Very Satisfying.

Rating: 10/10 (18 October 2005)

(Minor Spoilers) The story behind Episode III is a story about a film with a ton of weight on it's shoulders. Fan's waited in suspense to see if the climactic prequel could effectively tell the most dramatic story in Star Wars, bring the excitement and wonder back in the series, have the best lightsaber fights ever, and ultimately save the entire Star Wars series. Did Episode III deliver? Could it overcome this burden? Yeah, pretty much.
Episode III is the first prequel to be as good as one of the original Star Wars movies. It was very action packed, it didn't have as much horrible dialogue, and it was first prequel to have decent acting. The best performances come from Ewan McGreggor, Ian McDiarmid, and of course Yoda. Ewan did great as Obi Wan. He seemed like a young Alec Guinness, very honorable, and graceful. He also showed a lot more heart in this movie, making Obi Wan even more endearing. Ian McDiarmid owned as the Emperor. He finally got to be really evil. He was calm and calculating as the chancellor and over the top as the emperor. Yoda, was amazing as always. He's so cool, and such a pimp. Natalie Portman was also better in this film. I actually felt sorry for her at the end. Who would have thought that showing emotion would help a performance. Believe it or not Hayden was a not that bad. I actually LIKED Anakin in the beginning. Naturally I hated him later, but you're supposed to. Samuel Jackson is good too, but I think he was under utilized in the beginning. Point is, this movie had better acting, it's still somewhat lacking, and the writing is still not the greatest, but it was an improvement.
Although the dialogue isn't great, there isn't that much talking in this movie. This is good, because the action is very good. There are five lightsaber fights!!! The fights get better throughout the movie too. The first fight with Count Dooku isn't that great, everyone knows Dooku is getting bounced. Also Obi Wan blows it again. General Grievous versus Obi Wan is a little better. Grievous has four lightsabers! That's cool. However, he isn't worth the hype, he just comes across as a walking garbage disposal. The fight is still cool though, and Obi Wan owns! It restores faith in Obi Wan's abilities. Mace and company versus the Emperor gets better. I thought it was dumb how the emperor kills 3 Jedi in like 2 seconds. However the rest of the fight is pimp, and Mace dominates, until Anakin ruins everything. The last 2 fights are just too amazing for words. The big war scenes are cool, but are not as good as the old school ones. The visuals are better but I had no emotional investment in them. In old movies you felt bad for the random rebel pilots who get bounced, in this movie I could care less about those clones.
As far as the story goes, it is pretty much good. I think Anakin's descent to the Dark Side was a bit rushed. The main problem with the story in this movie is that too much is crammed into this one movie. Nevertheless, the end result delivers.
I really liked this movie. It lived up to my expectations, but unfortunately didn't exceed them. Point is, this movie is worth seeing.