Best of the three isn't saying much

Rating: 5/10 (20 August 2016)

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is generally regarded as the best of the prequels, but that's like saying it's the best dump you had all day. All the problems of the previous two films are still here: the awkward romantic scenes, the turgid script, uneven acting and waaay too much unnecessary CGI.
My main issue is the villain. Grievous was introduced in Genndy Tartakovsky's brilliant Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series as a Jedi killing, stone cold badass. Here, he's introduced coughing. Lame. Only if you watched the aforementioned cartoon would you realise it's because Mace Windu force crushed his body armour. Plus (spoiler) he kills no one. Quite why a scene where he murders a Jedi was cut is a mystery.
The final two intercut lightsaber battles are fun, I can't deny that. And Ian McDiarmid almost steals the film as Darth Sidious. When he snarls at Mace Windu "Are you threatening me, master Jedi?!", I was on the edge of my seat. And the opening space battle is such an exciting tour de force, it almost makes you forget that the middle of the film is just bored people standing around discussing politics.
There are great moments and strong action scenes throughout Revenge of the Sith, but it isn't enough to save the film. J.J Abrams's The Force Awakens by comparison is far superior.