With many fans praying for a movie that can bridge the gap between creator George Lucas’s first two shaky prequels and the glory of the original three films, “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” answers and delivers. This latest installment is the last piece that completes the puzzle of the futuristic films that take place “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.”
Despite a slow start, occasional flat dialogue and some plot elements that are skimmed over too quickly, Lucas’s third and final prequel to the original “Star Wars” trilogy finds suspense and builds drama in a film for which most audiences already know the surrounding story, culminating with as much action and vigor as the two-decade-old classics.
In fact, the fight scenes in “Revenge of the Sith” rank among the best not just in the “Star Wars” series, but perhaps the history of the silver screen. As the last installment filmed, “Sith” has a notable special effects advantage. However, not only are the effects eye-catching and seamless, the choreography – some of which was advised by Stephen Spielberg – provides edge-of-the-seat action and contributes a significant amount of tension that is key to the film’s success.
“Sith” starts off following Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in the cockpits of their starfighters as they speed through a massive battle in space. The two banter back and forth over the radio throughout the scene with about as much enthusiasm as they would if they were driving through a car wash with a minor malfunction. The whole opening sequence generates the feeling of two friends playing pretend in the backyard, managing to not display enough emotion and overact at the same time. Christensen looks as though he’s about to turn in another lackluster performance, appearing more concerned with looking slick rather than genuine, and the film strays off in that direction as well. Fortunately, both find their way back on course about an hour in, and then the story really begins.
The relatively young Anakin aspires to realize the greatness he is continually told he possesses. The only thing he cares about more than power and respect is his new wife, Sen. Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), whose marriage is kept secret even from Obi-Wan, Anakin’s mentor and friend. The chemistry between the couple is unbearably stiff as Christensen acts as if he’s trying to convince himself he’s in love with a boyhood crush. Padme is pregnant with twins (who become heroes Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in succeeding episodes) and Anakin’s torment begins when he dreams of her dying in childbirth – a dream similar to the one he had as a boy predicting his mother’s death.
Sensing a weakness of character, Ian McDiarmid plays a delightfully over-the-top-devious Chancellor Palpatine, who needs Anakin to execute his own dark intentions to “unify” the galaxy. He tries to convince Anakin that he can teach him to save his wife from death if he turns away from his Jedi masters and follow him instead. Essentially, Palpatine wants him to become a pawn in his plan and, even though he begins to see through the Chancellor’s intentions, Anakin struggles with his feelings.
As things start to tumble out of control for Anakin, the odd on-screen relationship between Christensen and Portman ends up seeming more appropriate. The fact he’s appeared to force their romance from the start (when the two meet for the first time in years in Episode II his comments on Padme’s beauty border on creepy) actually emphasizes the chaotic fracas when she confronts him on his reported lapse to the dark side. Throughout the film Anakin is continuously trying too hard to create an ideal life for himself and it ultimately works against him as his emotions push him further away from his loved ones and closer to the dark side. His attempts at doing evil to keep his wife alive are eerily reminiscent of the 1994 film “Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein,” in which Dr. Frankenstein makes a macabre attempt at resurrecting his dead wife using the machine with which he created his original monster. It is in that same tormenting way that, along with John Williams’ excellently more subtle and dark score, Lucas succeeds in conveying sentiments of tragedy, pathos and confusion in a film that is truly compelling. And Christensen pulls it off, managing to gain a degree of sympathy despite fulfilling his destiny in becoming the evil Darth Vader.
Yet the movie could have made this transition even more tormenting and gradual, which would have made Anakin’s yield to the dark side much more believable. His struggle seems too quick and the feeling of implausibility emerges behind some of his actions. At times it seems that too much attention to detail was spent on the brilliant computer animations and backgrounds rather than the flow of the plot itself.
However, the problems are outweighed by the strength of the rest of the film – especially when it comes to the performances given by some of the supporting cast. Characters like Palpatine, Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) all have an opportunity to shine – and fight – more than they have in previous installments. Not only that, but the introduction of the sinister cyborg alien/droid Gen. Grievous (voiced by Matthew Wood) adds a new character to the series that would be as popular as Boba Fett had he appeared in the original films. There are still a few other surprises in the cards, so only C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) fans will be disappointed by the protocol droid’s general absence.
“Revenge of the Sith” doesn’t have the overall charm and power of Episodes IV-VI, but it does relive the action, sound and fun of the originals. It actually makes all five other films better by clearing up the fog of the context in between them, and the subtitle of the first movie from 1977, “A New Hope,” seems all the more appropriate. If nothing else, “Sith” will leave the audience wanting to watch the originals all over again, keeping the struggle between the dark side and the light side of the force alive in yet another generation.
