Finally, a film worthy of the Star Wars name... and one I don't have to hate

Rating: 9/10 (23 June 2005)

Finally Mr. Lucas by-and-large nails how to tell this most recent chapter in the Star Wars epic. He pulls out all the stops and other than an occasional hideous line of dialogue (far worse than any awkward line in The Matrix Trilogy), he creates a film that is majestic, poignant, utterly engrossing, and timeless. The single line that made this an 8.5 or 9 film out of 10 was the one said by Obi-wan, "only Sith Lords deal in absolutes!" This line is so inaccurate that it almost makes the viewer wonder if somehow a massive typo made it into the script and then onto "film" (of course we all know it wasn't shot on film, but was shot using digital cameras) with no one catching it. Because the line would make sense if Obi-wan said, only Sith Lords DON'T deal with absolutes... It's been so thoroughly established in the Star Wars universe that The Sith and the Darkside were those that got lost when they were led slowly astray by shades of grey until they were wholly in the darkness of the dark-side. The belief in shades of grey, of right and wrong, darkness and right are inherently a belief which is propagated by the "Dark Side" as it so effectively undermines the Light (or, the Jedi)... it was the shades of grey that were Anakins downfall... one step after another while his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. In short, as he so adequately established the Jedi Order was all about order, and a distinct right and wrong way to do things. What was interesting was how they depicted the difficulties that even a good Jedi struggles with at times, between right and wrong and what is most expeditious at the moment.
This film was brilliant in it's emotionally brutal and poignant progression... how it is Anakins selfish love which ultimately drives his descent into darkness, and how in the end it is the dark-side, that which proposed that it was the solution to his fear of losing his beloved Padame that kills her and finalizes the utter destruction of Anakin Skywalker, leaving just the shell behind, Darth Vader. All in all, an incredible film that will join the first three films (created and released in the late 70's and early 80's) as a true classic. Hopefully at some point Mr. Lucas will remake last couple of prequels... his excuse for them is that they build up to develop his characters and story, in short those previous two recent films were wastes of time... Revenge of the Sith could've stood without them, in fact I enjoyed Revenge of the Sith best by doing my best to forget the last couple. Anyway, great film... maybe we'll be able to order custom DVD's without that horribly out-of-place line of dialogue?