Great effects (as you would expect!) but still more Revenge of the sh!t than Revenge of the Sith

Rating: 4/10 (22 June 2005)

STAR RATING: ***** Unmissable **** Very Good *** Okay ** You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead * Avoid At All Costs
The clone wars in the Galactic Empire wage on. General Grievous (voiced by Matthew Wood) and his army continue their stranglehold. When Anakin (Hayden Christensen) murders Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) it is the beginning of his descent into evil (or, the 'Dark Side', if you will) and his becoming of the evil Darth Vader. Chilling premonitions of wife Padme's (Natalie Portman) untimely death during child-birth force him to form an allegiance with the dubious Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and his former mentor and friend Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is the only one who can face-off with him as his descent grows more un-nerving.
So this series obviously served as a prelude to the original films (I'm no massive Star Wars 'fanatic!') Be that as it may, this incomparable series to the original films is now over. Star Wars for a new generation with only half the quality (if that.)
Like the best Summer blockbusters, the effects, computer graphics, battle scenes, creature designs etc. are really good, but not much else is. George Lucas, in all his SW films, has been a notoriously bad writer of dialogue, and this final entry is no exception. And it rubs off on the cast, from naturally wooden actors such as Christensen, to normally very reliable and capable performers such as McGregor and Samuel L Jackson who here appear very strained, stiff and unable to perform convincingly. Only McDiarmid, in the bad guy role, manages to pull off a convincing turn in the sea of dross that is the script.
The one engaging element of the whole film is the theme of choosing good and not being lured into the trap of evil. But mostly, this can only be seen as the final part of what is a very average re-run of a series that was far better and provoked far more inspiration first time round. **