Seen this before, we have

Rating: 6/10 (8 June 2005)

I waited in great anticipation for the release of this film, as most did and have. Disappointment was all that followed. From the well paced beginning, the film sinks into pointless territory, regarding how Anakin Skywalker 'became' Darth Vader. The reason, which I will not reveal for those that still wish to see it, is so completely hackneyed and preposterous it still astounds me now. Everything we see of Anakin early on is thrown away and he, with no thought to character development, changes into a Sith Lord. There is simply no real, credible, reason why this happens and it ultimately lets down that which could of been George's finest hour in this century. There are also too many characters, none of which are allowed free reign and no sooner are they allowed to develop, they are discarded like everything else. The performers do what they can with the awful script, Ian McDiarmid seems to really enjoy his job portraying the puppeteer to the demise of the republic and the Jedi. Natalie Portman is keen to look beautiful, but has little on-screen time to go through as many outfits as normal. Ewan McGregor puts his best foot forward and practically steals every scene he's in, displaying flair and wisdom that fits the character perfectly. For years now, we have all wanted to see the great light saber battle between Obi-Wan and Darth/Anakin. Having to wait all the way through the film to see it, I was let down by a mix of CGI-composites that did nothing but detract from the action. The close-ups ruined what looked like months of practice for Hayden and Ewan as all their show boating was over far too quickly. Put simply, there is no progression in this film and what happens at the end has no meaning as a result. Yes, it does have spectacular special effects. Yes, it does have superb music and sound. Yes, it is a 'Star Wars film'. I'm sorry to say that is not enough to iron out the rough spots in plot, script and story enough for me. Comparisons to the original films, will, in time, show that the story is what will always hold the imagination and hearts of hungry audiences. Good versus Evil will always be better than hole ridden plots about trade routes and democracy. I'm not going to say Star Wars fans will love it, but because it's a Star Wars film, you can decide how much you can forgive it's significant and varied flaws. A contradicting mess of a film.