I was a little disappointed. Probably, I admit, more because of the hype for this one, and because I was expecting something equal to the first three, because it was not a bad movie.
But it was a prequel sequel, if you know what I'm saying, and there was still plenty to gripe about.
First of all, there might've been more action scenes than in any of the previous 5 movies, but I was not really wowed by any of them. George and Co. seem to have used up all the neat tricks by now, and none of the battle scenes equalled the technical awesomeness of the Darth Maul scene from E1, the Jango Fett/Obi-Wan scene or the Dooku/Yoda fight from E2, or the emotional impact and epicness of the "i am your father" scene in E5 or the final battle with the Emporer in E6.
The Obi-Wan/Anakin duel was just OK. They should have had more dialogue throughout it, and the one sequence of dialogue they did have (the rafts suddenly float far apart enough from each other, both men hold their light-sabers down) seemed pretty contrived to me. The Grievous fight had potential, but Obi-Wan made quick work of him, and the chase on the one-wheel gizmo never grabbed me.
I will admit the Yoda/Emporer fight was pretty sweet though. Also, the Mace Windu fight scene was great too. Short, yes, but it had a neat twist or two, and when combined with the elements of the situation, the dialogue, etc., it felt right at home alongside fights from the original trilogy.
And again, the acting (aside from Ian McDiarmid, who once again was AWESOME) was bleh, and the effects were just too much for me at times. Overdone a little.
I also agree about the RD stuff. Suddenly he has a flamethrower and a jetpack? If this were the original trilogy, they would've come up with a much more original, true to the character, and funny way for RD to slay those droids.
What else can I complain about... OK, at the end Yoda simply says "I must go into exile." Huh? Give us a little better explanation George, even if a fanboy can figure it out on his own, we want a little more in the way of motivation and thought process from the characters. Also, whoever said Anakin sure made a quick switch to the dark side was also right. One minute he's conflicted, and the next minute he's pledging his allegiance to the Emporer. OK.
The best Anakin scene was when he choked Padme and accused Obi-Wan of trying to steal her. Hayden Christensen really became Vader there, and we began to see some real anger. The movie needed more of that, IMO.
At least all the galactic senate, republic mumbo jumbo made more sense to a casual fan like myself this time. Still, bottom line, if these three movies weren't attached to the original trilogy, they'd be a complete waste of time. Although I enjoyed it more than the first two, I'm not eager to see it again, and it won't be added to my DVD collection come Christmas time.
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