The Force is strong, but Lucas lost the plot...

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2005)

Minor Spoilers contained. (Are there any 'spoilers' left in this movie?!) No doubt 'Revenge of the Sith' will do phenomenally well at the box office. There surely aren't many people, who are even remotely interested in movies, who will want to miss out on not only the missing link in one of the most successful and popular movie franchises of all time, but also the chance to see the on-screen ascension (or rather, descension) of possibly the most iconic villain in movie history.
So you could say that George Lucas has his work cut out for him. (under statement of the year?!) So, has Lucas succeeded in making a masterpiece that far surpasses the mediocrity of Episodes 1 & 2 and justifies the gaps between the 2 sagas? Honestly, I wish I could say that he has, but he has left me feeling disappointed and wanting more.
Now, let me say first of all that I really enjoyed Episode 3. When all is said and done, my opinion of this movie is that it is great. The action far eclipses anything that has been seen in any of the star wars films to date, and on the one hand, that for me is the biggest attraction; seeing Jedi like Obi-Wan, Anakin and Yoda involved in some hot lightsabre action. For this reason, you will forgive Episode 3 a lot.
The film also has what episodes 1 & 2 seemed to lack a lot of, which is heart. There is a strong emotional core to this film, which is imperative given the subject matter, that makes for ultimately great viewing. There are also some marvellous performances, specifically Ian McDiarmid's brilliant Palpatine/Darth Sidious and Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Where I feel 'Sith' really suffers, however, is in the brain department. Quite aside from some extremely ropey dialogue (something of a Lucas trademark it seems, having watched Episode 1 & 2 recently!) there are also some gaping plot holes and a severe lack of valuable character exposition, namely in Anakin. Here we have a Jedi, albeit tormented by his pride and his desire to save his wife Padme, but a Jedi nonetheless who turns to the dark side in the space of 5 seconds. Here was I expecting to see a great narrative driven piece showing an actual struggle between Anakin and his conscience. No, what we get instead is Anakin holding a lightsabre to Palpatine's throat and turning him in to the Jedi council one minute, and almost the very next frame he is kneeling before him, calling him master, before going off to mindlessly slaughter Jedi children with nary a decent explanation of why. Even Anakin's stunned realisation, "What have I done", that comes after seeing Palpatine dispose of Mace Windu, goes totally unanswered.
In another moment, one of the film's finer action sequences, we see Yoda facing off against Darth Sidious, the two real titanic powers on each side of the force. After matching one another blow for force-fuelled blow, we see something that just seems downright stupid. Yoda running away. Sure, he's small, but this little green guy is supposed to kick ass! Here is the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy, supposedly fighting for all he believes in, to save the Jedi order, yet after a little scuffle which he doesn't even lose, he turns around talking about "into exile I must go".
It seems to me that the prequel trilogy's failings reside chiefly in Lucas's determination to tie every minute detail together, and his inability to do so satisfactorily. The result of this is that he makes the world which he created all the more smaller, instead of highlighting what should be the expanse of his imagination.
I want to finish by adding a final criticism of Lucas, which is simply to compare Lucas' Jedi to Genndy Tartakovsky's, the man who co-wrote and directed the Clone Wars animated series which chronicles the events in between Episode's 2 and 3. Anyone who has seen the series should agree that Tartakovsky's Jedi are far more exciting, original and generally more awesome than Lucas's! It seems to me, when you compare the films to the series, that Tartakovsky has truly realised the potential of what Jedi can accomplish and created some truly astonishing action sequences from it. It is almost upsetting to see that Lucas, the man who blessed the world with the concept of the Force and the idea of Jedi, has been unable to demonstrate the depth of that power in the same way that Tartakovsky does. Although I fully appreciate that Star Wars is entirely Lucas's creation, I for one would love to see more of Tartakovsky's Star Wars and less of Lucas'. At least until he learns to write a decent script and learns to cut out the annoying 'wipe-fade' crap!! 8 for Jedi + 7 for Yoda kicking ass + 9 for Palpatine + 10 for Vader's first breath(!) - 9 for rubbish dialogue - 9 for Anakin's 'transformation' - 9 for Lucas letting me down when it could have been so much more...
7/10