Disappointed!!!

Rating: 3/10 (25 May 2005)

Being the big Star Wars fan that I am, I have always defended Episodes 1 and 2 despite the fact there are things about them I don't like. I walked away from both of those movies being happy. I was very excited to see The Revenge of the Sith and had no doubt in my mind I would love this one as well but on the car ride home I couldn't believe that I was about to tell every one how disappointed I was.
I will start by saying there were some very great things about the movie. The Action Was GREAT! I love the light saber battles and the space battles! I think the way Anakin was injured at the end (the reason he has to wear the suit) was very well done. I loved the Chancellor, his acting was great! The story, however, was poorly developed. Too much was squished into a 2.5 hour period. Relationships and characters weren't developed at all. Who the heck is Grevious! Was he just there to get Obi-wan out of the way so Anakin could fall to the dark side? Anakin and Padme's relationship was very bland and the back and forth cheesy love lines didn't help any. I liked how they tried to make Obi-wan and Anakin more like friends but again with the cheesy lines. "Did you hit the stop button?", "No, did you?", "No". Okay so the elevator stopped, not worth a conversation.
Anakin's fall didn't seem very real. Okay so he had a couple dreams about Padme so that should have been emphasized more. He went from Oh no how could I have helped kill Mace Windu to killing innocent children. That important plot line was barely there. Also Padme, this strong, kick-butt senator, not afraid to dive into a battle was hardly a factor. She stayed in her room and cried. Also I can see someone dying of grief but that happens over a long period of time. If they had let her live maybe with her daughter and die later of grief then Leia's comment in Return of the Jedi would have made more sense.
One of my biggest complaints is Obi-wan's reaction when he finds out Anakin has turned. He's like "I don't believe, I can't watch, oh well another day another dollar." I know he was a Jedi (thus suppress emotions) but Anakin was his best friend and brother he should have doubled over with the pain he felt in his heart. He should have collapsed with sorrow. We should have felt his pain from the screen.
I would recommend reading the novelization of Revenge of the Sith. It gives more back ground to the characters and their thoughts. It also builds a better case for why Anakin fell to the dark side. I love the novel so it is definitely not the story I was disappointed with but the way it was told in the movie.