Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Review

On Wednesday, May 19, 2005, exactly six years after the premiere of The Phantom Menace and almost 28 years after the first screening of Star Wars (a.k.a. Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope), I was among the millions of fans going to the movies to watch the final installment of George Lucas' popular space-fantasy saga set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."

 In this chapter of what Lucas calls The Tragedy of Darth Vader, we see Anakin Skywalker's fiery transition from stalwart-if-flawed Jedi hero to the murderous, ruthless Sith Lord audiences loved to hate when Star Wars first burst onto the world's movie screens and into the hearts and minds of legions of fans in 1977.  And it's in Revenge of the Sith that the saga comes to a full circle, for even as we watch Darth Sidious' plan to transform the battered Republic into a fascist Empire and nearly exterminate the Jedi Order, we also know that the stage is being set for the self-crowned Emperor's fall and the redemption of a "twisted and evil" Anakin by the love of one of his twin children.

 Sith takes place three years after the events depicted in Attack of the Clones and immediately after the final episode of the Cartoon Network/Lucasfilm animated "microseries" Star Wars: Clone Wars.  As the film begins, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, are on a desperate rescue mission; Palpatine, the unassuming and beloved Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, has been captured by the Separatists' cyborg war leader, General Grievous and the treacherous Sith Lord, Count Dooku.

 After a series of mini-cliffhangers, Dooku and the Jedi have an all-out lightsaber duel in the presence of a seemingly helpless Palpatine. Obi-Wan is knocked unconscious, and an infuriated Anakin, goaded by the Supreme Chancellor, does the unthinkable: using the dark side of the Force, and after disarming (literally) the traitorous Dooku, young Skywalker cold-bloodedly executes him.

Stricken by guilt, Anakin tells Palpatine, his friend and alternate mentor, that killing Dooku was wrong. "It's not the Jedi way," the young Knight says remorsefully.  But Palpatine, who is the public face of Sith Lord Darth Sidious, tells Skywalker a harsher truth: "It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People."

There is another series of 1930s-era styled cliffhangers involving Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine as they face General Grievous, a bloodthirsty but cowardly villain whose role is to foreshadow Anakin's eventual fate, and then Revenge of the Sith moves on to the core of the story - Palpatine's clever exploitation of Anakin's fear of losing his wife Padme, the estrangement between young Skywalker and Kenobi, the near-destruction of the Jedi Order, and Anakin's Faustian deal with the evil Sith Lord:

Be careful of the Jedi, Anakin. Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. Learn to know the Dark Side of the Force and you will be able to save your wife from certain death.

Assets: Although Episode III has more than a few flaws, Sith is the Prequel Episode that comes closest to replicating the pacing and spirit of the Classic Trilogy. It has the strength of A New Hope's straightforward narrative and the emotional depth of The Empire Strikes Back. And like Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith takes all the loose ends of the prequels and ties them up satisfactorily. And even though the end of the film is pre-destined -- the Jedi Order is nearly annihilated, the Republic falls and becomes the Galactic Empire, and the events that lead to A New Hope are set in motion -- its structure meshes beautifully into the complete six-Episode Star Wars  series.

Despite a slew of visual goofs (see the Internet Movie Database's entry on the film) and quite a few story-related gaffes, Revenge of the Sith boasts some of the best special effects sequences of the saga.  They are stunning; the opening dogfight over Coruscant outdoes even the two Death Star battles of the "Luke Trilogy," and  the action sequences are amazing. Particularly noteworthy are the various lightsaber duels, especially the one between Anakin and Obi-Wan; it's hard to top the heartbreaking final duel that pits the young "Darth Vader" against his former Jedi Master. 

Naturally, Sith wouldn't be a Star Wars movie without a John Williams score, and the film boasts one of the composer's best efforts. Here Williams blends themes from the Prequel and Classic Trilogies and joins them to new cues such as the exciting march-like Battle of the Heroes and the quietly spooky Palpatine's Teachings.

Also noteworthy is Ian McDiarmid's performance in the dual role of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious.  Whether he's silkily using outward charm and "fatherly" warmth to confuse Anakin to separate the boy from his Jedi comrades or displaying his rage (and deadly Sith powers) as the evil Sith Lord, McDiarmid acquits himself well and nearly steals the film, particularly once he assumes the familiar corpse-like appearance familiar to fans from 1983's Return of the Jedi.

Liabilities: To me, the biggest problem in the film is the lack of true chemistry between Hayden Christensen's Anakin and Natalie Portman's Padme Amidala.   Their acting is a bit less restrained than in Attack of the Clones and in a few bits there is some glimmer of love and passion, albeit subtle ones that are seen in their smiles or glances.  Yet, for some bizarre reason, Padme is no longer the prototype for Princess Leia but rather a pale shadow of her kick-butt self in Episodes I and II.  Maybe carrying the Skywalker Twins has made Padme more careful, but she isn't exactly the awe-inspiring heroine who could wield a blaster as well as the best Naboo soldiers.  (To their credit, Lucas and uncredited script doctor Tom Stoppard do give her two of the best lines in Sith, including one "echoed later" by her son Luke in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.)

 There is also a curious disconnect between Sith and "established facts" stated in the Classic Trilogy.  One is the mystery of how Leia remembers her mother as "beautiful but sad" even though Padme dies minutes after giving birth to her.  You can argue it's a Force vision Leia has been seeing since her infancy, but it's still rather strange and, pardon the pun, forced.

The other bit of nitpicking involves what one might consider to be a big fib on Obi-Wan's part in A New Hope. When Alec Guinness' incarnation of Kenobi gives Anakin's lightsaber to Luke on Tatooine, he gives the boy (and us) the impression that the "dead" Skywalker knew his son was alive and wanted him to have his "laser sword."  In Sith, Kenobi simply picks up his former Padawan's lightsaber from the ashes on Mustafar and casually walks away with it.

Final Thoughts:  Although it never quite reaches Shakespearean heights of drama and the script has more than a few weak spots, Revenge of the Sith completes Lucas' space opera on a very satisfying note.