes -- a blessing or a curse, you decide). I still find the special effects of fully-CG animals rather distracting (as I found in the previous installments, including the revamped original trilogy). They're just way too pretty and fluid and mechanical to be realistic-looking and they never sit still! (wobbly heads are always bad news) But overall, a great progression to the original series and little fan-boy moments that reference Episode IV are quite justified, if not expected.