star wars r.i.p.

Finally saw Ep. 3 tonight. I'd give a review here, but I've already forgotten most of the movie. I'll just say the dialogue was smoother than the last two, but the Lucas touches are all still there. I am loath to analyze further, as there are more holes in the story than you can shake a saber at, and story was the best thing going for the series.

Really, though, the best thing about a Hollywood epic is that everyone gets a slice of the pie.

Of the first 15 actors listed in the credits:

• 2 were born in the U.S.: Samuel Jackson (D.C.) and Jimmy "No, I Am Your Father" Smits (Brooklyn)
• 2 in Scotland: Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid
• 4 in England: Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee, and Silas Carson
• 3 in New Zealand: Jay Laga'aia, Bruce Spence, and Temeura Morrison (of Once Were Warriors fame)
• 2 in Australia: Keisha Castle-Hughes (of Whale Rider fame) and Wayne Pygram
• 1 in Canada: Hayden Christensen
• and Jerusalem-born Natalie Portman

(Shooting in England and Australia might account for the decidedly Anglo cast to this cast, but I wouldn't count out the lure of non-union actors, as well as the long-standing audience preference for fantasy characters with British accents, and the increasing dominance of Aussie/Kiwi stars and directors.)

Looking further down the cast list, and taking a page from the Coppola Handbook of Nepotism:

• Amanda Lucas
• Katie Lucas
• Jett Lucas (kamikaze Jedi youngling who saves Jimmy Smits)
• Mousy McCallum (daughter of producer Rick McCallum)

And, taking a page from the Hitchcock Handbook of Narcissism:

• Baron Papanoida... George Lucas

Star Wars has gone the way of James Bond. Besides losing the novelty, humor, and energy of the originals, these never-ending series suffer from inflexible characters and story formulas that only get more dated with each new Matrix or Sin City. Hopefully, this is the last we'll see of Star Wars, but, unfortunately, we can expect at least one more cut for the DVD release.