Revenge of the Sith is completely forgettable, cheesy and worst of all, a shadow of what might have been.

Rating: 5/10 (22 July 2015)

Revenge of the Sith is, in my view, the worst Star Wars film, not just for its many flaws, but for the lost potential in making this film. I beseech all Star Wars fans to seek out Matthew Stover's novelisation of this film, in which he fixes EVERY single flaw and delves so much deeper into the seduction of the dark side and the transition to the Empire. Stover's novel is the reason I find this film so hard to watch - its just a harsh reminder of how bad the acting can be.
I won't dwell on many pros and cons, because they're the same as before. John Williams is great, particularly with the soaring yet searing "Battle of the Heroes." There's some sumptuous space battles in the opening, some beautiful cinematography (Anakin's march on the Temple) and a fun new world in the form of Kashyyyk. Ewan McGregor fumbles a few scenes, but still wins the easiest medal in the world for "My Favourite Acting Performance in the Prequels." I particularly enjoyed his showdown with Anakin (from an McGregor acting standpoint only, of course).
However, Hayden Christiansen does manage to get even worse than in Attack of the Clones and even more so as the film progresses. He lumbers along like a zombie, proclaiming his love or reciting a Sith mantra like a zombie, without conviction or even consciousness. "I have brought peace and stability to my new empire" drones Christiansen, with the energy of a drunk person woken up two hours into their slumber. Portman doesn't even get anything to do in this film, relegated to a helpless love interest (literally) who pops in and out to vomit Lucas' love dialogue onto the audience. Ian McDiarmid hams it up where he could have done wonders with subtlety.
The film picks up in the middle of a battle and shoves a new character called General Grievous in our face. Grievous is a bridge villain, meant to kill time between Dooku (who lasts a mere 4 lines) and Vader. He's relegated to an afterthought about 5 minutes into the second act, leaving you wondering why they even bothered. Grievous is the most obvious Darth Vader rip off ever created, and we are bludgeoned with the knowledge that he is not a droid. He coughs a lot and has organs. Of course, that knowledge only lasts until he needs to die, at which point he is given the droid-iest death ever put to Star Wars screens. Go figure.
But Anakin's fall to the dark side, the collapse of the Jedi order and the transformation into an Empire are the three events needed to be done properly in this film, and none of them were done properly. Anakin doesn't kill a single Jedi on screen in the entire film! How are we supposed to take Vader seriously as a villain if he really just stomped about and waited for the Clones to do it all? (Yes I know it happens off camera, but please). The best line in the film, Padme on the death of liberty to thunderous applause, is wasted without context or proper set up. Why are they applauding? Once again, the child target audience wouldn't care and so neither does Lucas.
Anakin's fall to the dark side comes from a desire to save Padme from "death" the concept. If she's going to die in childbirth, why don't you just get a C-section? You're telling me that medicine isn't good enough for that? Meanwhile, Palpatine teases him with knowledge of how to save her with all the subtlety of bonking the donkey over the head with the carrot. It really makes you wonder how no one figured out he was Sidious if he was so free about discussing it in public places. Finally, the Jedi are so completely useless to Anakin in his dilemma its almost justified that they are all butchered. What sort of advice is "let go"? I've been to school camps in the middle of nowhere that have offered better support services.
The final fall of Anakin takes place on the hideously written, egregiously choreographed showdown on Mustafar, where Padme collapses from a broken heart and Obi-Wan fights Anakin in probably the most flourished fight scene outside of cirque du soleil. The scene where the two men whirl their sabers around their body without making contact for about five seconds is so bad I actually laughed. What happened to the classic cut and parry? Who are you kidding with this nonsense? The final scene for Vader, where he realises the tragedy he's brought upon himself, is rendered comical by his loud "NO", more reminiscent of Sid's charge in Ice Age than anyone expressing real loss.
Revenge of the Sith is completely forgettable, cheesy and worst of all, a shadow of what might have been. It passes for cool visuals, but it isn't as much fun as the other prequels and isn't a shade on the originals.