I bet you gave rave reviews to the Grinch Who Stole Christmas! :>]

It's almost as if the goal changed somewhere between the third and fourth movies. The first three to come out were fun, almost lighthearted romps that quickly added words, phrases and icons to our popular culture. I've enjoyed all three more than once.

It's different, for me at least, with the last three to come out ... and my response to those films has been different. The first one I've seen once (and will not see again); the second, I didn't bother to see at all. The third, I'm told, is the best of the 'second-three,' and well worth watching ... something I've heard from a number of people who were also turned off by the direction the films have taken into bloated, mock-epic and over-llong storytelling.

So, I'm going to see it ... then decide if I'll take the boys to see it. I'm told the PG-13 rating is well applied ... and both are under 13. And that kind of bugs me when I see how heavily the film is cross-promoted in everything from kids' toys to BK kids' meals.

One thing that won't get me down in the storyline of the latest film, is that I've already seen the 'final chapter,' And I already know that, in the end, Vader does the right thing, by himself and by his son ... and I can think of worse ways for a story to end.

I bet you gave rave reviews to the Grinch Who Stole Christmas!

Yeah, he's my hero! ;-)

So, I'm going to see it ... then decide if I'll take the boys to see it.

Jeff, this is a hard call for me to make. There were ample light-saber beheadings and amputations, one pretty graphic immolation and one scene where "The Force" turns a human character into a pretty scary-looking creature. Some of those things would probably have given me nightmares at a young age...but kids don't seem to be as sensitive nowadays. None of the scenes could be term graphic (no blood or slo-mo, for example); they were simply more intense than in past episodes.

I agree with you that the most recent three movies lack the "fun" of the original three. I guess it's because they are, in a sense, one long exploration of "why good jedi go bad".

I really enjoyed ROTS, even with the hideous dialogue Natalie Portman was forced to deliver. As others have said, it did bring a sense of closure to the series, and it's good knowing it all works out in the end.

I'd say someone under 13 could handle the movie, but I'd refrain from taking those under six- unlike the couple sitting in front of me...

Oh, and Eric, Jar-Jar appears in the very last seen that we see Padme in. For about two seconds. I thought it was actually appropriate, though I would have rather seen him meet the business end of a lightsaber...

My two daughters (9 and 10) have seen it with my wife (I have not seen it yet because I've been lowering my expectations, and I didn't want to deal with the crowds).

They really enjoyed the movie and have not expressed nor shown signs of being put off by the violence.

SPOILER AHEAD (If you've lived under a rock for the past half century)
Of course, they've also watched Return of the King (as well as the other LOTR films) with us--we briefed them in advance about the epic violence in the final movie. They were more upset that Gollum died than by any of the brutality.

Oh, and Eric, Jar-Jar appears in the very last seen that we see Padme in.

I obviously wasn't perceptive enough to catch the appearance. At least he didn't have a speaking part (or did I miss that, too?).

They were more upset that Gollum died...

WAIT! Gollum died?!

RotS is definitely better than the first two prequels and worth watching.

As other commenters said, the acting and dialog is a little wooden. But it is more like balsa wood vs. the oak and mohagany stiffness of TPM and AotC.

Besides the pitched battles, breathless chases, generally grievous villains, and light saber derring do, this film also very accurately depicts the nature of devilish temptation and human frailty. If I were a pastor, I'd use the parleys between Palpatine and Anakin to illustrate biblical messages on the issue.

Someone told me that it's best to watch the "prequel" trilogy while consciously refraining from making comparisons to the Original Trilogy and that's probably good advice.

Even now, nobody is saying it eclipsed the Matrix or LOTR trilogies, the way they should. In the past, franchises like that would have been swept aside in the massive excitement Star Wars used to generate. The last movie to do what Star Wars used to was Cameron's "Titanic".

The Star Wars trilogy combined (or used to combine) the best of science fiction (Matrix) and fantasy (LOTR). But either trilogy is indisputably better than the "new" Star Wars. That's pitiful.

Lucas had better hope the fans of his new trilogy are as loyal to it as those who grew up with the Original Trilogy because the new fans are all he's got.

Releasing the "Complete Hexology" isn't going to win back older fans because Lucas has already made it quite clear he is not, repeat not, going to release the original 70's theatrical versions on DVD.

A lot of us would like the Original Trilogy released, free of Lucas' constant revisionism.

"I've been waiting a long time for this, Solo."
"Yeah, I'll bet you have."