A wasted opportunity

Rating: 7/10 (28 February 2016)

Ups and downs. The movie is certainly the best of the 3 prequels, but it still has problems. I loved the path that led Anakin to the dark side, very well written, and Christensen is very good. But, on the other hand, many of the climax scenes lack pathos: Obi Wan's reaction to Anakin killing the children, Padme's reaction to Obi Wan's report about Anakin's actions, for instance. The final battle between Obi Wan and Anakin is more a show off of abilities than a fight for survival and the sake of the galaxy (in their different point of view) and, again, it's flat and void of emotions. Many of the action scenes are spectacular and enjoyable, but just a moment after people are always too well combed, clean and fresh (dirty ripped clothes, dirty sweaty face, some scratches and blood here and there could help give the idea of what they've just been through. Again, they fail to give you the feeling of 'miraculously escaped from impending death'. Speaking of lack of emotional involvement, if someone told me I could watch Luke and Leia's birth without crying, I wouldn't have believed it. Sad but true, I was far from crying because of awful directing and poor screenplay. The only scene that managed to involve me on an emotional level was mutilated Anakin sliding in the lava and taking fire, but when he's rescued by Palpatine and bionic legs are put on him BEFORE curing and even washing his burned skin (or even remove his burned clothes!!!) it's simply ridiculous. Padme's death totally lacks pathos, again, and remains a mystery. Furthermore, she has just given birth to two children, isn't this enough reason to live? Has she been killed by Palpatine? If so, it's not clear. Last but not least, what about an echography? The story is set in a hyper- technological world and she had to wait to childbirth to discover she was carrying two babies. Jedi are definitely out of touch with the real world, too busy keeping the order and balance in the galaxy I guess, OK, but in the end, when Obi Wan asks Padme if the baby is Anakin's I laughed. Padme's been living with Anakin for at least 3 years and I bet Threepio is innocent.