To look at me...

...you might not know it but i have to admit i' a bit of a Science Fiction geek at heart. I enjoy reading and watching Sci-Fi, from big Peter F. Hamilton space opera to harder science fiction and in the distant past even the odd Star Wars novel. I also loved the Joss Whedon series Firefly but more on that another time, i believe there is a movie version due. I've also been known to spend a sunday afternoon sitting watching any old tosh like Battle Beyond the Stars and Flash Gordon, the latter of which is a real guilty pleasure and the former just plain awful.

In the world of Science Fiction though there really is only one all conquering behemoth and that is Star Wars. It is an industry in itself and has made obscene amounts of money in the theatre alone, before we get to some of the less savoury tie ins with fast food chains and merchandising of all sorts. For someone like myself brought up with the original trilogy i do try to ignore all that and enjoy the films for what they are, exciting movies that you can engage with on a number of levels. It is a romp and high adventure that seems perfect for young boys, although quite frankly the way Princess leia strangles Jabba the Hut whilst wearing that gold bikini is bordering on the kinky! Then again that just might be me. It's a tale of good versus evil, then with the new trilogy we find that it's actually all a bit more complicated than that, even if these new sparkly looking films don't seem to be quite as good.

Which brings me to what i want to say about this latest offering, Revenge of the Sith. I have seen it twice now and to be fair to it i could sit through it again. It is definately the best of the new trilogy and you almost wish George Lucas was making more as he has at least got better and better with each of his new offerings. Although i should maybe reserve judgment for more repeated viewings as i did enjoy The Phantom Menace the first few times before it really sunk in that it was just a bit bad, although had just enough good bits to keep you hoping for a while.

This latest offering has tied up the series together nicely, the Emporers ascension to power seemed plausible enough. It was the fall of the other iconic villain Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader that bothered me. For someone taught by the jedi for approx 13 years he seemed remarkably immature and lets face it a bit of a thickie. He one moment appears to recognise that the Emporer is an evil git and a second later he's happily become his apprentice and decides that the Jedi are the bad guys. Is this him trying to convince himself to assuage a guilty conscience? The whole thing with his wife dying in childbirth, his vision of it and the fact it only occurs because of his own actions in trying to prevent it is a nice idea. I just find it hard to accept in that his wife is otherwise the picture of health, they life in a technologicaly advanced society he could be that worried that he'd turn to slaughtering innocent children on a path to get the power to save her. It was that scene where he all to quickly pledges himself to the dark side that just didn't ring true for me. if that had been done right i think i would have left the theatre raving about this latest film.

Also to end on a relatively minor note, i think they could have trimmed a little bit of the action to keep the time down a touch. Some of it wasn't all that exciting. Indeed when it comes to the lightsabre duels, i actualy mostly enjoyed the Anakin/Obi Wan dialogue, a rarity in new Star Wars films, more than their should have been lightsabre duel to end all lightsabre duel fight.