Episode III

Well, it wasn't as shit as Episodes I or II. OTOH, it showed how completely and utterly redundant those movies were; the story of Anakin's (and the Republic's) fall could have been told without nearly so much crap or computer-game ads. Throw in a serious bout of prequelitis (the need to wrap everything up / set the scene neatly) and you have a film which is just a little disappointing. OTOH, after all the hype, how could it not be?

I'm also somewhat amused by the American right's desire to detect anti-Bush memes in the movie. Oh, you can see the fall of the Republic as a warning about the possible future of American democracy - but this isn't "anti-Bush" so much as showing an awareness of history. Look at the rise of Augustus. Look at the fall of the Weimar Republic and the passage of the Enabling Act. Democracies do die in times of crisis "with thunderous applause" - and this is something that every citizen of a democracy should be aware of. And anyone who thinks that people should be ignorant of that fact, or that it is an implied criticism of their political faction, clearly has a guilty conscience.