This movie salvages the Prequel Trilogy

Rating: 8/10 (31 December 2017)

Those who suffered through the previous two Prequel movies to arrive at this point finally have their payoff. This movie isn't great, but it is good, good enough to make it worthwhile to suffer through the previous two films in order to fully appreciate the backstory and plot of this one.
The good:
1. Palpatine revealed as Darth Sidious - of course any fan already knew this, but it is still great fun to watch. The master manipulator's scheme is complete, and the way he plays Anakin, the Senate, the Jedi and the Separatists like a fiddle is a marvel to behold. This movie shows us why Palpatine well deserves his status as once of the greatest cinematic villains of all time.
Moreover, once the mask is off and Palpatine reveals his true nature and power, his conversion of Anakin to the dark side is totally gripping. The way his voice becomes demonic as he awards Anakin the title of Darth Vader is truly unsettling, as if the dark side of the force has erased Palpatine's original personality and is speaking to Anakin directly through the shell of Palpatine's body.
Finally, Palpatine's proclamation in the Senate of the Galactic Empire and instalment of himself as the Emperor (as I shall henceforth refer to him in subsequent reviews) is an all too realistic depiction of how the death of democracy would actually transpire in the real world - to the thunderous applause of a band of sycophants and cowards.
2. The fall of the Jedi - in spite of their blind arrogance, this is truly sad and poignant to behold. However, there is some satisfaction in seeing Yoda avoid the fate of his comrades.
3. Darth Vader and Obi-Wan lightsaber battle - I describe it thus because Anakin truly is dead at this point, having renounced everything that was good in him out of a purely selfish drive to save his wife at the expense of the entire galaxy when, ironically, that is the very last thing she herself would have wanted. In any event, this battle is truly epic and to my mind is only just outdone on a technical combat level by the Darth Maul - Qui-Gon - Obi-Wan lightsaber battle of The Phantom Menace. Certainly the emotional impact is far greater here.
4. The death and re-birth of Darth Vader - here we see Anakin's body destroyed so that it is as scarred and hideous as his soul. The scene where he is metaphorically in Hell with the Emperor as the devil incarnate above him almost seemed like something out of a Bergman film. Then we see his re-birth as cyborg Vader in the iconic suit, and we are in a classic Universal horror film as Vader arises like Frankenstein's monster, while the Emperor's wicked grin is that of a mad scientist. It's all great fun, and well worth watching the movie for these scenes alone.
5. The ending scenes with the birth and childhood homes of Luke and Leia - these were masterfully done and the final scene under the twin suns of Tatooine makes you immediately want to watch A New Hope.
The indifferent:
1. The Battle of Coruscant - again overuse of CGI detracts from an otherwise exciting battle, making it seem more like a video game.
The bad:
1. There's nothing really bad about this film. The Anakin-Padme romance is not entirely convincing, but it has some touching parts and is vastly improved over the previous disaster in Attack of the Clones.
Overall I was quite satisfied with this movie. It left fans with a payoff, and allowed George Lucas to redeem himself in what appears to have been his final Star Wars film.