Film review: Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

I'm not a Star Wars fan; never have been, and most likely never will be, either. The original three, A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) might be considered as Sci-Fi classics, but they do nothing for me; the plot of these three films is nigh-on undetectable, and the poor visual effects render the films virtually unwatchable. The first two prequels, The Phantom Menace (1999) and Attack of the Clones (2002) are visually stunning, but the virtually non-existent plot is laughably bad at some points.

But Still, it's Star Wars - you can't not go see it. Three tickets to Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, please.

I've always had this sneaking suspicion that, after the original trilogy was completed, George Lucas (and the rest of the world) realised that the really interesting character wasn't Luke, our stereotypical, cardboard cut-out hero, but his immensely wiser and more evil father, the walking irun lung, Darth Vader. His story, as we all know, ends in redemption and ultimately death, but the fundamtenal question remains - how did he fall from Jedi-grace and become an evil puppet in the grubby hands of the Emperor? Cue Revenge of the Sith.


The movie begins in a spectacular way; by dropping us right into the action. After this fast-paced start of 30 minutes filled with action, the movie slows down a bit and the plot starts to unfold. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine starts to slowly poison the mind of young and angsty Anakin, playing into his fears and struggles. This is portrayed very well by both Hayden Christensen and Ian McDiarmid, although Anakin's final descent into the dark side comes across as being slightly too sudden.

After that, the film really picks up the pace once Anakin finds out the true identity of Chancellor Palpatine. This clearly is the turning point of the film; the tone of the film darkens considerably, as the Republic slowly crumbles and the Jedi are being killed left and right (the sequence with the clones turning against the Jedi is one of the best in the entire film). All this is an elaborate set-up for a very very impressive finale, that even squeezes out some emotional impact. The climactic fight between master Obi-Wan and his student (or Padawan) Anakin approaches perfection, and is undeniably the highlight of this film.


Hayden Christensen does a nearly perfect job in his portrayal of Skywalker/Vader, the central, and therefore most important character in the film - I could almost see his angst and rage dripping from the screen. His anger was understandable, his fears real. Ewan McGregor deserves a big kudos for his portrayal of Obi-Wan; he has clearly studied Alec Guinness' portrayal of the same character in the originals, because he mimickes it perfectly. But, if I had to give someone real credit, it would have to be Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious, the most under-appreciated actor in the entire trilogy, in my humble opinion. His transformation from 'good-natured' Chancellor to poisonous Darth to evil Emperor is one of the film's standout moments. Seeing him subtly lure vulnerable Anakin to the dark side is simply chilling.

The effects literally blow your mind; I have never seen special effects being utilised at such a break-neck pace with such fluidity; it was seemless. Then again, it's Lucas, what did you expect?

A quick note - a thumbs up also to the art department, who created a brilliant series of filmposters for this film. I won't bore you with 'em all, as you must have seen them plastered all over where ever you live, but I stumbled upon two posters I'd never seen before, and I thought they were worth mentioning. Link and Link.


To achieve maximum viewing pleasure from this film, it is pivotal to go in with the right attitude; Star Wars, contrary to popular belief, is neither a great work of philosophical art, nor a religion or way of life. It is a popcorn adventure at its most epic and most entertaining. Approach it as such, and you will get plenty of bang for your buck.

Just as Darth Vader redeems himself at the end of Return of the Jedi, so too has George Lucas redeemed himself at the end of his behemoth prequel trilogy. Following two over-hyped installments that in the end turned out to be below par, the fans finally, after a 22-year-wait, get what they've been craving - a true space opera.

An 70 out of 100*.

Cheers

* Dropped from 88 to 70 out of 100 after a diastrous second viewing.