One of the Best of the Series

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 2005)

This really is the film that "Star Wars" fans have been waiting for, and really writer/director George Lucas set himself an impossible task. For one thing, everyone knows how it's going to end, and there have been years of fan speculation and hype to live up to. Happily, Lucas has succeeded. This film is great and genuinely powerful as it charts the descent of Annakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to the Dark Side of the Force and becoming Darth Vader. The film opens with a truly spectacular space battle between the Republic and a rebel droid army, which is full of the excitement and spectacle of the old "Star Wars" films, before the story takes a darker turn as the powerful and sinister Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) starts to gain an unhealthy influence on young Jedi Annakin. The film shows the downfall of an essentially good person. Annakin wants to do good, in particular protect his pregnant lover Padme (Natalie Portman).
This film is by far the darkest of the saga, and that is no bad thing. Lucas has outdone himself with this one. The film contains spectacular effects and is genuinely moving. A fitting conclusion to the greatest film series of all time.