Not as much of a Yawn as the first two....

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2005)

Some scene spoilers below, don't read on if you don't want any details of what transpires in the film.
The short version: It's good. It's not great. Not for younger fans.
The longer version: After reading a review by Ty Burr in the Boston Globe of Revenge of the Sith, I was expecting great things. After reading and hearing other comments from other critics I was further reinforced in this expectation. After seeing the film, I feel somewhat disillusioned. There's plenty of eye candy for the special effects minded. Plenty of exciting fight scenes for the action minded. But again, Lucas falls short when it comes to the script and execution minded. There is something disappointing about the delivery of this final installment in the Star Wars franchise. Peter Jackson has proved with his efforts on the Lord of the Rings that outstanding scripting and acting can exist on the same screen with eye-popping visuals without anyone getting hurt. So our expectations have been raised, and despite the fact that Lucas has promised that this final episode would be "symphonic", it just doesn't measure up to what we now know is possible for a sci-fi action flick. I can just hear Lucas now: "Thanks a lot Mr. Jackson!" I enjoyed the watching the film because I'm a die hard Star Wars fan, but I'm also a student of acting and directing, so that part of me cringes every time Lucas misses an opportune moment. One example of this would be a scene in which Obi-Wan Kanobi(Ewan McGregor) is permitted to see the atrocities committed by his disciple Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen) on a security recording. Instead of letting the scene develop and allowing his actor to go through the natural process of slowly discovering and weeping over a total betrayal of everything he's tried to teach the young Jedi apprentice, Lucas has McGregor fast forward through the recording to all the good parts and then quickly conclude "I can't bear to watch anymore." Some part of me was affirming the very same thing. This is just one example of numerous places in the film where Lucas missed some golden opportunities to really tap into the pathos and humanity of his brainchild but opted out for the sake of getting back to telling the story. Another item to be aware of is that this is the first Star Wars film that has been rated PG-13 and the rating is well deserved. The film is much darker in content than the others and the fate that befalls the hapless Skywalker is grisly and disturbing to watch. Unlike the other Star Wars films, this one should be approached cautiously if at all by concerned parents of younger fans. I would recommend that such parents see it first and decide for themselves (despite the pleadings of your little ones ;-) Overall, I'm glad I went, but I'm still disappointed in some of Lucas' missed opportunities.