Brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (24 May 2005)

It seems to me that many people have made up their minds about this film long before they've viewed it. While I've only seen one negative review of the film, several individuals insist that it's terrible, and without any good reason. Here are some good reasons-
The directing is a bit awkward, as it was in the last two films. As most people don't even understand how to spot good or bad directing in a film (even those who claim to), I won't go into the details. It was good, though - in fact, I think it's George's best directing yet. It still wasn't the best ever.
The sound was done almost randomly, it seemed, without much attention to continuity throughout a scene, and the tone of a particular sound would sometimes change radically from one cut to the next. Once again, however, this can only be spotted by those who really know the field, and even less people can spot bad sound editing than direction. The sound was pretty good anyway.
Actually, I have nothing terribly bad to say about the film. Yes, there were negatives in addition to the two aspects I just mentioned, but in my opinion they were insignificant. The acting was fantastic, as it has been for six years now. I'm not one to laugh in someone's face, but if you tell me you thought the acting bad in Episodes I, II and III, I will, and refer you to Episode IV, which had some TRULY terrible acting (save Alec and Harrison), and was still a great film.
The writing was great - once again George shows us that his stories, though carried by special effects and mythological archetypes and crazy stunts and good old-fashioned adventure, are not about such aspects. They are about the characters, and this is how a story truly should be. I have seen two people argue that Anakin's character, with his corny lines and inability to see certain things that to us are so obvious, sucks. But it just makes him more real, more believable. Anakin is blinded by his own emotions. He is unable to see the obvious because he, like us, is human. That's the real tragedy of the whole story anyway - the irony he brings about due to his own humanity. Anakin is no poet, but he knows his feelings, and expresses them just as a nervous teenager would. It upsets me that so many people refuse to see the depth of such a beautifully written character.
In addition, this story is quite unique in that it is the last chapter of a trilogy that is meant to lead right into another trilogy. I can't think of a single other instance in which this occurs. Not only must the writer pull the entire story of the first trilogy together, but also set up so many aspects of what is yet to come. Those of you who are writers can imagine how difficult that is - and yet, George pulls it off.
Basically, what the enjoyment of any film comes down to is whether or not you have allowed yourself to care about the characters. If you got through the second film and didn't like the characters, you shouldn't bother with this film. But if you do, I highly recommend it. It's quite a brilliant film, story and all.