Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by George Lucas

The Story:
Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) has been kidnapped by General Grievous, and during an epic battle Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are able to rescue him.  Upon returning home, Anakin learns that his secret wife Padame (Natalie Portman) is pregnant, and he begins suffering terrifying nightmares.

Palpatine appoints Anakin as his representative to the Jedi Council, but they will not give Anakin the rank of Jedi Knight, which infuriates Anakin.  As Obi-Wan goes on the hunt for Grievous, Palpatine begins to corrupt Anakin's mind, tempting him to the Dark Side by promising a power that will enable him to cheat death itself.

Coupled with his fear of losing Padame and his anger toward the Jedi Council, Anakin decides to join the Dark Side, and is renamed Darth Vader by Palpatine, who reveals himself to be Darth Sidious.  They wage war against the Jedi, which leads to an epic battle between old friends Obi-Wan and Anakin, and gives birth to one of cinema's most iconic villains.

The Synopsis:
"Star Wars: Episode I" had an annoying kid, a NASCAR-style pod race that lasts way too long, and the innumerably insufferable Jar-Jar Binks. 

"Star Wars: Episode II" had an annoying teenage actor, debates as interesting as watching CSPAN, and a love story as bland as the most generic Valentine's Day card.

Needless to say, "Episode III" didn't have to do much to be considered the best of the three.  It could've just been shots of actual space and it'd be more intriguing and fascinating than the previous two outings.  Thankfully, George Lucas was able to bridge the connection between these three subpar sequels and the far better originals in a way that was entertaining, and also confined Jar-Jar to the background with absolutely no speaking roles whatsoever.

The journey of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader seemed to drag during the first two films, while here he went from hero to full on Jedi-child killer in seconds.  He allowed his anger, jealousy, and fear to corrupt his mind and caused him to give up on the good and join the evil.  It wasn't as the Internet memes said:

Instead, he joins the dark side because he's a petulant narcissist who believes his own hype - that he's the most powerful Jedi ever.  While that may have been true, he allowed his own darkness to take over and destroy everything good within him.  It's a fascinating character study for sure.

Back to the movie, the effects definitely improved from the previous two outings, with the first fight being epic in scale.  It's said if something doesn't draw you in within the first few minutes you won't pay attention at all, and Lucas definitely drew in my attention with that action sequence.

Then there was more boring dialogue, but nowhere near as bad as "Episode II," and thankfully Lucas used this film to include every action sequence known to man, as the film seemed to be at least 90% action.  As a guy, I appreciated that.  The second film had way too much talking for a short payout, while "Episode III" starts off with action and continues throughout.

That's not to say there isn't poignant moments, and surprisingly that doesn't include Padame's pregnancy announcement.  Rather it has to do with Palpatine's evil plan, and seeing the majority of the Jedi exterminated in the most depressing ways possible.  For beings that have spent decades learning the arts of a Jedi, they were taken down pretty easily.  Then there's the moment Anakin murders the Younglings - children who were about to be trained to be Jedi.  Seriously, this dude is messed up.

All of which leads to two epic battles, one between Yoda and Palpatine, and the other between Obi-Wan and Anakin, the later being all the more dramatic as you put yourself in Obi-Wan's shoes: this man trained Anakin from a child to be a Jedi, treated him like a brother, and believed he could bring peace and balance to the Force.  Now he's in a life-or-death Light Saber duel with him.  It's downright heartbreaking, like a parent seeing their child take the wrong path.

Speaking of children, the film ends with the birth of twins Luke and Leia, the true birth of Vader, and as many endings as was in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."   It also bridges the connection to the classic "Star Wars" we all know and love, and marks the last time we ever see Jar-Jar Binks (unless for some ungodly reason they choose to include him in the new trilogy, which, for the sake of mankind, better not happen).

The Summary:
Delivering the action in spades, "Star Wars: Episode III" is easily the best film out of the trilogy, but that was a very low bar to set. 

The Score: A

Bonus: Here's the How it Should Have Ended video for "Episode III".