Star Wars: Episode 3. Revenge of the Sith

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Reviews

Amazon.com

Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid has kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). It’s just the latest maneuver in the ongoing Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist forces led by former Jedi turned Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). On another front, Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) leads the Republic’s clone troops against a droid attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. All this is in the first half of Episode III, which feels a lot like Episodes I and II. That means spectacular scenery, dazzling dogfights in space, a new fearsome villain (the CGI-created Grievous can’t match up to either Darth Maul or the original Darth Vader, though), lightsaber duels, groan-worthy romantic dialogue, goofy humor (but at least it’s left to the droids instead of Jar-Jar Binks), and hordes of faceless clone troopers fighting hordes of faceless battle droids.

But then it all changes.

After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies, Episode III finally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last 10 years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn’t matter. In fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they’ll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because Episode III is a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.

Episode III is easily the best of the new trilogy—OK, so that’s not saying much, but it might even jockey for third place among the six Star Wars films. It’s also the first one to be rated PG-13 for the intense battles and darker plot. It was probably impossible to live up to the decades’ worth of pent-up hype George Lucas faced for the Star Wars prequel trilogy (and he tried to lower it with the first two movies), but Episode III makes us once again glad to be “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” —David Horiuchi

Barnes and Noble

Star Wars fans waited breathlessly for this concluding installment of the three-part prequel to the Luke-and-Leia story arc, knowing full well that it would end in sadness and defeat for the forces of good. And on that score, writer-director George Lucas does not disappoint: Revenge of the Sith is the film that shows Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) turning to the Dark Side and becoming Darth Vader, one of the most chilling villains ever created for the screen. The Sith’s revenge also includes the defeat and destruction of the Jedi order by the evil forces of Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), which Lucas accomplishes with visceral flourish that earns the previously PG-rated series its first PG-13 designation. Further setting the stage for A New Hope (a.k.a. Star Wars Episode IV), we see the birth of twin infants Luke and Leia to Skywalker’s beloved wife, Padme (Natalie Portman), and the flight of Jedi masters Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) into exile and uncertainty. No doubt about it, Revenge of the Sith is the darkest Star Wars entry of them all, a movie that definitely puts the “opera” in “space opera.” Lucas, with the usual help of the series’ score composer, John Williams, presents everything on a grand emotional scale worthy of La Scala. Despite the all-pervasive air of tragedy and the snippets of dialogue that teeter on the brink between giggle- and cringe-inducing, Revenge of the Sith is nothing short of invigorating, employing every special-effects weapon in the Industrial Light and Magic arsenal. Revenge of the Sith is truly a breathtaking motion picture, certainly the best of the prequels; against considerable odds, it concludes the saga on a creative high. Ed Hulse