Waaaaaaaaaaay overrated.

Rating: 5/10 (18 March 2006)

Anyone who has ever seen the original Star Wars trilogy has been waiting for this film ever since. How did Anikin Skywalker become the android in the shiny black samurai helmet? The back story and mystery has always captivated me, so ever since Episode 1 hit theaters I have eagerly anticipated this flick. I, like may people, was underwhelmed by episodes 1 and 2 but really felt that they lacked the same spirit as the first trilogy. I feel that both trilogies stand alone. They are their own tales brought together by common characters. So, On that fateful Wed. I made my way to the movie theater to be one of the first of many eager fans to view what I had waited years and years to see. Well, when I walked out I was a bit disappointed. The battles were epic, the story grand but the acting was lame and every scene seemed to be dominated by CG. Portman as the Queen was unimpressive, in fact she was awful. I love Natalie Portman (especially her roles in Closer, Garden State and The Professional) but she was weak this time around. Christianson wasn't too bad I guess, he looked evil throughout the flick and has improved a bit since his last SW outing. As I said before every frame was dominated by CG almost to the point that I wanted to gag. If you are going to make a film, decide whether it will be all CG or if you are going to use it to enhance effects (not create everything for you). I liked how the original trilogy managed to create convincing effects and sets without CG, so I wish Lucus would have tapped into that creativity he had while making the first film and made the effects and sets work without relying so much on CG. Computer Graphics are a wonderful tool for changing the style of your film as in Sin City or Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow but they shouldn't make films for you. Shame on you lazy Lucus... But this Star Wars swansong does manage to entertain. I still felt a chill go down my spine as Darth Vader is "born". The battles were still grand. However this batch of SW flicks as a whole couldn't live up to their predecessors... Of course that is a lot to ask.