Feeling a bit let down...

Rating: 5/10 (20 May 2005)

Three theories on why I left the theater feeling strangely flat: 1) As with any endeavor taking 28 years to complete, anti-climax is a major danger; 2) We all know how the story ends; the only potential interest the viewer has is in how we arrive there. This is a major challenge to the storyteller, and I'm not sure Lucas was quite up to it; and, finally 3) The movie just isn't very good. There are some terrific bits -- it contains four of my all-time favorite light saber fights, an awesome and extended space battle scene kicks off the film, and Ewan McGregor does a brilliant job of replacing Harrison Ford's Han Solo as the focus of wry humor -- but that doesn't make a whole film, folks.
Some of the dialogue is painfully bad, especially the "love" scenes between a wooden Natalie Portman and a positively calcified Hayden Christensen. For every moment that brings a chuckle to the lips (Obi-Wan and Anakin dispose of less-than-genius droids, R2D2 attempts to zap a warrior droid and merely irritates it), there is a countervailing moment where screenwriter Lucas chokes the life out of the story with truly awful dialogue...
Overall, recommended; but don't be prepared for greatness.