I'm not overly fond of the last two Star Wars prequels. I don't regard them with the raving, fulminating hatred that some do, but neither do I hold that they are the revealed final truths of life and cinema. They are simply two movies which have a number of excellent scenes but fail to connect them into a truly impressive film. They also suffer from structural flaws which don't make them unwatchable, but do damage their ability to seamlessly mesh with what little is mentioned about the characters in Episode IV. Nothing I had seen or heard had led me to believe that Episode III would be any improvement.
Naturally the wife and I were in line at 9:30pm Wednesday for the first midnight show.
I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw, which is a nice way of saying I walked into the theater expecting utter crap. This is actually a good movie. The special effects are spectacular. The script is much better than the previous two, with a focus and direction to the story that I felt was lacking with the first two. Hayden Christiansen does a much better job this time out, and Anakin is a far more sympathetic character than the portrayal from Attack of the Clones, and his chemistry with Obi-Wan is much improved.
It turns out George Lucas can still make a good Star Wars movie. If only he had put this much effort into the first two prequels. I actually now dislike them even more because it turns out Lucas hadn't lost his touch, he just wasn't as focused on the first two movies.
Now, mark me, Revenge of the Sith is not perfect. The conversations between Padme and Anakin vary wildly from average to teeth grinding. It's nothing quite as bad as Attack of the Clones, but while the actors are excellent on their own things always seem just slightly off key. It's like they are tossing lines into the air rather than carrying on a conversation. It is an improvement, but it is by far the weakest part of the film.
Still, I will probably see the movie again, and as the last film in the Star Wars series, it could have been worse. Not a ringing endorsement, I'll grant, but a far better one than I expected to deliver.
The dialogue is a lot better in the French dub. Better acted too.