Star Wars: Episode III

It was unfortunate that I was unable to watch Star Wars: Episode III on opening day with my family. So instead I watched it alone, in a foreign city away from all things familiar. But the moment the first trumpet blared and the signature introductory text started fading into the background, I was once again home.

The quick take? It was long, exciting and answered many questions, but it wasn’t great. I don’t know how it possibly could have been given the insurmountable obstacles. What obstacles you say? I just don’t know how compelling any of the scenes could have been given that most of the audience knew that certain people could not die.

Knowing what we know from Episodes 4-6, this film was really just a matter of filling in the missing puzzle pieces.

The Good…
Don’t get me wrong, it was fun. But being fun is very different being great. It was fun to watch the hyper-CGI scenes throttle past faster than an A-wing fighter. It was fun to Obi Wan drop down alone into the middle 30+ enemy driods and Darth Vicious. It was fun to Yoda kick some serious tale.

The Bad…
What wasn’t fun was Lucas’ direction, some thick-headed casting and a over-worked screenplay.

You don’t have to be Ron Howard to see the many unimportant distractions and overplayed action sequences to understand that Lucas, while a man with an amazing imagination, is not a very good director.

And who’s grand idea was it to cast Samuel Jackson and Jimmy Smits? No Star Wars movie will ever be in need of a big name to bring in the crowds. They’re not even good actors. Jackson was so bland I thought he might be confused by all the blue screens. In the words of Yoda, “Very disappointing, they were.”

Lastly, the film was just too long… and I’m an interested fan. The producers knew they had a lot of question to answer and they didn’t want to disappoint. So the result was (especially near the end) too many scenes squished together with little continuity.

And the Ugly
Reading this review might leave you thinking I disliked the movie. In truth, I didn’t. I’m too big a fan. I blame my expectations, they were just too great. One of my greatest character flaws is always trying to improve things. I just can’t leave “well enough” alone. I left the theater thinking, “Why in the world did Lucas think producing Episodes 4-6 before 1-3 was a good idea?” He basically scripted himself into a corner.

All in all, it’s a fun experience. There’s no question that the die-hard fans will (or probably already have) see the film. Parents might want to keep kids younger than 13 away due to some of the more gory and hate-filled portions.

The best part? It was miles better than the last two movies.

7.5 out of 10