Better than expectations, script and character psychology flawed

Rating: 6/10 (19 May 2005)

A beautiful example of how low expectations (coming off the previous two prequels) are distorting raters' opinions.
Sure, it is considerably better than episode 1 and marginally better than 2, but it is not a 10 out of 10! If you want to see a 10 out of 10 with action, plot and beautiful character builds, go see Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or even Lord of the Rings.
The visual effects and cinematography are great and the acting is partially better (at least on Ewen's part), however the script remains poor and many of the gap fillers preparing us for episodes 4-6 are a bit too glib.
Anakin's descent into evil is handled amateurishly - all the effort of slowly bringing out his dark traits of anger and raw ambition in episode 2 and start of 3 are wasted at the most crucial moment - he goes through angst when he finds out Palpatine is the Sith Lord and wants to arrest him, only to be kneeling five minutes later before Palpatine swearing allegiance.
CP-3O's memory wipe, Yoda deciding on exile, the splitting up of the twins... all are handled in a very off-hand manner without any depth. Not to mention the gaps in the plot with reference to the last three episodes (Leah remembered her mother for one...) Sure the whole series of 6 is a great spectacle, yet flawed and without the tightness other great movie series such as Lord of the Rings, Three Colors, or even the Godfather.
I expect the current rating for Sith of 8.2/10 will come down as the hysteria of myopic fans drops off and more rational fans begin dissecting the film.