Revenge of the Sith, or Episode III as the geeks would no doubt have it, serves as a gateway to the 1977 blockbuster (Episode IV - A New Hope, as any good sci-fi buff can tell you). Although this is a notable improvement on the previous two prequels, one can't help feeling it could have been a whole lot better.

This is the long-awaited moment when Anakin Skywalker (the lacklustre Hayden Christensen) finally succumbs to the dark side and transforms himself into the wheezy helmet-wearing Darth Vader.

Not that you'd know it from the first hour, which is a frenetic pastiche of galactic battles and banter between Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi, played un-venerably by Ewan McGregor.

While Anakin fights for the Republic he worries incessantly for the fate of his pregnant bride, the retired Queen Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman).

Leading the charge of evil is Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) who ostensibly stands for peace. Palpatine is sinuously convincing as he entices Anakin towards moral destruction. The second hour is a good old-fashioned conflict of good vs. evil, with plenty of humming light sabres being wielded.

Episode III's script is flawed on several accounts. As well as the usual sagging dialogue, it's odd that the medical technology that salvages Anakin Skywalker isn't savvy enough to save Padme from the less strenuous rigors of childbirth, for instance.

McGregor is far too hammy to come across as a younger version of Alec Guinness, and Christensen and Portman are mediocre. Only McDiarmid catches the attention, conveying a perpetual sense of doom as well as evil.

I came away feeling my buckle had been only partly swashed. If only George Lucas had swallowed his pride and let a decent director do the job, and had spent less money on his beloved computer graphics and hired a better cast instead.