Perfect plot line, so-so delivery

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2005)

As a die-hard, I was there at midnight on opening day. I went in with the Star Wars mania that had consumed my childhood. And I have to say, "Bravo, George! You delivered!" Kinda.
As a piece in the overall Star Wars series, it connects the dots between Episode II and Episode IV very well. Despite Lucas' flat, unengaging dialog, Ian McDiarmid, Hayden Christensen, and Ewen McGregor managed to prove their worth as actors and reflect some genuine humanity in their characters, good or evil. The whole "environment" of the movie -- the mythology of the Lucasworld -- is so well built-up that I found myself forgiving a lot of lumps that Lucas' self-centeredness created in the film. This really is a conclusive movie in bringing the pre-"New Hope" world to a close and ushering in the original trilogy. It's done (mostly) believably and under the compelling pull of Episodes IV-VI, actually managed to evoke some emotional highs and lows. The Lucas universe is so compelling that the movie can't help but pull you along.
Of course, Lucas is a master of special effects, and all I can say is that this film delivers, and delivers very well! Now, the lumps.
First, Lucas' dialog is abysmal. Having grotesquely violated the Jedi way early on, Lucas gives Anakin/Christensen the memorable line, "I should not have done that." Wow! What a way of cutting off ANY actor's ability to imbue their work with emotion! Second, the movie is very unevenly paced and poorly edited. The movie runs 2 hr, 40 min, yet still rushes through Anakin's ultimate conversion into evil devotee of the dark side, willing to do anything Darth Sidious asks. It takes less than 15 minutes in real time for Anakin to go from conflicted youth to rampaging monster. There are a lot of ways that this could have been remedied... by showing how Palpatine was mentally influencing him via the Force, by convincing him that the Jedi were going to kill Padme... whatever! The reason given is not at all compelling, and he comes to accept utterly monstrous acts in a fashion that seems way too easy. A good editor would have tried to keep the focus on Anakin's internal process a little more, and spend more quality movie time on his "conversion." Alas, we're left with a movie that has some parts where the plot doesn't move much, and others where it moves at Jedi speed.
Third, but for pitiful Padme, women in this film are absent. Padme/Amidala's character was a hollow shell. Unlike her daughter in the original trilogy, Padme's character has eroded considerably since Episode I. In that movie, she was a queen -- politically savvy, able to negotiate. In Episode II she was a senator. In Episode III, she's nothing but a helpless, naive, weepy little girl who has no real thoughts of her own. Come on! Would a SENATOR be so easily be taken in by Anakin's second-hand accounts of the Jedi conspiracy and the righteousness of Palpatine? And she just decided to die because she was so sad? Lucas gives us very little material to encourage our suspension of disbelief. Padme didn't have to be this kind of character! Also, the strong women Jedi of previous movies AND the Cartoon Planet's "Clone Wars" were utterly absent.
In summary, Lucas delivered a good film. With some more humility and the help of a good dialog writer and editor, this could have been a great film.