Good enough to see multiple times

Rating: 10/10 (30 May 2005)

Well, in the two weeks or so Episode III has been in theaters I have already seen it twice. That alone says something.
Having grown up watching the originals, I felt this final film tied all the others together and completed the saga. Darth Vader's character has a world of added depth and you come away from the film understanding the man inside the machine.
I felt all of the acting performances were well done. Hayden Christensen has unfortunately gotten a lot of flak for his work when in fact he is a very talented young actor. He does a great job of non-verbally conveying Anakin's change from daredevil good guy Jedi to evil Sith. By the end of the film when he fights Obi Wan he comes across as truly evil. Nice work, Hayden! Likewise, I was impressed with the performances of Ewan MacGregor and Natalie Portman. The emotional distress they demonstrate in their characters gives the viewer a sense of just how devastating Anakin's turn to the dark side was for those who loved him. Though you know the outcome, you find yourself rooting for Obi-Wan and Padme to sway Anakin back to the light and rescue him from the malicious mind-control of Palpatine. Ian McDiand as Palpatine makes one of the best devil-like characters since Al Pacino in the Devil's Advocate. The way he gets inside Anakin's mind and twists his private thoughts is pretty scary.
In all, I would highly recommend this film. My only criticism is that at times Lucas's dialog is a little lame, but the overall success of the film makes up for that. As a total package, it is a great film. Those with young kids - 2 scenes might not be appropriate. Children might be distressed by the part where Anakin kills younglings (child Jediis), though they don't actually show him killing them and Anakin's demise at the reluctant hands of Obi-Wan is pretty gruesome.
If you haven't seen this film yet, go see. Then go see it again.