A breath of fresh air!

Rating: 8/10 (21 May 2005)

This last addition to the Star Wars franchise is a breath of fresh air.
While it still retains that Star Wars feel, it also seems a good deal more mature and better crafted than the previous two. Wisely drawing influence from the Lord of the Rings-movies, it feels primarily like a human drama and doesn't get lost in special effects. It's also the most dark and tragic SW-movie ever.
The pacing is nearly perfect and the movie never drags (some sequences may be a tad bit short). The biggest difference from previous episodes is the way the plot is built up. Instead of building up to a big epic battle scene at the end, it's non-stop epic action from the beginning, and the ending is more a dramatic climax of the relationships between the main characters.
The CGI is great, and Yoda is almost at the level of Gollum in terms of realism. Overall the special effects are astounding.
The acting is variable, occasionally very great, sometimes very average. Only Ian McDiarmid is truly great, and it looks like he is really enjoying the new things he gets to do with his character this time around. Hayden Christenesen is average, but delivers some nice lines. Ewan McGregor is good enough. Natalie Portman is not given much to do other than react to the things happening around her, but the chemistry between her and Hayden is much more natural than Episode II.
Some amazing action and a good story earns this one a good 4 out of 5 stars.