The magic of the originals has indeed returned...

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2005)

I was very excited to see this movie... it was easily the most advertised thing on television and those who had done reviews on it in the newspapers were strongly convinced. Not one single negative.
I was excited, Episodes I and II were both a great disappointment, and even with my excitement, I still had a sickening feeling that Hayden Christensen was going to screw it up again, just like he did Episode II (though you could blame it on George Lucas, as it was him who made Hayden act in that annoying "angsty rawr rawr" manner) With this installment, the saga has been completed, and the dreams of every "Star Wars nerd" has come true. I don't call myself obsessed, I am merely interested in the story, it is all extraordinarily attractive, it contains life values of most basic or most important stature. Most importantly, it is the greatest journey one can take in the Star Wars universe.
The opening credits were a great welcome, and despite my lack of knowledge on the cartoon series "Clone Wars", I knew what to expect, I had an idea on what had happened, and most importantly, I actually knew who the hell this "Grievous" was, unlike the majority of the viewers in the fellow audience.
Without giving too much away, we all know what this movie is about. It's about the betrayal of a great power, the seduction of a once kindhearted man to the side of wrongdoings. Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader.
But it was HOW Lucas was going to execute the occurrences into something interesting and watchable. Episode I left so much to do, and Episode II barely executed any of the things left to weave into Episode IV, but Episode III has managed to do all of these things without becoming rushed and confused. And interestingly, the cheesy dialogue people have come to hate remains, but I feel it is a necessary addition to keep the Star Wars saga true to the 1977 original.
I have little to no gripes, Jar Jar Binks, though he provided comic relief for myself, was definitely far too annoying and heavily unnecessary to the flow of the story, and thankfully, he doesn't speak one line in this whole movie, hell, you see him in two scenes and only in the background.
Most actors I expected bigger roles out of have been reduced to mere cameo-esquire appearances (Whale Rider's Keisha Castle Hughes is glimpsed for a mere three seconds as the Queen of Naboo and Grand Moff Tarkin appears for no longer than 10 seconds before he strays suspiciously off frame), but this fails to bother me, as it doesn't affect the flow of the story, nor does it ruin anything.
Episode III is that long awaited bridge from the despised world of the prequels into the legendary world of the original trilogy. Though still set twenty-odd years before Episode IV, it is, in many ways, a direct prequel, and ALL unanswered questions that have plagued our dreams for nearly 30 years have finally been answered.
If you have not yet seen it, do so, NOW.