Episode II and a half

Well, it's done, I have seen Episode III - Revenge of the Sith yesterday. The ring is complete.

I don't know what to think of it. I feel like it is the weakest movie of them all, much weaker than Episode I. Ok, I have to say that after the death of my friend Justus, it seemed "unimportant" and "small".

(Warning: SPOILERS ahead)

Many people critiqued Episode I because it had to introduce so many characters. I have to critique Episode III because it did little more then close the gap between II and IV. There was no real story behind it: War, all but two Jedis killed, The Emperor, Two babies, Padme dead, Darth Vader here, Yoda and Kenobi leave the stage. Count Dooku didn't play any important role, neither did Mace Windu, Senator Bail Organa or General Grievous. There was a cameo appearance of Chewbacca, Captain Antilles, Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen, the Death Star and the Millennium Falcon. Both the transistion from Anakin to Darth Vader and the splitting up between Padme and Anakin are still not believable. The opening fight sequence was nice, but that was it, I'm afraid.

What I'm missing that there wasn't one new character introduced that played any important role (like there was in every other episode, except maybe VI). I think part of the charm for me was the appearance of someone new who played a important role only in one Episode, maybe to appear in another. Like Jar Jar, Wattoo, Jango Fett, Dexter Jettster, Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen, Boba Fett, Lando Carrisian... These characters are adding depth that I'm missing in Episode III.

Still, I'm looking forward to the extended version on DVD.