Only for SW fans - non fans will HATE it

Rating: 6/10 (19 May 2005)

Special Effects/Scenery/Costumes - Grade: 9 Lucas Arts has always been tops in these areas. The effects and scenery are gorgeous as always, and what you would expect from any SW film. I deducted a point however for two reasons. First, the scenes are reused over and over in this movie, some even being borrowed from previous films. Also, some of the costumes are obviously a "guy in a costume" quality. That is OK though, as it fits in with the costume design throughout the series.
Acting - Grade: 2 The acting was awful. Just plain awful. The characters drolled through their lines. The passion that leads Anakin to the dark side is completely absent - he may as well be reading from a teleprompter, and probably is. Even the most avid SW fan will be sick of Yoda-Speak by the end of this one.
Story - Grade: 7 The story was well done, although a bit draggy in parts. All the questions we had are now answered. Given, we know some things ahead of time - since Vader, ObiWan and others are in Episode 4, we already know they aren't going to die in this episode, which takes out some of the surprise. I would have given the story a higher score, but the bad acting killed the story.
Overall - it was OK, not great. If you are a fan, then see it. You won't hate it. If you are only going with someone who is a fan, you will hate it, I guaranteed it.