Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

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Going back to my memories of this one, it gets pretty interesting. After 'Phantom' and, to a lesser extent, 'Clones' disappointed 'Star Wars' fans of all sorts, it occurred to me that the movie that would (at the time) bridge the gap between the Prequel Trilogy and Original Trilogy was doomed to fail if George Lucas didn't get his shit together. While I at least had a fondness for 'Clones', it wasn't like I didn't recognize that those movies weren't quite on-par with the 'Star Wars' films I grew up with.

Perhaps most interesting about this one is that it still stands to this day as the only 'Star Wars' movie I saw on a date. Oddly enough, it is also the only 'Star Wars' movie to show a loving relationship fall to pieces, which ours also did very shortly afterwards. But luckily, this movie isn't bookmarked in time as a bad experience. On the contrary, all romantic notions aside, this was easily the best of the Prequel Trilogy, and I found it to be perfectly on par with the movies I grew up with, completely obliterating the theory I went into the film with. In fact, I even debate in my head on whether I like 'Jedi' or 'Sith' more, which is saying a lot.

About three years have passed since the events of 'Clones', and the Clone Wars have been raging on between the Galactic Republic and the Separatists, lead by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). The films really hits the ground running, as it opens on an epic space battle in which Obi-Wan (Ewan McGragor) and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) going after Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who has been caputred by Separatist Droid, General Grievous (Matthew Wood). In the process, Grievous escapes the Jedi, but Anakin ends up being the hero of the hour. It gets to his head enough that he feels ready to be promoted to Jedi Master, but the council remains hesitant, strongly due to his friendship with Palpatine.

When Masters Yoda (Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) sense a disturbance in the Force, Anakin is soon appointed to be a Jedi spy for the council, in case Palpatine is up to something. What they don't realize, however, is that pushing them closer together will ultimately lead to a partnership, and Anakin second-guessing the ways of the Jedi. The driving force is a now pregnant Padme (Natalie Portman), who Anakin dreams dies in childbirth. When Palpatine tells him of a Master Sith who had the power to stop death, his passion overcomes him, and we get our fist real look of the up and coming Darth Vader.

It is through this movie that we see most of what leads to the Galactic Empire, including Anakin's fall to the dark side, Palpatine becoming the Emperor, and "Order 66" - the order Palpatine gives as Supreme Chancellor to the Clones which causes the near-extinction of all Jedi. We witness Luke and Leia come into the world as Anakin leaves it, only to become Darth Vader; the biggest, baddest Sith of the Galaxy. By the end of it, it was everything I wanted to see and more. It gave me the epic fall to the dark side story I wanted to see, it got super dark, super emotional, and was all punctuated with... that... "noooo" scene. Okay, so that bit was awful, but everything else around it is pretty damn great.

I think people still see Anakin as that whiner here, because his character is so stuck in their heads from 'Clones'. He is impatient, and he does say the odd spoiled brat thing, but he's not as bad as before, and once he starts going down that dark path, he gets much more Vader-esque. He's honestly a tragic character who makes the wrong decision, and part of his torment may very well be the realization that he has headed down that path. The whole idea that "there's still good in him" is mentioned here, just as it's mentioned in 'Jedi' allows the audience to believe he knows what he's into is wrong, but he goes with it out of anger, loss, and the idea that he's got nothing left to lose.

The entirety of the climax is just breathtaking. Let the record show that this IS my favorite overall lightsaber battle sequence of all time, where we see nothing but legends on the screen. Obi-Wan has to confront Anakin in a very fast-moving duel, making their duel in 'New Hope' look like they're swatting flies, while in the meantime, Yoda is fighting Palpatine - both of which are pretty much the best at what they do. The chours plays, the lightsabers swish and clash, and I'm watching it like a moth to the flame. The film really knows how to keep your attention with these awesome battle scenes throughout, while telling us a good story. Not without its flaws; again some of that CG is really dated, but dammit, this one is still so much fun to sit through.

The whole thing ends with Luke and Leia, as babies, being delivered to their respective home planets. It would be 19 years until the twins would be seen again; Luke, growing up as a Moisture Farmer on the desolate planet of Tattooine, under the care of his Uncle Owen (Joel Edgerton) and Aunt Baru (Bonnie Piesse); Leia living it up as a princess under the care of Senator Organa (Jimmy Smits) and the Queen (Rebecca Jackson Mendoza) on Alderaan. I never really thought about it before, but Luke really gets the shaft here. At the very least, he has Obi-Wan looking over him as he grows up, which we all know leads to him wanting Luke to train as a Jedi almost as soon as they "meet".

I personally find that the story wraps up very neat and tidy, and it ends on just the right amount of dark. Anakin turns into Vader, but we all know what his fate will eventually be, after seeing 'Jedi' already. Obi-Wan and Yoda go into exile, but we know they'll be back. And of course, we know Luke and Leia will eventually cross paths again, as a new hope for a peaceful galaxy that will have the force balanced once again. It's very bittersweet in that it ends on such a massive cliffhanger, much like 'Empire' does, but unlike 'Empire', everyone watching this knows how everything will go. In all honesty, everything could have ended here, and I'd have been happy with my life. But soon enough, life would pull its own 'Phantom Menace' on us, as rumors of a Sequel Trilogy started almost right away, and would take a full 10 years to come to fruition... and maybe even make critics and audiences second-guess their opinions on these prequels, joining me in saying "hey, these aren't as bad as all that"... except maybe 'Phantom'.

4/5

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