Review of Star Wars Episode 3 : Revenge of the Sith

Rating: 5/10 (18 May 2005)

Thurs. May 19, 2005 00:01 Sat in what I would call, the most costume packed cinema since my sneak premiere of Return of the Kings, with hundreds of people screaming of anticipation and light sabers illuminating every corner of the cinema. The mood was certainly set, even the popcorn was colored in the light saber colors (Red, Green & Blue). People had been standing in line for hours in blistering rain, waiting to get the best seats. The cinema was heavily staffed and ready to service, what will probably be their busiest event in 2005.
I'm sure this was not a unique experience for me, as far as I'm aware the exact same thing would have happened all over the world, on the exact same time. So I was pretty psyched up for this experience. I had my Star Wars popcorn, my Star Wars Frozen Coke I had even earlier been blessed with a rather tasty Star Wars burger. Yes, there was a certain feeling about this whole thing. Star Wars is not a movie - It's a cult - a feeling.
In my younger days (Episode 4,5,6) I too shared this feeling and enthusiasm, but ever since LucasFilm started making Episode 1,2,3 that passion for the Jedi saga slowly disappeared. Some might argue that I have out grown the Saga, become too serious. That I can no longer imagine the force. That might be so. The truth is though that ever since the new episodes were made. Since all these new innovative special effects have emerged the storyline, acting and dialogue have disappeared. Something I always thought was the most crucial thing for any movie. Not the correct recipe for a film Â– Sacrificing story and dialogue for special effects. I still feel the force and like the overall story, but I haven't really seen on the screen since episode 4,5,6.
Why not 10 stars? If you are not a particular Star Wars incarnated fan, and you take away the special effects, Underneath the skin. Underneath the texture that so clearly identifies mainstream cinema, the story is bad, the acting even worse and the dialogue worst. The fight scenes are long and boring - a repetition of what I have seen in the previous 5 movies and in 100 other remakes.
Why 5 stars then? Star Wars is not a movie - It's a Saga, an adventure, and a family. The main focus is not necessarily on the acting or the dialogue, but of the over all story - How Episode 3 fits into the entire saga. It is about special effects, the amazing post-production (Audio & Visual), and the wealth of exciting new worlds, creatures, machines, and noises. The coolness and inner thoughts of the characters. I think if you are an incarnated fan of Star Wars or belong to the mainstream audience that enjoys movies like Bad Boys and triple X. Then you will LOVE this movie. I would probably go as far as saying it's one of the best special effects movie so far.
Conclusion: Lucas knows the key for success. He knows what he wants, what his target group wants. Knows how to make money. (Just imagine all the merchandise he sells) No doubt about that, and no doubt that most people will enjoy this movie. It is not a bad movie nor is it a really good movie. I just wished that in an approx. $113 million dollar production they could have spent $1 million dollar more on improving the dialogue and the storyline. It's a shame that the end of this saga only caters for the 99% mainstream cinema goers and the 1% more analytical and critical cinema goers have to walk relatively disappointed out of the cinema. It's an unfortunate thing that shouldn't have happened, especially with a movie so important, as the end chapter (Even though it's the 3 of 6) of world famous saga.