Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

George Lucas comes full circle in more ways than one in "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," which is the sixth -- and allegedly but not necessarily the last -- of the "Star Wars" movies. After "Episode II" got so bogged down in politics that it played like the Republic covered by C-Span, "Episode III" is a return to the classic space opera style that launched the series. Because the story leads up to where the original "Star Wars" began, we get to use the immemorial movie phrase, "This is where we came in."

That Anakin Skywalker abandoned the Jedi and went over to the dark side is known to all students of "Star Wars." That his twins Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia would redeem the family name is also known. What we discover in "Episode III" is how and why Anakin lost his way -- how a pleasant and brave young man was transformed into a dark, cloaked figure with a fearsome black metal face. As Yoda sadly puts it in his inimitable word order: "The boy you trained, gone he is, consumed by Darth Vader."

As "Episode III" opens, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and his friend Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) are piloting fighter craft, staging a daring two-man raid to rescue Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). He has been captured by the rebel Gen. Grievous (whose voice, by Matthew Woods, sounds curiously wheezy considering the general seems to use replacement parts). In the spirit of all the "Star Wars" movies, this rescue sequence flies in the face of logic, since the two pilots are able to board Grievous' command ship and proceed without much trouble to the ship's observation tower, where the chancellor is being held. There is a close call in an elevator shaft, but where are the guards and the security systems? And why, for that matter, does a deep space cruiser need an observation tower, when every porthole opens on to the universe? But never mind.

Back within the sphere of the Jedi Council, Anakin finds that despite his heroism, he will not...

Having seen the first movie when it reached France as I was about 10, it left a vivid mark on my imagination, and I kind of treasured the little bit of fantasy it brought to me among probably millions of other people.

I think the reason why episodes IV to VI became timeless classics is that they were simply fairy tales in sci-fi clothing. You had heroes and princesses actually doing their heroes and princesses things on the screen, but most of the coolest bits happened somewhere in the recesses of your own imagination.

Struggle of good against evil. Quest for the father. Passage from childhood to adulthood through a series of trials and challenges. All the stuff chivalry stories are made off, presented in a minimalist way that stuck to the essential elements of the plot. All the rest, including top notch SFXs and the excellent Solo-R2D2-C3PO trio was just cleverly fleshing out this very strong backbone.

Just a few lines from a dreamy-eyed Sir Alec Guinness about the clone wars while young and clumsy Luke had his pants burn by a floating tennis ball were enough to flare your imagination in depicting an epic struggle between dark empire forces and a few heroic Jedi knights overwhelmed by sheer force and treachery. A few words about Leia and Luke's past were enough to evoke the moving fate of orphans afraid to uncover the hidden truth about a father shrouded in menacing mystery. Stuff dreams are made of, really.

Sadly oh so sadly, it looks like nowadays a blockbuster will never get the green light until some kind of quality insurance comity makes sure even the slowest 10% of your average audience will never be left wondering about anything that goes on for more than 2.5 seconds. I guess some marketing genius managed to convince the producers that leaving anything to the imagination of the customer seriously threatened the return on investment or something.

The last 3 episodes were unfortunately born in this disastrous context and proceeded methodically w...

Truly the best of the bad Star Wars movies, Revenge of the Sith doesn't make a whole lot of sense, both when viewed as self-contained, and when seen as a part of the Star Wars whole, but at least Lucas bothered to put a whole movie in here.

Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.

Still not perfect, but 'Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith' is such a more enjoyable entry in the prequel trilogy - which ends strongly.

I had a fun time with this. I do have a couple of (relatively minor) complaints, but first the positives. I'd say this is the best that this cast produced during this run of films. Hayden Christensen is excellent in his role, it's the most I've liked him in 'Star Wars' for sure. Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman give more than solid performances as well.

The special effects look nice throughout, while the score is pleasant. I also found the pacing to be practically ideal, which is a marked improvement on its predecessors. The humour and dialogue still isn't great, yet is also bettered. Crucially, the plot is very good.

With all that noted, I do have two things I didn't love. The first being the event that includes Samuel L. Jackson's character. I completely get the intention and reasoning of what occurs, but how it is shown did feel kinda forced and poorly written.

Another is the end, which overruns ever so slightly. I know it's setting up the original trilogy, but there are a few too many scenes; could've/should've ended on you know who's first breath.

However, all in all, I got a positive amount of entertainment and would class this as a step above the preceding two films. I'm glad about that, as it makes the prequel productions way more meaningful and memorable than they were looking to be based on the 1999 & 2002 releases.

I had lost hope in the Prequels when they first came out - disappointing isnt a strong enough word to explain it, but its the best I can do. So I came into this film with low expectations... I knew it wouldnt be great and I knew what it had to do to link up with the original Star Wars.

And then, this one surprised me (and still does).

The plot is taut, because it has to be (it has a lot of ground to cover). The universe that was made in Ep 1 has to change dramatically to become Ep 4. And the dialogue is mildly better (but still has its moments).

The opening action scene wowed at the time (and still does). And some of the duels are excellent - ObiWan vs Grievous was fun and (of course) ObiWan vs Anakin was superb - they had weight and impact and the swings actually "landed" (which is more than can be said for the other ones which just seemed to be dances).

And the acting is actually improved a bit - for a moment Christensen actually showed some talent (and he has shown this in other movies, just not in these). He lets himself have an instant of regret after one of his killing sprees before refocusing back to his "angry state." It makes me wonder about how much emotion could have been put into this movie with a different director.

McGregor is the best actor here. Portman shines, but is underused. Jackson is wooden in this. And McDiarmid over acts and loses his sinisterness - he is better in the shadows in this role, either sitting or standing still. When he does something more (even walking starts to get too much), he loses all believability (which is a shame as he is a fine actor in other roles).

The score still remains typically 'Star Wars' - great. The costumes have evolved again (it has been great watching the costumes change through these movies). And the CGI is great in this - every background has something moving in it.

There are flaws with this film - many of them that I have not already touched on, but others have...

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Rewatching before OBI-WAN KENOBI.

When it comes to film sagas with massive fandoms, you'll find fans of literally all installments. STAR WARS has 11 movies and surely all are someone's #1. That said, REVENGE OF THE SITH proves to be an improvement in pretty much every single aspect compared to the first two prequels.

The narrative and its character arcs receive a much more interesting treatment - we finally get to witness Anakin's turn to the dark side and the rise of the Galactic Empire. Lightsaber fights are more captivating, visuals still hold up rather well, and even the performances are more convincing - dialogue remains pretty bad, especially within the love relationship between Anakin and Padmé, but Christensen surpasses his previous performance. The score continues to be as memorable as ever.

It may be far from my personal favorites, but it's, without a doubt, a film that deserves the positive evolution it has received as well as its fans. Clearly, the prequel that George Lucas always wanted to make, with no shifts in focus, irrelevant characters, or low-impact subplots.

Rating: B-

At last we get some semblance of the original trilogy with this action adventure iteration that is much darker and character-driven. Hayden Christensen's "Anakin" is coming to realise what really will turn him into the ultimate evil "Darth Vader" under the guise of his new mentor "Palpatine" (a magnificently, if theatrical, Ian McDiarmid). It's end to end action; the cast have thrown off their romantic notions from "Attack of the Clones" and we are setting the scene, properly, for "A New Hope" at the same time ridding ourselves of the baggage that weighed down the first two in this triplet. Curiously enough, the effects don't work so well in this, but George Lucas, David Tattersall and John Williams deliver a much, much better fantasy drama with some great galactic swashbuckling at the end...