Visually entertaining but falls heavily in the script department

Rating: 6/10 (20 May 2005)

"And so it has come to this. Twenty seven years, six films, a $3.5bn box office gross and arguably the most watched and analysed set of films of all time. And it looks like this really is the end. Being too young to remember the impact Star Wars had when the original films were released and too old to be snared in by the flurry of hype and media attention Episode I received, I've always seen myself as an outsider to the Star Wars franchise. Neither hating or nor loving it (even at a young age) I see Star Wars as science fiction without the sci.
Star Wars is not science fiction. To me, science fiction is a TV programme, film or book where the plot revolves around the use of science to solve a problem or more often than not, science and technology being the problem. Be it machines gaining artificial intelligence and attacking people in Blade Runner, the Terminator or the Matrix, aliens leading the human race on a bread crumb trail which will eventually result in the evolution of the human race in 2001:A Space Odyssey, aliens inhabiting our bodies in the The Thing or Invasion of the Body Snatchers through scientific means or aliens trying to annihilator the human race in Aliens. Star Wars is pretty incomparable to all the above films. Star Wars is about love, morality, tyranny, good & evil with no references to science at all. In many ways it draws more parallels with stories in fairy tales and mythology in Classic civilisation where fabled characters have to face seemingly impossible challenges which will inevitably change the course of the world for the better (the impossible challenge in Star Wars being the Rebel Alliance defeating the Empire). So with all that in mind perhaps that is what explains not only the difference between Star Wars and other science fiction texts but also the difference between Star Wars fans and fans of science fiction. Like all movie trilogies where the narrative is continuous, it is quite clear that Director George Lucas is fascinated with ideas of causality, the chain reaction of events and the intricate history of the world that he has created. This is where complications arise. And these complications are easy to deduce. The script, and character development is grossly inadequate and does not back up Lucas's vision. A dramatic and dynamic film such as this requires equally dynamic character motivation and this film does not have that in almost any shape or form. In a film such as these you really need to believe what the characters are saying. Well when Harrison Ford famously said to Lucas "You can type this s**t George, but you sure has hell can't say it", he wasn't half wrong. Having been snared by Palaptine's evil, we see Anakin in Episode III turn to mass murder and child genocide because he feels this will dispel the premonitions he is having of his wife's death. Surely he would need more motivation than that to turn from an honourable Jedi to a homicidal killer? And what of him turning to the dark side? Would he not need more persuading than Palpatine telling him a fairy tale of an old lord who could prevent death? Or how, when rescued Padme Amidala is apparently "physically fine, but will die because she lacks the will to live". These are plot holes which are ridiculous in the extreme. Put simply, what Episode III needed to succeed on a critical level was plot, script (one of the most frustrating things in this film is watched talented actors give such stilted performances because of the dialogue they have to work with) and character motivation that matched Lucas's ambition. On all three counts, it fails. The saving grace in the acting stakes in McDiarmid's magnificently hammy performance as Palaptine that easily steals the show, giving a masterful performance despite clunky lines. And James Earl Jones's much hyped return as the voice of Darth Vadar is reduced to nothing more than a few cumbersome words (Darth shouting the word "Nooooooooooooo!"? I don't think so ). Which is a pity considering Darth's birth is beautifully done. So what are we left with? A thoroughly entertaining popcorn film. Great action sequences, awesome visual effects (the light sabre battles, the opening space battle and CG'd landscapes are particularly jaw dropping) and a reminder that when it comes to constructing a visual spectacle Lucas is second to none. It is in this field where the ball really is in his court. And that's fine. But if you're expect more, get ready to be disappointed