Good but not a patch on the Originals

Rating: 5/10 (19 May 2005)

Well, the last Star Wars movie, much hyped and touted as the film to redeem Lucas and complete the saga. Did it achieve this goal? Yes it did. Did it do it in a way consistent with the "Star Wars" way? Probably not.
The movie starts off with a massive space battle, in which our heroes Anakin and Obi-Wan have to negotiate to get to the command ship of one General Grevious, a droid who is one of the main villains in this episode. While the space battle is impressive in terms of its scale and detail, it happens way too early in the movie. The battle lacks a "pulse" or a sense of purpose, and the musical score failed to invoke any sort of emotional response. The only urgency comes from the attack on Obi-Wans ship by sentinel droids hacking away at his ship. There are no heroic figures who die for their cause. You just see ships blow up, not knowing why they are in battle unless you read the preface to the movie. In short, a lot of bang, but very little buck.
The show continues along, with various scenes on numerous planets. Which brings me to my next criticism of the movie, too much happens at the same time. Anakin and Palpatine on Coruscant, Yoda on Kashykk, Obi-Wan on the planet that Grevious is living on, Padme at home. Too many scene changes. It really is almost enough to give you an seizure and a case of jet-lag.
The demise of Mace Windu and the transformation of Palpatine into the twisted man we later know as the Emperor is an exceptional part of the movie. It was done extremely well and carries the same tone as the Skywalker-Darth Vader saber battle in ROTJ. Anakins conversion to Darth Vader was pitiful. The dialogue was painful, Palpatine made a very poor case to Anakin to join the Dark Side, and Anakin falls for it, much like someone being ripped off believes the dodgey salesperson who promises the world. Another one of Lucas' failures in script-writing.
The saber battles in this movie are top-notch, and believe me there is more swash-buckling in this movie than in all the other Star Wars movies put together. The Grevious - Obi-Wan battle is a little too long, and in all truth I don't see the wider implications for Grevious, his inclusion in the film is no more than an excellent device for merchandising, with the ability to hold *four* light sabers I can see this fella being very popular at the toy-stores. Besides that, Grevious, who portrays a droid general with a bad case of smokers-cough, doesn't scare the viewer, nor do you feel any compassion for him.
The Palpatine-Yoda battle is poignant for one scene in particular, that of the two of them dueling in the Senate, at the Chancellors seat. That scene shows the mark of a great director, it brings the fact home: The personal battle between the two great knights will dictate who will run the galaxy.
The Anakin-Obi Wan battle is also quite good, in that it takes place on a lava planet with their surrounds literally melting around them. It is here that Obi-Wan defeats Anakin (albeit through Anakins own arrogance) and a particularly hideous scene with Anakin takes place. From here on in, Anakin is medically repaired and wears the uniform we associate so well with Darth Vader. At this point, the acting fails. This is arguably the most important event on the whole saga, and you see Vader gyrating around like the Robot out of "Lost in Space" because he is told his wife died. Quite sad, really.
Lucas does make a huge mistake in that he wraps up all the loose ends in the last 10 minutes. It feels very rushed, and at this point you realise that you wish that he didn't bother with the 15-minute duel between Obi-Wan and Grevious, and use that time at the end.
Overall, it is an OK movie, with a few flaws, but it is Star Wars so I'm not going to complain. However I definitely *Don't* recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen at least Episode I and II, because it will make very little sense. But this movie, like Menace and Clones, cannot compare in any way to the original movies.