Success!

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2005)

Oh, thank God. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Jesus, I was worried, like many others, that this film would do nothing to discard the image of the first two prequels, but by God, it did. Is it flawed? Damn straight it's flawed, and I would have been shocked if it wasn't, but the flaws are heavily outweighed by the positives this time around.
First off, the flaws. Remember those annoying as hell love scenes with Anakin and Padme? They're back, but not as cringe-inducing as before, and if you just smile and nod, you'll get to move right on to the good stuff.
The acting by some of the characters is, well, uninspired. Poor Samuel Jackson has to act stiff as a board in this one, instead of putting any energy into the film(nice one, George, brilliant move.) Natalie Portman, who's supposed to be a good actor(she was nominated for an academy award) does better than Episode 2 standards, but not by much. Oh yeah, and Hayden is still as crappy as ever. He has the look, and that's it.
Now, onto the positives. The movie has a darker, crazier feel that I couldn't help but love. No more pussyfooting around, we get straight to the good stuff. The opening scene with R2D2's antics made me wonder if it was going to be a stupid laugh fest, but my fears were not confirmed. Oh, and when I mean dark, I MEAN dark. Hundreds of jedi get iced, and many little kids are killed by none other than Anaking himself.
The special effects are the best yet, providing the most intense saber action i've seen thus far(and probably ever will). And when ever Hayden can go through a line without sounding like a little brat, some deeply emotional scenes between him and Kenobi are shown that just make you glad you saw the movie. Yoda's scenes are heartbreaking at times, though many found them annoying, I did not.
While I think it lost a little of the magic, it sure as hell has more than the first two prequels. See this movie. It kicks ass, trust me. 8/10