Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Review
by Stephen Bourne (ap291 AT FreeNet DOT Carleton DOT CA)May 21st, 2005
Star Wars: Episode III - review by Stephen Bourne, Ottawa, Canada.
Coruscant, the gleaming home world of the Jedi Council and the Galactic Republic's Senate, lays strafed and scarred by its far reaching Civil War against the unified Trade Federation's, Banking Clan's and Commerce Guild's Separatist Droid Army led by General Grievous (voiced by Matthew Wood) and controlled by the treacherous Sith Lord, Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his star pupil Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) barely rescue the Republic's aged Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), kidnapped by Grievous under Dooku, and are given new assignments that test their courage during these tumultuously dangerous times. Obi-Wan is dispatched through hyperspace to hunt down the Separatists at their base camp on the cratered planet of Utapau, and the Council orders Anakin to exploit and report back on whatever transpires from his already close friendship with the politically powerful Chancellor. Jedi Masters Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) don't trust Palpatine, increasingly wary of his extended rule and extraordinary clout from their united civilizations remaining under Imperial-like Emergency Measures for the sake of maintaining a tenuous security. Suspicions mount that another Sith Lord - Darth Sidious, formidably evil disciple of the Dark Side of the Force - actually controls the Galactic Government at all levels, but there's little proof. However, Skywalker is uneasy about betraying his elderly friend by spying on him, already frustrated by his own unfulfilled aspirations as a skilled Jedi and obsessively confused by fear from sudden night visions that reveal the impending death of his secretly loving pregnant wife, Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), former Queen and Senator of the war torn planet Naboo. Palpatine - already a longtime father figure to this promising Padawan - senses this and tries to comfort Anakin, but is interrupted when treason erupts that quickly threatens to destroy the Jedi Order. Word then reaches Coruscant that the Separatists have escaped to a volcanic mining world in the outer Mustafar System, soon reuniting this brash young Son of Tatooine and his emotionally torn master in a furious dual that will ultimately send crushing tremors throughout the universe for years to come...
Quite frankly, this third prequel - the sixth and, reportedly, the last installment from this world famous, twenty-eight year-old franchise - that originated from writer/producer/director George Lucas' renowned, Ancient Mythology-based and Japanese film-inspired, six-time Oscar-winning space opera 'Star Wars' (1977), is an incredibly rich visual extravaganza arguably never before seen on the big screen. It truly is an extraordinary achievement from a purely technical standpoint, with regards to lighting and its virtually seamless merging of live action and CGI wizardry. 'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' (its full title) is also the darkest offering of the bunch, focusing on the rapid moral decline of Anakin Skywalker's lonely ambition leading to his fate as Darth Vader while priming you for a return to the original next chapter. However, this PG-13 rated, self-professed allegory written in the mid-Seventies as a response to the Vietnam War and corrupt American politics during the Nixon Administration actually isn't as enjoyable as it could have been for a contemporary paying audience. Sure, seeing the previous installment(s) is pretty well a prerequisite to avoiding migraines while following along, but that's not its weakest point. Neither is having a general idea of how it ends, before the opening scene erupts before your eyes. Just as seen in 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' (1999), 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones' (2002), 'Star Wars' (remastered, "fixed" and rereleased in 1997 as 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope'), 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' (1980) and 'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi' (1983), this latest picture fails to fully develop strong primary characters as anything other than two dimensional, live action cartoon stereotypes that clearly rely heavily on whatever natural presence and acting talent the cast brings to the set. For instance, Lucas' dialogue wonderfully underscores Palpatine's manipulative nature, but McDiarmid horribly overacts when left to interpret this role. More importantly, the uneven script hardly allows you to completely witness Skywalker's powerful psychological torment as the thoroughly realized, small scale drama it deserves to be. So, starring lead Christensen's one-note brooding feels annoyingly unconvincing opposite Portman's and McGregor's far more capable supporting performances. Jackson's final scene is the only real highlight. A considerably tighter leash on Roger Barton's whiplash editing also would have helped. Yes, despite the higher level of intense violence, it's still a great flick for older children. 'Sith' seems to be more about the bizarrely grandiose, lasers and sabres a-blazin' action borrowed from such bygone 1930's serials as 'Buck Rogers' and 'Zorro' than the higher-minded themes that it aspires to, that could have made this scattered hundred and forty-minute seguay back to square one a far more memorably enjoyable, intellectually superior final kick for longtime followers who have grown up. You're instead predominantly encouraged to disengage from the neck up and let your eight year-old inner child - along with the real kids sitting next to you - become swept up in the familiar booming soundtrack and be mysteriously intrigued by superficial details that tie in with the other movies in this series. It's not enough anymore. Visually stunning over-all yet sporadically clever, this last addition to one of the most inspiring Hollywood sagas ever to be absorbed by popular culture is a definite must-see on the big screen for die hard fans and Sci-Fi cinephiles, but you're probably better off simply renting it as a secret guilty pleasure if you actually prefer appropriately lasting substance over a disproportionate wealth of otherwise astounding special effects and digital camera work.
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