Revenge of the Sith--sound and fury, hold the emotion

When we went to see Revenge of the Sith, we were treated to a few minutes of thrilling, magical moviemaking--that is, the preview trailer for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, coming out this December. I predict that it will become the film that fills the place in my daughter's imagination that Star Wars filled in mine.

As for Revenge of the Sith, it got the job done, and wasn't nearly as unwatchable as the first two "new" movies. Our neighborhood theater managed to show it out of focus, which was a shame because the visuals were stunning.

The story was confusing if you haven't seen The Clone Wars cartoons (which I hadn't). The acting was awful at times--poor Natalie Portman had almost nothing to do except worry and die. Padme Amidala is no Princess Leia! The biggest problems, though, were #1, that in many scenes there was a flurry of fighting, but I had no idea what was at stake, and #2, in a prequel, suspense is lacking because you already know who is going to live. Any battle with Anakin and Obi-Wan was anticlimactic because you knew they couldn't possbily die.

For now I'll put my cinematic sense of wonder on hold until The Chronicles of Narnia comes out!