The Circle is now complete

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2005)

This is not Lucas' finest, but after seeing what he had to offer for the first of the prequels, that is still an improvement. George Lucas insisted and insisted that he put nine hours a day into writing this film, and wanted a really great product for Star Wars fans to bid farewell to the saga with. Does it match up to original trilogy? No. Is is still worth seeing? Yes. Is it worth seeing several times? I would say so. It answers the most important questions to lead into episode IV. It definitely has some excellent action sequences, combined with eye-popping visuals. And unlike past Star Wars films, Lucas does not make the visual extraneous. They are all over the place, but still solid. The major downfall of this film is the characters. The truth is that you just need Luke, Han and Leia to truly make Star Wars Star Wars. The characters in all the prequels including this one just go through the motions. Compare Padme to Leia. Leia is strong, and fights for the common good with devotion and love for humanity. An occasional smart-Alec line decorates her still loyal determination to the rebellion. Padme is basically in love with Anakin in this film still, and just naively lets Anakin decay into Darth Vader. She is constantly asking him to be more honest with her about everything, and just sits back and worries. Leai would join thfight. Padme just waits around and worries. I was worried she was gonna get suckered into suffering Anakin's fate. At least she has some sense. Yes, you do feel sad when Anakin becomes Darth Vader. It is is especially sad from the perspective of Obi-Wan, and even more so from the perspective of Padme. But I never really felt a great attachment to their romance entering the film, so there was not enough to feel. Still, Natalie Portman does her most with Padme. Not bad for a girl who admittedly grew up, hating Star Wars. Ewan McGregor is definitely Obi-Wan. Everythng about Obi-Wan you envision is in Ewan McGregor. There is a look of loyalty and devotion. And you know he is a character who is determined to preserving the good for all the galaxy. Hayden Crhistansen has shown he knows how to act. He is better off playing a dark, angry, and nearly insane character than he is at playing a winy teenager. And the ways in which you see Chancellor Palpatine seduce Anakin without him even knowing it is eerily appealing. The weakest character was General Grievous. And then, you have Yoda. He becomes interesting at then when he leaves, realizing that he has failed the Jedi council with Anakin, but he is mainly just a pawn in the film. He was exciting to watch fight, but was bland theatrically. There's no other way of putting it. In short though, all the characters just interact with each other to the minimal use. There is no real rapport you feel with with any of them. The action and visual effects were the best in this film. All the shots on Coruscant, Kashyyk, and in space were fabulous. Just give me some more lightsaber duals. The oh so anticipated dual between Obi-Wan and Anakin may not meet up to everyone's expectations, but how could it with that much hype? I mean the dual was quite intense though. The lava sequence, which ends in Anakin almost melting is truly awesome. And it does not get so ghoury, that they are trying to make this a PG-13 movie. The most disappointing fight was between Cont Dooku and Anakin/ Ob-Wan at the beginning. I won't spoil the film with details, but it lacked energy. That is the most I will say. All the battles in the fighters are solid. Do not expect ti be like those in the original trilogy. The republic has some new surprises to use. All in all, the film works. It is not to be classified alongside the original trilogy. Whatever happens, those were three remarkable pieces of film-making that will never be replicated. The force was stronger than ever with George from 1977-1983. But don't let that say that he can not still make a good movie. And now Lucas, I say bring on Indiana Jones IV.