Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge Of The Sith' (PG-13)
(out of four)
After underwhelming fans and taking a battering from critics with his first two prequels, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas can finally breath a sigh of relief: The Force is strong with "Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith."
With "Sith," Anakin Skywalkers' -- and Lucas' -- journey to the Dark Side is complete. For fans inspired by his original trilogy, it will spark the same sort of enthusiasm you had after seeing those films for the first time. Thought-provoking
and entertaining, "Sith" is not overshadowed by its special effects (which are as dazzling as ever), is not bogged down by agitating characters, and, most importantly, it delivers on the Big Moment: The long-anticipated transformation of Anakin (Hayden Christensen) into Darth Vader (which, when all is said and done, ranks as one of the best sequences in the entire saga).
No, "Sith" is not a perfect movie, but it's far better than "The Phantom Menace" (which I personally liked, but could see how it annoyed some people) and "Attack of the Clones" (which I was sorely disappointed in). In comparison to the films in the original trilogy, it's on par with the ominous tone of "The Empire Strikes Back," the favorite of many "Star Wars" fans. That's not to say it's better than "A New Hope" or "Return of the Jedi" -- but it certainly packs as much emotional punch.
The interesting thing about "Revenge of the Sith" is, unless, you've been sleeping under a rock for the past 28 years, you already know how it ends.
But "Revenge of the Sith" isn't so much about how the film ends, but how it gets there and why. By the time the movie is over, Lucas masterfully sets the stage for the classic trilogy that began in 1977. The great thing is, those classics, which never outlasted their welcome in the first place, have an entire new meaning now.
"Revenge of the Sith" finds the saga near the end of the Clone Wars against the Separatists from the Republic, which began at the end of "Episode II." Anakin, and his Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), meanwhile, have a daunting task of their own to complete. A powerful droid named Gen. Grievous (voiced by Matthew Wood) has kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and it's up the to the Jedi duo to save him.
"And while Anakin and Obi-Wan prevail, the battle is hardly won. Palpatine requests that the Jedi Council install Anakin as his personal bodyguard, which makes Jedi Masters Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) suspicious. Anakin's in a quandary, because both Palpatine and the Jedi want him to spy on each other; Palpatine appears to have the edge because he offers Anakin the means to become a Sith lord, which would give him far greater power than any of his Jedi counterparts.
To complicate matters, Anakin and Sen. Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) not only continue to hide their forbidden love and marriage from everyone, but Amidala reveals to her husband that she is pregnant, raising his anxiety level to the breaking point.
Knowing Anakin fears losing the ones he loves, Palpatine manipulates the powerful Jedi to the point where he will use unthinkable measures to protect Padme -- thus beginning his journey to the Dark Side of The Force.
Special Section: Star Wars
Perhaps the single biggest reason "Sith" succeeds over the first two prequels is that Lucas breaks with the formula of his previous "Star Wars" films. The story structure is somewhat different (climactic battles come in unlikely places) and arbitrary -- and annoying -- characters like the goofy Jar-Jar Binks have their roles minimized.
But Jar-Jar isn't the only one with screen time. C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), an otherwise lovable character offering comic relief in the other films, who got caught up in an annoying sequence with a battle droid near the conclusion of "Episode II," has also taken a back seat. Sure, there are laughs in "Revenge of the Sith," if not all unintentional. But these are not "so bad it's good" laughs, they're laughs inspired by the actions of Yoda, who, kicking more butt than he did in "Episode II," will make you howl with delight.
With the lack of intended comic relief, "Revenge of the Sith" is far-less kid-friendly than any of the other "Star Wars" movies, and that didn't happen by mistake. It's the first in the saga to be given a PG-13 rating (the other five were PG), mainly for it's violent imagery. And there's no question the scenes (one is explicit while the other is implied -- which come during Anakin's fall from grace and his transformation into Darth Vader) have merited the rating. If concerned parents need a yardstick to measure the film against, then they'll be happy to know that there's far less violence than what you got in the "Lord of the Rings" movies.
Still, apart from an appearance by Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and his fellow Wookies, there's hardly anything warm and fuzzy about the movie. In fact, not only does Lucas stage an operatic lightsaber battle sequence on the volcanic planet of Mustafar which plunges Anakin, effectively, into the metaphorical depths of hell -- he weaves in some Shakespearean elements for good measure.
Such tragic drama makes for a much better and interesting "Star Wars" tale, giving the actors a bit more opportunity to strut their stuff. Better yet, the story of Anakin's fall as a whole is so powerful that even the film's strained dialogue can't hurt it.
Thankfully, McGregor, Portman, Jackson and Christensen (who gives off an unsettling "disturbed" vibe as the fallen Jedi) are gifted enough actors to rise above the script's shortcomings. McDiarmid makes the best of the bad guy role not only with his skin-crawling manipulation of Anakin, but by fully realizing his role as a politician with a secret agenda (the film, if only by coincidence, offers timely political commentary about our current state of affairs).
The great thing about "Revenge of the Sith" is that, despite the dark tone, you'll still likely emerge from the film energized. It has a message of hope attached to it, hence the subtitle "A New Hope" for "Episode IV." Sure, we all know how the saga eventually ends, but that doesn't matter. There's a reason we keep revisiting that "galaxy far, far away" -- it's about hope. And the thought of living in galaxy where good prevails over evil is one ideal that we should never stop hoping for.
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