"Hold me like you did on Naboo"

May 20, 2005 · 2 minute read

Oo-er!

George Lucas is not a good director. Or scriptwriter. Maybe he was once; many speak of THX-1138 and American Graffiti was some affection, but twenty years without directing a film has taken a heavy toll. Revenge of The Sith is full of pacing errors, clunky dialogue, and an over-reliance on CGI.

That being said, I really enjoyed it.

Won't talk too much, for fear of giving away spoilers, but my favourite moments? The rather moving "Order 66" montage, completely stolen from The Godfather but still effective, "I have the high ground!" and what came five seconds afterwards, and the cuteness of The Phantom Menace returning with rather horrifying results (you don't see anything, but it's easily the darkest scene in all six films). Even Lucas's ham-fisted attempts at political commentary (a sample: "This is how democracy ends, then. To thunderous applause.") amuse - at least he's trying. He's not good enough to get there, and yes, perhaps he should have got someone else to help with the script, but at least it's not just making a toy commercial (the actual idea of the new trilogy is fairly strong, and more complex than the first three, but Lucas's failings mean that many of the subtleties are lost amongst the action scenes).

It's not going to change your mind about the series; if you hated it before, you'll really hate it after this, but otherwise, it's a good ending to the new trilogy.

PLUS! YODA AS JOHN MCLAINE! "Come out to Dagobah, we'll get together, have a few laughs!"