Lucas Finally Gets it Right

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2019)

After stumbling with two bad prequel films, Lucas returned to form with "Revenge of the Sith" - an operatic tale of an innocent man's corruption that lives up to the spirit of the original trilogy while telling a gripping story in its own right. This isn't just the best prequel film, it's also one of the best "Star Wars" films. It's by no means as good as the 1977 original or "The Empire Strikes Back," two of the greatest movies of all time. But ROTS is better than "The Force Awakens," "The Last Jedi," and even "Return of the Jedi."
ROTS is a vast improvement over Episodes I and II: no more talk of midiclorians, the painful Anakin/Padme romance is all but eliminated, and Jar Jar Binks is reduced to a throw away cameo. This time, all the emphasis is on character development, the series' central themes, and making direct connections with the original trilogy that - for the most part - create a satisfying transition from the new to the old. I'm impressed by how Lucas builds upon his own mythology to create an effective combination of Greek tragedy, adventure serials, and a commentary on post-9/11 America that all together create a movie with more emotional resonance than almost any other Episode in the entire saga. While I found much of the CGI in Episodes I and II unconvincing, in ROTS Lucas' visuals aren't just believable they're truly stunning. Shot after shot took my breath away, especially during the spectacular action sequences.
But sadly, Lucas didn't recapture the seamlessness of the original "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back." Most of the dialogue is solid, but a few lines here and there come off as clunky. Hayden Christensen is much better in ROTS than he was in "Attack of the Clones," but he still goes over the top in key dramatic moments that should be the high points of the movie. Christensen's performance doesn't ruin ROTS by any means, but it doesn't help either. More importantly Anakin's fall to the dark side isn't fully developed. This seriously harms the movie because his character arc is at the heart of the picture. While it fits fine into the film as a whole, Anakin's transformation doesn't flow properly from scene to scene and the result is an uneven viewing experience.
There are additional flaws: ROTS has a few silly moments that take away from the drama of the story, plot holes create confusion here and there, and sometimes you're left wishing that Lucas had done better. Although there's some choices I wish Lucas had made (such as hiring a co-writer), I really enjoy "Revenge of the Sith" as a whole. 8/10.