Very Satisfying

Rating: 8/10 (6 June 2005)

A very satisfying conclusion and easily the best of the pre-quels. George Lucas' previous two pre-quels both had their qualities and I actually enjoyed "Attack of the Clones" where "Phantom Menace" was a snore. ROTS more than makes up for the last two.
The film starts out awkwardly with a rescue mission to retrieve the Chancellor Palpatine as he has been taken hostage by General Grievous, the leader of the droid army and Count Dookoo. Much of the opening sequence takes place in an elevator and resembles something out of the movie "Speed". Grievous' droids talk like cartoon characters and are'nt very formidable. This part of the movie plods along and seemingly takes forever but after that, the film takes off.
We see more and more of Anakin's turn to the dark side and the turning point is when he is turned down the rank of "master" by the Jedi council. The council doesn't trust the chancellor and Anakin doesn't trust the council. When the chancellor convinces Anakin to turn against the Jedi all hell breaks loose, topped out with Anakin having horrible nightmares about his secret wife Padme dying during birth. Anakin has trouble controlling his emotions which leads to his descent.
The action is very good. Even though Saber fights aren't new, they're still fun. The chase sequences work and I loved seeing the Wookie village. You never know what new thing you'll discover in a Star Wars film. Whether it be the Hoth Planet, Ewoks, Jabba the Hut, Jar Jar's underwater world, or the Cloud City. Although the diologue is still lousy, its an improvement over the last couple films, as is the acting as Hayden Christensen seems to do a little better as he gets to show his chops a bit more and not act like a whiny snot. The real star is Ian McDarmid as the Chancellor. He brings some needed class to the film much like Alec Guiness did.
The film succeeds in tying everything up that leads to episode IV. It'll make you want to revisit the original film if you have not already. It's certainly a fun movie and a satisfying end. (***1/2)