Movie Star Blog

Ewan McGregor always seems to make something happen regardless of the writing:

The movie's an improvement over the last two -- and we all know that's not saying much -- but the middle is an episodic mess. It's filled with mindless action sequences, unbearably bad scenes between Anakin and Padme, and all that force-Yoda-mumbo jumbo that just leaves me cold. The end has some very strong moments and ties into Episode IV rather brilliantly: You see Obi Wan take Anakin's light sabre -- the one he'll eventually give Luke. Most impressive is how the set design and music slowly start to look and sound like the original Star Wars. Ewan McGregor does what he can with Lucas' stilted dialog, and the scenes between Palpatine and Anakin have their Faustian moments. But other than that, the movie, like it's two predecessors, is really nothing more than a melodrama, whereas the original three were not.