Summing Up the Final “Star Wars” Movie
I’ve never tried to disguise the fact I’m only a marginal “Star Wars” fan. I loved the original movie (the only movie in the "Star Wars" franchise I’ll admit to having watched more than a half-dozen times) but my favorite film of the series was and continues to be – even after seeing “Revenge of the Sith” - “The Empire Strikes Back.” Yoda’s introduced, Luke learns Darth Vader is his father, and the overall feel of the movie is dark and imposing.
“Revenge of the Sith” returns to the darkness, which is appropriate since this is the movie everyone’s been waiting for, the one where Anakin Skywalker turns evil. And when Lucas lets the camera linger on that first shot of Darth Vader’s helmet, it’s enough to give even a semi-"Star Wars" fan goose bumps. Then when the helmet’s snapped into place and Vader takes his first few breaths, wow. That’s a real pay-off moment. Lucas packs quite a few such pay-off moments in what is easily the best of the “Star Wars” prequels.
Lucas also manages to make a political statement against the Bush administration and the Iraq War without slamming his opinions down our throats. If you want to analyze his message, fine. If not, it doesn’t distract from the movie-going experience. I don’t care what kind of message he was trying to get out as I didn’t go to “Revenge of the Sith” to discuss politics. I wanted to see how Anakin becomes Darth Vader, how the Jedi lose control of things, and how this prequel sets up the events of “A New Hope.” That’s it. That’s as deep as I care to get when it comes to big popcorn action flicks.
“Star Wars Episode III” has a lot riding on it and George Lucas manages to deliver the majority of the time. Striking effects, understandable storylines, and characters even casual observers are going to be able to figure out, this final “Star Wars” film is exactly what it should be: dark, disturbing, and the perfect set-up to “Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope.”
GRADE: B+
"Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith" was directed by George Lucas and is rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images.
