Michael Ryan

Pleasantly surprised. After making it a personal mission to rewatch all of the films from the Star Wars saga, I thought I would struggle to make it through episodes 1, 2 and 3... and I was - until I watched this one. It felt refreshing, the plot seemed clever, yet simple, there were twists and turns that I knew would be coming but they felt well executed, the acting seemed better and it just felt like it flowed better as a film. Was enjoyable to witness the birth of one of the best all time villains ever created.

I think this and The Phantom Menace are close competitors for the worst films in the Star Wars saga. Despite being engulfed in one of the most creative and iconic worlds ever imagined, this film finds itself lost in terms of what it wants to be. The characters are poor, childish and unimaginative, whilst the plot somehow seems empty yet overly complex and lacking a depth. Even the fight scenes seem awkwardly choreographed. Despite some of the actors being extremely high profile and brilliant in other films, I find their portrayals empty. Just a shame. Feel like this film is all over the place in lots of different ways and fails to captivate the wonders of the Star Wars universe.