Far from great

Rating: 5/10 (19 May 2005)

First, the winner of the "Samuel L. Jackson 'Phoning it In' Award" was not Mr. Jacskon for this film, it was Ms. Portman. But I think this has more to do with the general problem of the film: an awkward, disengaging (not just unengaging) script and a director who is a master on the technical aspects but just doesn't allow for any type of real interplay between the characters or for any rhythm in the dialog. While I do believe this is the most enjoyable of the second Trilogy, I am ever reminded that without a sense of "fun" or a stand-in for the rogue-ish charm of a Han Solo character, the characters seem stiff and whiny. Also, (the spoiler bit), I would have been happier with the characterization of Light v. Dark Sides if the Emperor and Vader were still shone to have "good" goals pursued with "evil" means because the Jedi way just wasn't getting it done. The point-of-view argument at the end should have been staged as two legitimate, contrasting philosophies. It instead played out as curt dialog between two characters who never really seemed to have any affection for one another.