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Revenge of the Sith: A ‘force’ to be reckoned with

A long time ago (well over 20 years ago), in a galaxy far, far away (Masachusetts) a boy saw the films of the original Star Wars trilogy and loved them. Though the first two installments of the “new trilogy” didn’t engage him as much as the original three, the boy, now a man, still went to see the final installment on opening day and when the now famous anthem started and the opening crawl began it still gave him goosebumps.

The story of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” focuses on Anakin Skywalker as he betrays the Jedi and becomes Darth Vader. The picture opens as the Clone Wars continue and the Jedi Council is looking for a way to stop them. They are also searching for the Sith lord who is leading the war anonymously. Eventually they find out that it is Chancellor Palpatine, a man who has befriended Anakin and is pulling him towards the dark side. Anakin is drawn to the dark side because he fears Padme, whom he is secretly married to, will die in childbirth and only a Sith lord can prevent her death.

The scenes between Anakin and Padme have always been the weakest elements of the new trilogy because of poor dialogue and quite possibly a lack of solid direction (If only they were digital representations of people!). This trend continues in this film but only amounts to between 10-15 minutes of the movie and should not keep audiences away from what is a very good film.

This is hands-down the best installment of the new trilogy. The special effects are as terrific as always, although I wonder if the new trilogy would’ve been more accepted if George Lucas stuck with the Muppets and models of the original trilogy. The film opens with a space battle/ rescue mission and after a slow bit with Padme and Anakin and a discussion of the poitical state of the galaxy, things pick back up with lots of lightsaber duels and battles between droids and wookies and droids and just about eberybody else.

Among the highlights are battles between Obi Wan Kenobi and the mechanically assisted General Grievous and a battle between Palpatine and Yoda that shines extra bright because of the wonderful performance of Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine.

McDiarmid is terrific as the man who helps Anakin decide to betray the Jedi. His performance has the right balance of gravitas and camp, which adds to the melodrama of the film. If only more of the performances in the new trilogy had a similar feel. While Hayden Christensen grew into the Anakin role and really fills it well towards the end of the picture, Natalie Portman is lost as Padme and Samuel L. Jackson is wasted as Mace Windu. Ewan McGregor gives a fine performance as Obi Wan Kenobi but it isn’t among his best work. As for the old friends who play larger roles in Episodes 4-6, only R2-D2 is allowed to have any fun. C3PO seems tacked on to the story as if to give Anthony Daniels the honor of being the only actor to be in all six films and Chewbacca only grunts/howls (?) once or twice.

Though the ending feels a bit rushed, as if Lucas remembered that he needed to get Luke and Leia born and to their respective planets at the last minute, any complaints I have are dwarfed by how much fun this film and the entire series have been. These are the films that several generations have grown up with and will pass on to the generations to come. They may not be perfect but they are ours and they have been very entertaining.