Film: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

But is it any good? Surprisingly, it is not bad. 7/10

I think my expectation for the Star Wars prequels have finally fallen to a level where Lucas can actually meet them. True, much of the dialogue is stilted, some of the acting (notably Cristiansen and Portman) is awful, and the only character approaching the levels fo charisma of Han Solo is, sadly, Yoda. Anakin's long-anticipated turn to the Dark Side is laughably under-motivated (Lucas gets points for trying but none for actual achievement), and there are more epilogues than in Return of the King - rather superfuously setting up Episode IV.

But - but! - Lucas does play to his strengths far more than in the two previous films. There's not too much dull dialogue to drag or story to get in the way of some very well-staged action scenes and generally good effects. Jar Jar Binks appears, but does not speak. And Natalie Portman's pregnancy apparently skips ahead several months in the space of a few days to set up a nice parallel moment towards the end of the film.

So, if only by comparison to Episodes I and II, Lucas manages a reasonably entertaining conclusion to his opus, which a small nostalgic part of me is very pleased about.