Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | Review

Lucas’ bows out on a high.

Like watching a re-run of a classic game 7 of the World Series, there aren’t many new facts to uncover especially since everyone knows the final score. Yet after the digital marvels/film duds of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones the jubilation still remains thanks to the countless hours of action-figure stimuli through our formative years and to an arm-full of goose bumps triggered by John Williams’ orchestra opening score and the bright yellow scroll climbing mid-screen in a galaxy of stars background palette. Revenge of the Sith ends a 28-year spanned/six-film series that Americanized cultures from the orient and re-imagined the Western genre, and in true Lucas style, legions of geeks will have more to add to their shrines, Skywalker ranch will add more loot to their coffers, and film historians will debate the effects of epic merchandising techniques on the 7th art.

Sci-fi novices certainly won’t need much of a compass for Lucas’s clincher; the whole Skywalker becomes Vader final piece of the jigsaw puzzle is delivered with the promise for a darker in tone storyline. What some viewers may not be prepared for in this Mona Lisa of the digital world, this Eiffel Tower in the length of Lucas’ universe and this Elmer Fud in dialogue treatment, is how that last 30 minutes of Episode III makes-up for the casualties of the first two installments. With more of a heightened emotional output and an enhanced sense of pacing, Lucas’ intergalactic action film finally delivers the goods (it has been a long wait since Empire). Fans get the traditional unveiling of new droids (with mosquito-likeness) and the episodic screen swipes collage of simultaneous subplots but the cravings are satisfied by epic light-saber battles, a Tarzan yell by Han Solo’s furry pet and a younger Yoda in ass-kicking form. The true euphoria sets in just one shot of the fate of Jedi younglings – the film explores Hayden Christensen’s Anakin full wrath of pain and his lure to the dark side is inviting especially with a delicious performance from Ian McDiarmid’s Darth Sidious.

While at times Revenge of the Sith makes daytime soaps come across as quality writing, plot points are well explained in the climatic overhaul of the film and the visual wizardry via the imagined CGI landscapes and costume design heighten the experience. As usual the sound editing shows a great deal of care was appropriated. Like where most people will rank the film, part III places itself at the top of the second trilogy and places third among favorites in the series. Upon reflection, we can question whether a leap back was really necessary and whether a leap forward would have been more appropriate. Only time will tell if this galactical universe expands beyond issues of the Ewok creation.

Rating 3 stars