STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH

STAR WARS EPISODE III -- REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005). Written and directed by George Lucas.

Fearing for his wife's safety and wishing for the power to protect her, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) succumbs to the dark side of the force and becomes Darth Vader. [Of course the fact that young Skywalker is put on the council but not made a "master" by his superiors and the resentment this engenders also influences his decision.] All these years after the original Star Wars it seems strange that anyone would even care about this long and rather silly saga that in general has always been below comic book level [while battening off the ideas of such comics giants as Jack Kirby]. Typical of today's FX movies, there is so much computer animation in the film that it resembles a cartoon. The miniature spaceships and the like which were once so striking now just look like miniatures. The wizened Yoda gets a lot of screen time and is as irritating as ever. Most of the acting in the movie can't be characterized so much as "bad" as simply "dull." At 140 minutes this will best be enjoyed by diehard Star Wars fanatics and may put everyone else to sleep. There are some good scenes, such as a battle between Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) over a river of lava, but the ultimate effect is rather numbing.

Verdict: Hopefully the last Star Wars movie ever. **.