Laughable plot but entertaining visually

Rating: 4/10 (31 May 2005)

As I have watched the other five Star War films I felt - more out of a sense of duty than a sense of anticipation - that I needed to watch this final piece in the jigsaw. Unfortunately, despite some improvements (such as the near-total cutting of Jar Jar Binks), it still suffers the awful scripting of the previous two prequels, and stuffy dialogue.
While it is interesting seeing how the plot ties up, there are no surprises whatsoever; I felt more of a sense of satisfaction that the plot developments turned out as I suspected they would, rather than being on the edge of my seat with breathtaking revelations.
Having said that, the film held my interest; mainly due to the endlessly entertaining visuals. It is the background effects that make this film - the droids scurrying about, the dramatic scenery, the highly detailed war set pieces.
I do recommend seeing this film if you have watched all the others and wish to see the loose ends tied up. It is a vast improvement over the first two prequels, but still does not even approach the ground-breaking inventiveness of the original trilogy - possibly more of a sign of our times, and the endless copycats of the format, rather than any basic shortcomings in the film. It really is a shame no new life was breathed into the genre with this new trilogy.