It's up to snuff. It sustains the gee-whiz spirit of the series.
75
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
Let the killjoys squawk. Lucas has proved he has the Naboos to pull it off again. And again. And again.
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
It does the job just fine. That job, as director George Lucas freely admits, is quite simply to thrill the beating hearts and the inquiring minds of 12-year-old boys.
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Good enough, but only just. It's got the hardware, but neither the characters, the imagination, nor the resonance one had hoped for.
It's a kiddie movie rejiggered for childish grown-ups, of whom there are enough to make it a hit. How such childishness has become a virtual secular religion is hard to imagine.
The entire film is curiously soulless, with major characters making their entrances and exits (some of which are unexpectedly final) as if they were breezing in from some other screening next door.