Even the most staunch defenders of the Star Wars prequels would have to admit that the trilogy is rife with eye-rollingly awful dialogue, with Anakin (Hayden Christensen) and Padme (Natalie Portman) the primary perpetrators.
Now, the man who created the galaxy far, far away has defended the "pretty corny" exchanges while being interviewed for Paul Duncan's newly-released book The Star Wars Archives 1999–2005, bringing up one especially cringe-worthy scene in particular ("I am haunted by the kiss that you should never have given me").
"It is presented very honestly, it isn't tongue-in-cheek at all, and it's played to the hilt," George Lucas said of the Anakin/Padme moment. "But it is consistent, not only with the rest of the movie, but with the overall Star Wars style. Most people don't understand the style of Star Wars. They don't get that there's an underlying motif that is very much like a 1930s Western or Saturday matinee serial."
"It's in the more romantic period of making movies and adventure films. And this film is even more of a melodrama than the others," Lucas says of the "soap opera" nature of Revenge of the Sith.
What do you guys make of Lucas' comments? Do you buy his explanation? Let us know in the usual place. The Star Wars Archives 1999–2005 is now available to purchase on Amazon.