George Lucas has redeemed himself...

Rating: 6/10 (21 May 2005)

That is the prevailing thought that I had exiting the theater after viewing Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. To fully understand that thought process, its important to note that I believe that, after revolutionizing the motion picture medium with Episode IV in 1977 and stepping away from the director's chair for what is the best movie in the series, Episode V, George Lucas the director has done much to run the franchise he created into the ground. Episode VI is good but not great largely because its more childish elements. Then, after a long hiatus, the first two prequels are an indication that Lucas was willing to forsake character and plot in order to get as many bright and shiny images on the screen. Lucas may be showing off just how much he could accomplish with technology, but, in the end, the thing he most succeeds in doing is proving that no amount of digital wizardry could adequately make up for brains or heart when telling a good story.
Episodes I & II are so muddled that it became painfully apparent that Episode III would be poor because there is simply no way Lucas would be able to accomplish all that needed to be done in the span of one two hour movie. This is a realization consistent with the prevailing critical thought that I had while Episode III unfolded on the screen before me. And that is the only deficiency that this movie can be truly faulted for; that, despite the fact that it was the second-longest movie in the series, it still seems rushed. There is enough material here to fill two movies of similar length and this is not surprising considering all that needed to be done. This leads to the other single statement that best sums up how I feel about this movie, "Episode III makes me hate Episodes I & II even more than I did before."
The story comes as no surprise to me and shouldn't sneak up on anyone else. However, for the sake of the half-dozen or so that don't know, I advise you to avoid all but the last paragraph of the remainder of this review. All the required story lines are in this movie and all of them are handled well. The best nuance of the development of the story is how the Sith Lord is able to eliminate the Jedi as threat so effectively. It would be next to impossible for a single Sith Lord and his apprentice to destroy hundreds of powerful Jedi which is why the convention of having the plan to have the clone armies turn on their generals with a single order from day one makes perfect sense.
Visually, Episode III is further evidence that, for any faults he may have, George Lucas has a terrific imagination. The diversity and breadth of the worlds he creates is phenomenal. Some might say that the amount of effort he may or may not have put into creating the psychedelic vegetation of the world in which Ayala Secura is assassinated in what amounts to little more than a throw-away scene is mere grandstanding. I'll give the man the benefit of the doubt and say that the only way he knows how to do visuals is big. Furthermore, though I've done so in the past, I'm not going to nitpick the realism of the digitally created characters or their incorporation into the frame side by side with real humans. Everyone knows what characters are real actors and which ones exist only in a computer. Hand wringing over the merits or deficiencies of the latter compared to the former accomplishes nothing in terms of critiquing the enjoyableness of the film as a whole.
Like with the story, a movie of this nature, where everyone knows what happens must happen, places some limitations on the flexibility of the actors depicting the story. It's harder to fault an actor for acting a certain way when you know he or she must do as prescribed. That being said, there is little reason to complain about the performances turned in with Episode III. The biggest acting concern from Episode II was the annoying portrayal Hayden Christiansen gave as the love-struck Anakin. I suspect that the actor was trying to go for angst-ridden or tortured but, as it turns out torture is the only word to describe the progression of the blossoming love story. But here, the tortured and confused approach works well because, if for no other reason, the uncertainty it indicates is requisite if Anakin's conversion to the Dark Side to be believed. By and large, Christiansen's performance in Episode III is much like the performances of all the actors involved. It's neither spectacular nor terrible; it's about just right.
And when it all is said and done, "just about right" is what this ailing movie series needed. There was never any question about the technical merits of Lucas' craft. Given the circumstances of how the story has been revealed to date, the progression of the plot was also never in doubt. What was in doubt were things such as how much the plot would be fleshed out given the time constraints and how much inanity would be present given Lucas' recent record. While the former is this movie's biggest weakness, it is by no means a killer. And, the largely unfiltered lens with which Lucas presents what was sure to be a dark story was the right approach for many reasons, not the least of which is that it leaves little room for too much Jar-Jar Binks style silliness. In conclusion, this movie does not disappoint. It finally lives up to the hype that its predecessors could not satiate. It's the best Star Wars movie since Episode V and in being so, it redeems its creator's reputation as visual steward of the universe he created.
6 stars of 10