Is 'Sith worthy of Star Wars?

Rating: 9/10 (24 May 2005)

Reviewing Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith can be tricky. The Star Wars trilogies aren't just movies. They're modern folklore. Characters from the films are household names, and are thus immortalized. Whether you're a die hard fan who waited on a long line to see The Empire Strikes Back 25 years ago, or a new aficionado being drawn to the mythology, watching the Star Wars epics evokes a different experience for every person; audiences are so diverse in devotion and age that it hardly makes sense to nit pick at plot inconsistencies or improbable events and physical situations. Even special effects aren't worth talking about; most viewers know they'll be cutting edge. It seems more useful to criticize the interaction between characters and how the he viewer relates to them- this is after all what we tend to remember long after a movie had its run in the box office. And so that is what my review focuses on. The duologue in "Sith" is true to the Star Wars films, no surprises there. Most of the cast is excellent. In particular, Ewan McGregor's performance as Obi Wan Kenobi is nothing short of amazing when you consider that his character has aged several years since the first prequel. His persona as Obi Wan is so convincing that one could be fooled in to thinking that Alec Guiness' performance in the original Star Wars was inspired by McGregor's instead of the other way around. His character is also believable and consistent, both in acting and action. Rather than go through the whole cast I'll get to the point by contrasting this character with Anakin Skywalker. This role is the most important one in the film because it is necessarily complex and will transform into the most well known figure of Star Wars lore. Lucas certainly had his work cut out trying to wrap up this transition from benevolent hero to super villain in two hours and 26 minutes- all while telling the rest of the story. There were several problems with his approach. For one, inconsistency- like arguing that killing Chancellor Palpatine is not the Jedi way- and then killing children only a few scenes later? Another problem is Hayden Christensen's performance as Anakin. It just lacked the depth his character needed, that of a man becoming increasingly desperate, his will weakening to the point where he loses his judgment and ultimately succumbs to evil. I think this is only somewhat Christensen's fault. The problem here seems to be with coaching and direction; if you're going to spend loads of time and a gajillion dollars on production, why leave out acting? Finally, during the climactic fight between Obi Wan and Anakin, I couldn't really sense the drama because I was distracted by a furiously paced sequence of light saber battles ending in an ultra cool monolithic backdrop of volcanic environs. After the characters cheated death several times in all kinds of ways during the sequence it almost seemed humorous that Obi Wan would tell Anakin to forfeit- because he had the higher ground. I think Lucas needed to take a lesson here from.... himself. I remember being in awe during Return of the Jedi when Luke fought Vader while the Emperor watched. Three strong performances by three great characters was a magical experience where the battle balanced the scene instead of drowning it with special effects. OK, enough with my criticisms- er tough love. Believe it or not I do think it was a great movie and worthy of its place in Star Wars history. It was a treat to see the care taken to make sure the final scenes looked like what we remember seeing a long time ago in a theater far, far away.