Movie Review: Revenge of the Sith

Hey there. Well, after all of my blogs about my trip to Star Wars Celebration 3, it's only fair that I finally do a review on the sixth and final film, "Revenge of the Sith".

Going in, I wanted this film to really make up for the semi-lackluster films that made up the prequel trilogy and I wanted this to tie everything into the original films that made me a Star Wars fan in the first place.

Well, after seeing it, I believe it did.

The film earns points off the bat for starting with a great space battle sequence right after the opening credits. I recall Episode 2 did the same thing. The action scenes are a lot bigger, bolder and more creative this time around and the set ups that lead to them worked pretty well.

The major plotline about how Anakin Skywalker goes to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader made some sense especially about what leads to it. He gives in because he didn't want to lose his wife, Padme. In a moment of weakness, he lets his guard down, costing a fellow Jedi his life and essentially giving up his soul to the Dark Side. The setup that leads to that and the payoff was well done and really gave us fans a moment where someone we've seen in the first two prequel movies face a shocking demise.

There were other key scenes in the movie that were unlike ones we've seen in the previous movies, like when Anakin went to the Academy to pretty much take out the much younger Jedis in training (a very tense unnerving moment that could've been a lot worse had they shown the actual event, but thankfully they didn't) and the scenes where other members of the Jedi were taken out by the Clones as well. But the big money moments for the movie for me was at the climax, where there was not one, but two kick-ass showdowns: Darth Sidious vs. Yoda (what I like to call the undercard) and Anakin vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi (or the main event, in my opinion).

Both of them were well done, well choreographed showdowns where you wished that it wouldn't end. The give and take between the two sides in both fights were impressive. I was blown away by what the Lucasfilm guys did with the CGI Yoda in Episode 2, but in Episode 3, it was increased tenfold. At the theater where I'd seen it, you can hear me and the crowd pulling for Yoda as he and Sidious (aka the Emperor) tangled back and forth.

The main event was just as good between Anakin and Obi-Wan. I recall from the SWC3 event where Rick McCallum, the film's producer said that this fight went on and on and on. And he was right, it was a great battle. I commend both Hayden Christensen (Anakin) and Ewan McGregor(Obi-Wan) for really pulling off all the stops in this battle. Combining their choreography, along with the digital effects and the great background they set in a lava planet, made it one of the best sequences I've seen in the prequel trilogy.

Now, as much as I liked this movie, there were some moments that didn't set well. I think Natalie Portman, who plays Padme, really didn't have much of a presence in this film as opposed to Episode 2. The way they took care of her character at the end felt kind of forced and weak compared to the main emphasis in the film. I wished they had given her a more shocking and stunning exit, to me that would've made the end fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan more compelling as would've his eventual change to Darth Vader in the black costume that we all know.

Another thing that got to me was the somewhat rushed ending to the movie, which pretty much set things up for the original trilogy, especially Episode 4: A New Hope. I think they should've put significant points to the original trilogy slowly and build it up so that we fans have a sense of this movie passing the torch to the original films. What they did wasn't bad, but I think they could've done a whole lot better.

But all in all, despite of the stilted dialogue and the weak emphasis of using Padme and the rushed ending, it was the action scenes and the climatic fights that sold it for me. I'd mentioned about the great space battle at the start of the film. I also enjoyed the showdown between Obi-Wan and General Grievious. Showing Grievous in action, especially with his multiple limbs sporting countless lightsabers was a definite cool moment. I put him and Darth Maul in Episode 1 as the best villians in the prequels. A shame they couldn't put them together. What a tag team that could've been.

So, weighing it all together, I'd say Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, is by far the best of the prequel movies. I would also rank it the third best film of the entire Star Wars saga, right behind A New Hope (Episode 4) and The Empire Strikes Back (Episode 5). Lucas definitely pulled one out of the hat for his last big screen chapter of his space odyssey and it was a good, not great, way for it to go out.