Lucas Scores on Story but Where is the Fun?

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2005)

Like the first prequel Star Wars Episode I, George Lucas makes it very clear from the opening scene that he has a lot of story plot to share with us. Not much sub plot in Episode III, too much mushy love story between Anakin Skywalker and the Princess character especially when we can figure out about half way through the movie how things are going to end up between them. Battles become repetitious, how many times does the automatic dome release switch have to get hit by The Force luring the combatants to the outer balcony with the crowded skyline as the backdrop? Spoiler . . . . . . . . . . The ending could have brought us right up to the moment of the original Star Wars movie, but instead went for the tearful, sappy ending instead. And in this age of ultra high tech print quality and ultra quality sound, why was the print in the large theater complex where I saw this film, non Digital and non SDSS sound? One thing each Star Wars movie in the past did was to demonstrate the advances in film and sound technology. Episode II was an all Digital Film, why would Episode III with arguably better graphics and animation than all of its predecessors be presented in a lower quality fashion. Rush to get the Bucks! IMHO.
But this is a good story, it could have served as the one and only Star Wars prequel, but with more lighter, maybe a doze of humor or two in the subtext of the story, it would have been a lot more fun to watch. Remember how we cheered for the good guys, laughed at many lighter moments and booed Darth Vader in the original movie? Those moments and Lucas's original style were all but lost in the sum of the Prequels. If the Star Wars torch is finally passed on to a new director, I hope they study the technique of Star Wars, the Original.