Of course this movie is going to look incredible when we were fed crap for so many years.

Rating: 6/10 (28 August 2006)

The syndrome works like this - If you are given nothing but McDonalds food for two weeks, and then one day you are taken to TGI Fridays, the food at Fridays is naturally going to seem far better than it really is. Episodes 1 & 2 were bad. So bad in fact, that we (as an audience) were willing and ready to latch on to anything that was remotely better. Then came 3. Ep 3 is NOT a great movie, but it sure as hell is going to seem like it in the wake of Ep 1 & 2.
A young and powerful hero is corrupted by an evil politician to do his bidding, thus ensuring the end of a galactic democracy, and an Imperial military build up. While the remaining protagonists in the movie rush to defeat a diversionary threat, the scheme of a would-be emperor is hatched, leaving most of the protagonists dead or in hiding, and leaving the galaxy to tremble beneath the heel of a fascist Patriarchy.
While Ep 3 opens with a wonderful space battle high above a planet. It closes with an over-the-top but interesting duel between 2 Jedi superpowers. Yet, everything in between was predictable and without real merit. Naturally, the computer FX were outstanding, but that's no longer enough anymore! Computer FX are so affordable, that even TV series can now afford ones that go far to wow an audience. Sorry Lucas, but your flashy whizzbang FX don't make up for a bad plot, terrible acting, predictable story, boring characters, and lack of intrigue. The entire experience seems rushed and force fed. The audience has the conclusion of the story thrust in our faces in such a manner you could almost hear Lucas saying, "See! See, people! I can still entertain you. I promise! Just look at all the crap I threw in this movie! LOOK AT IT!!" This movie tries so hard to bridge the gap between Ep 3 and 4, that it misses the mark almost completely by allowing very little room for other possibilities. In fact, the last several minutes of the movie alone felt like nothing more than a cheesy gimmick to show Vader for the first time in his black suit - the death of his wife was absurd, the voice acting of Vader was terrible, the characters at the end of the movie had little more to do than wander off set.
Ep's 4, 5, and 6 leave so much for your imagination to run wild with. So much is put into the background that the very universe felt alive and rife with possibilities: Remember seeing the IG88 Droid in the Cloud City incinerator? Remember wondering what the building was, and what significance the building had, that Luke met Vader's specter in on Dagoba? Remember Han making the comment about a bounty hunter at Ord Mantell "changing his mind?" Remember wondering what remains the frozen bones came from in the Wampa's lair, especially since Hoth supposedly had "no indigenous life?" Remember wondering what happened to the other bounty hunters who were tracking down Han and Leia? These are the nuances in the background that went so very far to make Ep's 4-6 so interesting and lifelike. They were missing from Ep's 1 & 2, and Ep 3 was certainly no exception. All we had to deal with were the principal characters, hordes of faceless cannon-fodder, and of course the people who you obviously knew were one day going to reappear (thus robbing your imagination) - Chewbacca, Boba Fett, Tarkin, etc.
Watching this movie seems like a good idea, until, you try to watch it again. Go ahead. Watch it a second time. Reflect on your thoughts. Wait until the next day, but then ask yourself, "was it really that good?" I'm willing to bet that your score will go down a point or two.