Episode III is by far the best out of the 3 newest installments, and as a popcorn movie probably the best of all 6 episodes. I now realize that none of the Star Wars movies are really good. As individual movies (the story & environment aside) they have nothing that original to offer. It's the whole myth that makes the movies so successful, rather than their quality as cinema.
I was happy to see the Anakin/Darth Vader character. I think he was by far the most convincing and properly placed actor of the new trilogy (not in the first two movies though). The looks, the face, the moves, the capes, it all blended very well. On the other hand, a grad school enegineering student could have written better dialogues that these.
Episode III is artistically flawless: this is the best you can get out of sound and visual effects in the year 2005. The visuals are stunning and the detail is incredible. However this over-embellishment does not let the mind to register critical information: In episodes IV-V-VI the art was simple but key figures became symbols: The Death Star, C-3PO, Luke's plane, Yoda, etc etc. We all know how they look. Episodes I-II-III failed to create timeless figures like that. None of the new characters/sites/items stick to the memory long after the viewing.
I struggled to find a place at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood to watch the film over the weekend, the people were going crazy about it. The Dome is the best theater I've been so far: the building has the shape of a geodesic dome, the screen inside is curved 126 degrees and is really huge for non-IMAX (2700 sq. ft) . The theater fits 800 people surrounded by 44 JBL speakers (!) creating an awesome feeling. And I have to admit that the picture was crystal-clear despite the size, I couldn't tell any imperfection at any point (The Kinoton projector weighs 250Kg!).
