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The Light Side: 10 things Lucas has done right

By MATT THOMPSON
Austin360.com

Nothing's perfect.

And just about everybody has been pretty uniform in agreeing that, so far, this new Star Wars prequel trilogy is about as far from perfect as you can get.

Lucasfilm Ltd. 'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' Director: George Lucas Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee Run time: 140 minutes Release date: May 19, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer [an error occurred while processing this directive]

That said, much of the criticism, while fair, is a bit over-the-top about certain things. In many ways, George Lucas made a lot of very good decisions in the production of the first two films. (We'll set aside how he does as a whole after we get to see "Revenge of the Sith" in a couple weeks.)

Until then, however, we thought it would be prudent to point out some of the good stuff he's done so far. (As well as 10 of the bad.)

This, then, is our list:

1. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi: The right guy in the most critical role in the films. Recreating the only character with whom we really had a relationship from the original trilogy, McGregor had to suggest the stylings of Alec Guinness while not doing an impression, which is harder than it looks. Had he failed, the whole thing would've been dead in the water from the get-go. As a bonus, few have been able to survive George Lucas' stilted dialogue ("Your clones are very impressive"; "I'll never join you, Dooku!") with as much dignity. Now, does anybody ever explain what happened to Obi-Wan that caused him to age nearly 40 years during the two decades between "Episode III" and "Episode IV"?

2. Darth Maul: Maul radiated the creeps in a way that a little guy we like to call "Darth Vader" did 20-odd years prior. His makeup was cool. The little ring of horns around his skull was cool. His ship was cool. His twin-barrelled lightsaber was cool. Even his cycle-speeder (or whatever you call it) was cool. Then he was just gone, abruptly, at the end of the first episode. I was looking forward to seeing him do nasty (but cool!) things in Episodes "II" and "III," as well. Ah, well ...

3. Slave One (and the Fetts): Here's the thing about the Fett Boys: They die. Easy. They're the kings of anticlimactic mortality. That said, the Fett Armor has always looked slick, even in blue. And seeing their familiar ride, Slave One, on screen again was a treat. Perhaps the best part of "Episode II" was the sound of Slave One's seismic charges going off in that asteroid field. In the theater, it felt like you were experiencing a low-grade MRI.

4. Yoda's duel with Dooku: Okay, it's a little gimmicky, but who didn't enjoy seeing the hobbled, 900-something Jedi master finally do a little work with the laserblade? Giggle-inducing fun. Indeed, all the lightsaber stuff so far has been fantastic, especially when the Jedi smack blaster bolts out of the air the way Derrick Jeter turns on a hanging curveball.

5. Mace Windu: "Shaft" with a purple lightsaber? How could that possibly miss? Sure, he largely sat out "Episode I" (a criminal waste), but by the time Samuel L. Jackson was cut loose late in "Episode II," we were all ready for him to do some damage. We suspect Mace will be the one character we'll particularly feel bad about losing in "Episode III." (Not a spoiler so much, is that? As memory serves, he wasn't anywhere around in "IV"-"VI", right?)

6. Naboo, Coruscant, et al: Not surprisingly, the Lucas gang did some fantastic work in the design and creation of almost all the settings through the first two films. The vehicles all looked sharp, too — although it's somewhat curious why the underwater cruiser the Gungans loaned Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon was designed to look like a fishing lure. Bad idea with huge sea monsters around. Not the clearest thinkers, those Gungans.

7. Jar-Jar Binks: Yes, as a character, Jar-Jar was a horrific mistake. But it was a mistake the Lucas gang made while they were pushing the limits of the technology, which we always respect. While the character was awful, the basic design wasn't unsalvageable, and generally looked good. Cartoony, perhaps, but good. Remember, they could've done Jar-Jar with puppets and makeup and he would've been every bit as annoying. (Need we remind you of the whole Ewok thing?)

8. John Williams: Some say the composer phoned it in on "Clones," and there's something to that. However, "Duel of the Fates" from "Episode I" was top-notch, raise-the-hair-on-your-forearms effective. Can you imagine the Star Wars universe without Williams' sweeping overtures? We think not.

9. (Parts of) The Pod Race: There are problems during this key scene of "Episode I," but squeezed around those flaws were some dazzling bits of filmmaking that drew you into the movie the way few films can. You know they've got you when you duck a little in your seat. It has that kind of effect.

10. Best Marketing in the Biz: If George Lucas' filmmaking abilities were up to the level of his team's marketing skills, we wouldn't need a "Dark Side" to this list. Note, we're not talking merchandising, although obviously that's a part of it. But the trailers, TV ads, posters, videos — all of it — made you need to see these films, even if your enthusiasm was tainted somewhat by the quality of the actual movies themselves.

 •The Dark Side: Lucas' 10 Biggest Mistakes