Star Wars Episode 3

It has now been a few days since I saw the latest installment of the nerd bible known as Star Wars. I would have reviewed this earlier but I have been sick as a dog (not fun). In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a huge Star Wars fan. I have seen them all and I find the movies enjoyable on some levels, but I am not someone who grew up with Han Solo action figures and a Yoda lunchbox. The first thing I realized while watching Episode 3 was that it still has all of the same problems that the last 2 had. Awful dialogue, a penchant for the cheesy and a little too much computer effects were as bad here as they were in Episode's 1 and 2. The dialogue between Anakin and Padme is laughably bad here, as Lucas is likely the worst writer of love dialogue ever. The funny thing is, while this movie had all the issues of the previous average installments, this movie is far more likeable and a vastly superior film. The reason for this is simple. The things that are good about Episode 3 are so good, that it makes the bad more forgivable. This is a dark movie, which is a welcome change from the glorified children's movies that were Episode's 1 and 2. The conversion of Anakin into Darth Vader (if that was a spoiler to you, you deserve to have the movie spoiled) was done well and always seemed believable. I liked that they always made Anakin a conflicted character, instead of becoming downright evil. Along those lines, I like that some of the fault lies with the Jedi's for what happens. This movie combines the 2 trilogies about as well as could have been hoped. The birth of the Luke and Leia, the killing off of the Jedi, the Anakin vs. Obi Wan lightsaber duel on the lava planet are all played out here and all done well. Even with all it's faults, this is a Star Wars movie that old school fans can be proud of. Even if it isn't on par with the original trilogy.