A fitting end to the series, no matter how trivially silly it is

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2005)

Star Wars is one of the most defining films in the history of cinema. It was both revolutionary and brilliant. The golden visual style and special effects amazed both children and adults. It had an appealing story with appealing characters, as well as quite possibly the most infamous cinema villain in history: Darth Vader. Spawning off of the success of Star Wars were two mesmerizing sequels, continuing the story and each one improving the visual style. But creator George Lucas's story wasn't through For another decade and a half, he lay silent, until ti was announced that Lucas was returning to the big screen with three prequel films. Fans were excited again. People waited in line for months before the first one was released. The Phantom Menace in 1999 broke several opening day box office records. But what fans got, they didn't like. It was hugely disappointing. "Too childish." some said. "Lacks the spirit of the originals." said others. One way or another, most everyone disliked this film (including myself.) Attack of the Clones, the second prequel, released in 2002, fixed some of the problems The Phantom Menace had, taking on a much more adult story and adult themes than Phantom menace tackled. But this time, George dug himself into a whole new hole. While it was met with a much more positive word of mouth, it grossed over 100 million dollars less than Phantom menace did. This time, people were calling Clones "Too boring" and "Full of silly dialogue".
Now we have Revenge of the Sith. This is the climax of the prequel trilogy, the film tat Lucas has wanted to make since the beginning. Everyone has hoped that this film would make the other two disappointments worth it. People hopes this film would blow them all away. And in some ways, it really does.
This is the first Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi to feel like a Star Wars movie. It has a nice campy feel to it, not just because of the corny dialogue that is emitted from Lucas' mind, but also to the storytelling. It feels like, as so many people regard Star Wars, "space opera". And, in all honesty, people don't go to a Star Wars movie for good dialogue.It may be laughable sometimes, but it doesn't ruin the experience of the film whatsoever.
The best part of the film is Ian McDiarmid's performance. It is creepy, and genuine, but also deceiving and almost believable. The sequence where Palpatine explains to Anakin the nature of the Sith makes even the audience seem enticed by the power of the dark side. This is a tragic film, and without a doubt the darkest star wars film Since Empire Strikes back, but despite the PG-13 rating, I think the film is still appropriate for younger children.
The only disappointing part of the film was the new antagonist, General Grievous. He was, erm, interesting, but also seriously bothersome, and not villainous at all. I hear was created for the Clone Wars animated show, and I think he would have done much better just staying in there.
Overall, the film is silly, but entertaining, and makes a great conclusion to the saga. Does it make the other two any better? No. But it does at least show why they were made. This is a successful film in every area it needs to be to succeed, but not beyond that.