Going Out with a DeathStar-caliber BANG

Rating: 9/10 (25 May 2005)

While fans have largely been disappointed with the two previous installments of Star Wars, what with Jar Jar camping up The Phantom Menace and the stiffest Romance ever committed to film slowing down Attack of the Clones, and many largely lost faith in the franchise, and the ability of George Lucas to tell a story.
But he has redeemed himself in the eyes of millions with this one. Make no mistake; Revenge of the Sith is the best Star Wars film since The Empire Strikes Back. Sure, there is still a bit of stiff acting, (99.9% of which is again from Hayden Christiensen) and a few painful moments, but on the whole, Revenge of the Sith should not be Star Wars ROTS, but Star Wars ROCKS! McGregor, Portman, and Ian McDarmid as the Insidious Darth Sidious/ Emperor Palpatine have fallen into their respective rolls near-flawlessly. A scene in which Palpatine tells Anakin of his Master Darth Plagus, I forgot I was worthing a great actor; I felt like I was really witnessing a Sith Lord.
McGregor's obi-wan is closer than ever to the original part played by Sir Alec Guiness, in mannerism and look, and Portman finally seems to be taking the part of Padme Amidala seriously. At the end of the film, when Luke and Leia are born, she is at her most convincing in all the three prequels.
As I said earlier, Christiensen is still stiff in his acting, but in this one it does't stand out near as much as in the previous films. The big exception to this is the scene where he actually turns to the Dark Side; quite frankly it feels rushed. But once it's over, the film takes a turn into darkness and you'll see why it got it's PG-13 rating.
Episode III is a worthy installment to the franchise, and certainly takes Star Wars out with a bang rather than the expected whimper. GO SEE IT!