I won’t go into details about Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith because nothing annoys me more than spoilers before I’ve seen a movie, but I will note that I was disappointed. Perhaps I wanted to believe the hype too much. I mean, the illustrious New York Times did say it was the second-best of the six.

But I didn’t feel the film lived up to its destiny. It was too long in the insignificant battle scenes, too rushed in crucial life-altering scenes. It relied too heavily on special effects, mostly because no one in the movie could act adequately (Jimmy Smits seemed to be the sole exception to this problem, giving me some hope for The West Wing next year). The Jedi were weak and foolish and surprisingly responsible for the downfall of the Republic.

Even Yoda disappointed me tonight.

Where was the Han Solo-type character, a cowboy whose temperament is smoldering and overwhelming and wrong (but necessary)?

I wanted to see some passion in an epic battle of good versus evil, but the only sparks that flew were from the Emperor’s fingers. Yes, yes, everything we knew had to happen did. It’s just sad that we cared so little as it occurred.

Turns out the Jedi were wrong. You have to find a way to temper the knowledge of what’s right and wrong with some passion for a life that’s worth living. Otherwise everyone loses.