Star Wars Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith

Directed by George Lucas

Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDirmand, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz and lots of computer animated others. 

Oh, what a long and crazy six years it's been!  In 1999, we all gathered round to watch the most anticipated film of all time; a film that could never live up to the hype around it, Episode I: The Phantom Menace.  3 years ago, the lines formed once again for Episode II:  Attack of the Clones.  People found it to be mildly enjoyable and vast improvement over #1.  And now, this year, the trilogy comes to a close with the Revenge of the Sith.  Was it worth the wait and last two films? 

So...the galaxy's all torn apart by this huge war, right?  After a major victory in which the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine (McDirmand) is rescued, focus turns to ending the war by bringing in most evil general, General Greivous.  Our dynamic duo is split up, as Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) is sent out to bring in Grievous, and Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) remains on Coruscant to continue spying on Palpatine.  Throw into this that Anakin's secret wife Padme (Portman) is knocked up, and Anakin is haunted by nightmares of her impending death.  A galaxy torn apart by war...fear over losing a loved one...it's a ripe situation for a young man to be seduced by the Dark Side.  Before you know it, that evil Palpatine reveals his true colours, and he goes about converting young Anakin into Darth Vader.  It's not long before brother is pitted against brother in a battle...to the death.

Wow.  Wowie wow.  This is a great movie.  Seriously, this has all the images we've been waiting for since Phantom Menace, especially Darth Vader's first steps.  There's some great special effects, too, from the spectacular opening battle to Obi-Wan riding around on a giant gecko.  But, all that aside, this film trumps the past two in one big way:  this is the first time I actually felt an emotional connection to the characters.  You just want to scream at Anakin as he begins his fall.  You weep when people start dying.  Granted, the ending is very, very depressing, but it is one with the echo of a new hope.  And now, we get lives. 

4 Nibs

 

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© Mark Sladen Cappis, 2005