Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Review
by Ryan Ellis (flickershows AT hotmail DOT com)June 27th, 2005
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
reviewed by Ryan Ellis
May 26, 2005
My Tagline---Worthy prequel this is
NOTE: I'm sure you've seen all the other 'Star Wars' movies by now, so I'm going to ladle out spoilers by the bowlful. If you're new to the Force or want to see Episode III fresh, go read something else.
'Revenge Of The Sith' wasn't worth a camp-out on the sidewalks, but it's a pretty terrific sci-fi action movie. If you have any love for the original trilogy and hoped for at least one of these prequels to measure up, you'll like this one. The film reaches the 2:20 mark and yet it's constantly in motion. There's a lot of story to tell and writer/exec producer/director/Emperor George Lucas has finally found a comfy balance between political blabber-mouthing and traditional action exploits of the 'Star Wars' franchise.
Lucas painted himself into a corner by trying to make his six-part series meet in the middle. However, that's also what turns this into a Greek tragedy. We know all too well what's going to happen and every character's fate is already sealed. Most of the Jedi are destined to be wiped out and the Galactic Empire (led by the Emperor and Darth Vader) will beat the entire galaxy into submission. If you've seen the other flicks a few times, nothing in 'Revenge Of The Sith' should come as a shocker. Since we know the destination, all we can ask for is a helluva rollercoaster ride on the way.
The show starts with a bang as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor) fly their pre-X-Wing spaceships onto Sith Lord Count Dooku's space fortress. The Jedi knights are trying to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, whom Dooku (Christopher Lee, in a very short---but memorable---cameo) has kidnapped. That's the first of Palpatine's deceptions, who's really just setting everything up. [We find him sitting on a throne not unlike the one he occupies on the second Death Star in 'Return Of The Jedi'.] Soon after, Anakin is being corrupted by the Chancellor's suggestions that the Dark Side of the Force is where it's at. The uppity Jedi Council further undermines Anakin's faith when they won't trust him the way Palpatine does. And both sides want Anakin to spy on the other. I feel the conflict within him...
The first 20 minutes sets the tone. The pace doesn't let up at all until the threesome safely return to Coruscant. Padme (Natalie Portman) announces to Anakin that she's preggers (10 gets you 20 says she's gonna have more than one kid!) and the table is set for a heel turn because the future Darth Vader's biggest fear is that his forbidden wife will not survive childbirth. Palpatine uses that against the young Jedi (as both he and Vader will try to use Luke's love of his friends against HIM in 'Return Of The Jedi') and manages to win the conflicted soul over to the side of villainy.
What my buddy and I discussed as we left the theatre is that a simple good versus evil dynamic is a bit too clear-cut, too easy. You cannot have good without evil...but who's to say what's truly good or evil? Palpatine is absolutely convinced he's right. The best movie villains always are. Likewise, Yoda, Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and the entire Jedi Council insist that THEIRS is the correct path. You've probably heard that this movie parallels real-life politics and that the Emperor might as well be played by President Dubya. Okay, but our world has always operated in these absurd "I'm right and you're wrong" absolutes and people have been crying about the death of democracy for a long time. Besides, George Junior can't shoot electricity out of his fingers. [That's Rumsfeld's job.]
Anyway, Palpatine shows his true colours and---in a riveting three-way struggle between himself, Windu & Anakin---we finally see why Luke's dad would turn on his Jedi chums. Young Skywalker makes a deal with the galactic devil, then helps the newly villainized Clones (soon to be known as our belovedly inept stormtroopers) to back-jump the remaining Jedi. Meanwhile, Padme and Obi-Wan fear for what Anakin is becoming. It's all headed for a spectacular showdown as Anakin and Obi-Wan have a titanic fight on a volcanic planet while Yoda gets nasty with the Emperor on Coruscant. After all that ferocity, it's the birth of Darth Vader in that famous black cape and death mask while the human side of Anakin Skywalker roasts away to nothing. And anyone not willing to toe the Empire's line better go into exile until Natalie's twins grow up and become Rebel freedom fighters.
As is 'Star Wars' custom, the actors are left twisting in the wind. Christensen and Portman (the young Romeo & Julietish lovers) do their best with Lucas' version of romantic dialogue. Their doom feels more palpable now than it was in Episode II and Portman's efforts are a little more reminiscent of her best work (in 'Garden State' and 'The Professional') than her woodlike performances in the first 2 prequels. Christensen is still too pretty and coy to be taken as seriously as he needs to be, but I don't know too many other young actors with enough experience or gravitas to pull off a better transition into Darth Vader. He's okay, less whiny and teenagery than he was in the prior movie.
Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid emerge as far & away the best actors (and characters) in these prequels. While McDiarmid is brilliantly evil during his manipulations and double-dealings in Episodes I-III, McGregor balances that out by doing a wonderful job of fleshing out Obi-Wan Kenobi. Not only does his speech have the cadence and rhythm of Alec Guinness (who, of course, played wise old Kenobi in the original tril), but he comes off as the total package as a warrior and hero. If no one else had been worthy, at least we could root for HIM.
Of course the digital F/X are impressive, although I'd rather not be so aware that we're watching digi-characters flying all over the place. As storytelling and overall audio/visual presentation, this set of 'Star Wars' pictures haven't proven to be equal to the 'Lord Of The Rings' series. That's ironic because Lucas was clearly influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien's books when he was writing the original 'Star Wars' script. And while Peter Jackson's remarkable 'LOTR' trilogy has surpassed Lucas' recent work in every single way, he freely admits that 'Star Wars' had a profound effect on him years ago. These two series continue to influence one another, even now that both of them are finished.
If you thought the lightsaber battles in the previous films were ferocious, now they're a stunning blur of action. The actors, the stunt men, and the visual effects artists have outdone themselves with epic fights between the most powerful Jedi and the most powerful Sith. There was nothing as hilarious and super-cool as Yoda pulling back his cloak and igniting his saber in 'Attack Of The Clones' (the single best movie scene of 2002), but there has never been lightsabering like there is 'Revenge Of The Sith'. Editors Roger Barton and Ben Burtt smartly cross-cut between 2 monumental duels in the climax. It's not exactly subtle when Yoda and the Emperor are slashing and leaping through the Galactic Senate, busting the place up. Nor is it subtle when Anakin and Obi-Wan lock up in a place that looks just like Hell. It's a great finish, though, and it all leads logically into Episode IV.
But that's not all. There's a pointless little cameo for the Wookies, led by our old pal Chewbacca. [Turns out, Chewie and Yoda were homies before anybody had heard of Han Solo.] The droid army is led by a giant bronchial robot called General Grievous. He uses 4 lightsabers at once, which still isn't enough to save him or his inefficient army. Jimmy Smits takes on a bigger role as the steadfast Senator Organa (Leia's future stepfather). And we can't forget about R2-D2 and C-3PO (played once again by Kenny Baker and Anthony Daniels), even if all the surviving characters from this trilogy have forgotten about them when we come back for Episode IV. Baker and Daniels are the only actors to play a role in all 6 'Star Wars' movies, although their presence here is mostly unnecessary.
Most of the questions are answered and dots are nicely connected. We find out how Palpatine rose to power and why he, as the Emperor, looks so old and scarred in 'Return Of The Jedi'. We find out how Anakin Skywalker could go from a 6 foot tall Hayden Christensen to a nearly 7 foot Darth Vader. We find out which of the Skywalker twins was born first. We DON'T find out why Vader and the Emperor never wonder what happened to Yoda, nor reference him even once in the original trilogy. In any case, trying to make the pieces fit couldn't have been easy and Lucas did a better job of it than I expected.
What he's always contrasted in this epic is the nature of good and evil. He likes the recurring themes of fathers and sons, of brotherhood, of technological failures, of redemption, and of all-around mumbo jumbo. What do midichlorians and the Force and the Dark Side really mean anyway? Are these New Age ideas or Old World hocus pocus? And why do the Jedi practically push Anakin right into the Palpatine's clutches? Perhaps that gets back to what my friend and I were supposin' as we walked home. Without the wicked ways of the Emperor and Vader, there could be no balance to the heroics of Obi-Wan and Yoda...or of Luke, Leia, and Han.
Unfortunately, none of these prequels have been as much fun as the original threesome. Salon.com has ripped all 3 of them to shreds and, even though those erudite folks come off as a bit mean-spirited, they're not wrong. The cynic in me could tear this series apart too, just as many critics have been doing since the first one hit theatres in 1977. These movies mean so much to so many, including me...even if I do enjoy making fun of them from time to time. They're a significant part of our culture. These movies may be Lucas' children, but they belong to us too and I guess we just have to be willing to forgive their flaws if we care about them at all.
No doubt, the entire series is flawed. The dialogue is brutal and the actors often look like they're drowning in a sea of bluescreens with no proper direction. Those who hack on 'Star Wars' for any number of reasons have a good point. But none of that matters. Surrender to the mythos or don't bother watching any of it. If you like what Emperor Lucas has made in the past 28 years, you're going to enjoy 'Revenge Of The Sith'. Worth the hype and the marketing blitz? No, because no movie could be. A satisfying segue into 'A New Hope'? Absolutely.
To light my saber, write to [email protected] or [email protected]
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