The turn to the Dark Side is not believable

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2005)

***Some mild spoilers***
I must say that I have mixed feelings for the movie. The movie is "ok" and fully watchable (and even enjoyable), but I am not really sure it's better than 'Attack Of The Clones' (however I like it better than 'Return of the Jedi' which I never particularly liked -- too isolated of an incident for my taste).
The motivations turning Anakin to the dark side are just not convincing. What Lucas should have done is place Amidala in danger while in a diplomatic mission, have the Jedis accompanying her fail to rescue her because she was not the priority of the mission, have Amidala give birth and die in the mission, and then have Anakin go berserk over the Jedi and turn against them while joining the Sith. THIS is something that can turn a man in love in to a lunatic, and THIS human nature is what Lucas should have exploited to make the turn to the Dark Side believable.
Only a fool would have fallen for the reasons Anakin fell for. And if Star Wars is just the family story of a fool, then we better not watch in the first place.
As for Padme's death, this was unconvincing too. I know a species of fish that die in that way, but I never seen or heard of a human. :P
Some scenes are cheesy and unnecessary and others they could have been done better if Hayden Christiansen had a bit of *imagination* on how to act with more passion. The guy seems to lack the imagination required to construct situations in his head so he can act on them more naturally. He is *better* than in AOTC, but still worse than any other actor in the movie.
Personally, I liked the character of Senator Bail Organa. He was the real deal, somehow.
Overall: 7/10