more of the same

Rating: 5/10 (30 May 2005)

I don't understand why this film is getting much better reviews than the first two. It's about the same. The acting is dreadful. The writing is worse. Anakin's turn to the dark side is utterly unconvincing. "He's unarmed", and "NOOOOOOOOO!" tie for most-cringe-inducing lines. The story has all the right plot elements, but Lucas seems unable to tell it. Halve the time spent on CGI and double the time spent on Anakin's internal struggle and you might have the beginnings of a watchable movie.
There is an interesting contrast between ROTS and The Godfather, a film which Lucas had a small hand in. The Godfather is also a story of a turn to the dark side, however it is singularly convincing.