Star Wars Episode III : Revenge of the Sith (2 Disc Edition) [2005]

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, Amazon.com

One needs to have a strange sort of sympathy for Lucas, Dykstra and company in the special effects department. How does one continue to amaze and wow the crowd of today's cinema-goers while not making the original film (1977 was a long time ago, even if in the local galaxy) look cheesy and dated, because ultimately, the original film has to be found in the fourth slot in later runs. In this respect, they've done a good job. The opening shot of one lone star ship running from a much larger cruiser will no longer have the cinematic effect that it once had, particularly after an opening such as this film had - the scene starts with two small speeders, going up to a ship that gets ever larger, and then one behold a vast armarda of similar ships just around the bending horizon of this one. Alas, Tie-Fighters and X-Wing fighters do seem a bit dated...

There were a few points at which the CGI and matting didn't seem to have a seamless effect - one could tell the images of Anakin and Obi-Wan were superimposed over the lava jets and flows at times, but the action did keep one from dwelling it. The non-space sets were magnificent as ever, and the galactic geography was added to with several new planets with differing terrains.

The plot for this third episode was in some ways predetermined. We know episodes two and four, so the real drama turns on three major points, and one set-up for episode four. First, the chancellor must become the dictatorial emperor. There was no mystery from the very outset of episode one that he would end up in this role - one wonders if, in the future, people watching the series in proper sequence will discover that so quickly. Second, the Jedi order must meet its doom (otherwise, why would a later episode be entitled 'Return of the Jedi'?). Of course, part of this must require the survival of Yoda and Obi-Wan, as they recur in the future. Third, Anakin must become Darth Vader. We know he will, the question is, how? The set-up comes from the birth of Luke and Leia, who will prove the good-guy nemesis duo of Vader in the latter half of the series.

For having so many predetermined arcs, the story is riveting in many ways. Anakin makes a slow descent into the temptations of the dark side, and most of the time, it is believable - Anakin is still a brash, aggressive young man, full of himself and with all the arrogance that fame and strength can bring. He does give up a bit too easily to the dark side (and one wonders why it never occurred to him that his dreams might be a manipulative plant rather than a true vision of the future). Palpatine becomes the grizzled, disfigured emperor by use of the dark side, just as Anakin will suffer a similar fate. Yoda seems to give up a bit too easily in the final fight with Palpatine - again, required for the story arc, but disappointing given the invincibility factor attributed to Yoda throughout much of the story (this film and others).

Padme is ever-present, but not very effective save as the object of interest for young Anakin; again, we know their love is doomed because we've seen the future, but exactly how they split becomes part of the drama, and it is generally well done. Jar-Jar shows up in the background occasionally, but doesn't utter a word. Chewbacca makes his first appearance here, and several characters make their last.

The battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin in the end is very well crafted, both from a psychological and physical standpoint.

Both Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor do an excellent job with their characters. There is subtlety and finesse, even in the choreography for the fight scenes; their relationship is solidly developed. Natalie Portman is a bit wasted, with very little action allowed, given that she is pregnant (with twins, no less - it is somewhat lacking in credibility that this super-advanced civilisation would not have the ability to detect that she was carrying twins, but I digress). All other actors do their usual good job - nothing outstanding nor detracting from the overall Star Wars effect.

Despite the dark and ominous overtones, and despite the pre-set trajectory of much of the action in the film, it is still one that manages to inspire awe and keep one's attention; the dramatic pace of the film is well done, and the acting credible enough without only a few story-line drops distracting from an otherwise near-flawless execution.

It has been officially proclaimed as the last film in the Star Wars cycle. However, there might yet be room for Star Wars III.5. The character of Obi-Wan wants for more development, and his last exchange with Yoda leaves the door open for a side-venture. Don't count the saga out yet.


"You need to see this film" - "We need to see this film"   September 15, 2005
A Creative Writing Student (Mars)
19 out of 28 found this review helpful

Despite the fact that I had to put up, for many years, with crummy videos that slowly deteriorated over time, I have come to love Star Wars.
This has to be one of the best in the series (you can't call it a trilogy anymore!) and is full of surprises even for those of us who know it all (or think we do).
Everyone talks about the opening battle and the lightsabre duels and all the stuff we knew was going to happen. What I want to call your attention to is the fact that this was probably the hardest film of the lot to pull off. It had to look like the technology (droids, starfighters etc) was older than in the first three; the film had to be tied up completely -there couldn't be any loose ends in this one. However, Lucas and his team have pulled it off brilliantly. The battles are fantastic, the acting is markedly improved (thank god they got rid of Jar Jar - what were they thinking?) and the plot has all the right twists and turns. The atmosphere changes from one of slight menace to one of outright darkness and dispair. The destruction of the Jedi was done superbly well, as was the slow corruption of Anakin. The main point I like is that, unlike the other films, there is no sense of victory, however simple. Even in The Empire Strikes Back there was some sense of "Luke's survived a life-or-death lightsabre duel and Han and Leia have stopped having domestics!" Like I said, small victories. But at the end of ROTS, you feel that things are about as bad as they can get. The Republic has become the Empire; the Jedi are all but extinct; Luke and Leia have to be raised seperately; Darth Vader still hasn't found his inhaler. The only disatisfying point was when Yoda promises to teach Obi Wan to talk to the dead (I.E his old mentor whose name I can't spell) but we don't find out why or what happens as a result; though I suppose it explains how Obi Wan can talk to Luke after he has a game of two halves.

All in all, a fantistic film and one that deserves its place amongst the others.