Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christiansen, Samuel L. Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Jimmy Smits, Christopher Lee, Keisha Castle-Hughes
Directed by: George Lucas
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
2005

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Obi-Won Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen) battle General Grevious in the latest skirmishes of the Clone War. However, the emergence of the Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) threatens to throw off the balance of the force.

Review:

Tim: In this, the final installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, George Lucas finally captures some of the magic of the original trilogy. This film is the best of the new films. This is what we expected from the previous two installments.

This is not to say the movie is without its faults. The main villain, General Grievous is not nearly as exciting or formidable as any of the previous Star Wars villains. He is actually somewhat boring. The first half of the film feels much too close to the original two films, which a complicated and convoluted plot, typically woody and occasionally awful dialogue, and a desire for something, anything to happen. The chemistry between Natalie Portman and Hayden Christian further proves to be nonexistent, at a time when it needed to be better. Of course, this is mostly due to the absurd dialogue.

However, all of this changes when it comes to set up the final act of the trilogy. It is surprisingly intense, even though we all know how the story will turn out. What we don't know are all those details- how does Anakin become Darth Vader? What causes his falling out with Obi-Won Kenobi? What happens to Senator Amidala? How are Luke and Lei separated? This is why this movie achieves greatness- because George Lucas brings all these storylines together in an incredible fashion, setting up all the pieces exactly where they need to be in a believable and entertainign fashion. I loved the end of this movie.

Of course, this is helped by the creation and birth of one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time. After watching two and two-thirds movies of the emergence of Anakin Skywalker as a force to be reckoned with, I was so very much ready for his transformation. His final battle with Obi-Won Kenobi is absolutely brilliant. I loved it and was on the edge of my seat the entire time. And that first moment when you see Darth Vader... that is beautiful. These scenes saved this movie and made it great.

Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith is not a perfect movie. It suffers from too many of the flaws that proved so fatal to the first film and nearly fatal to the second. However, Lucas brings his best when it was needed the most, and this film starts to redeem him for the atrocities of The Phantom Menace. This film concludes the Star Wars saga on a high note, and once again inspires a bit of that awe that the first trilogy delivered in spades.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones