Wonderful Film... Stands Out... Bridges The Gap

Rating: 10/10 (19 May 2005)

There is no getting around the fact that Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a great film. It is unlike any of the previous Star Wars films, both the Original Trilogy and the prequels. The movie is very dark and intense, even brutal at times. It is not a gore-fest, but this movie is definitely not for little kids and the PG-13 rating is appropriate. The movie seems to stand out on its own as more of a bridge between the old and new than an ending to the prequel trilogy. It is the best of the prequels (and I liked the previous 2) and is on par with Return of the Jedi.
What's Good? -The direction of the film is well done and I have to give credit to Lucas for actually working to make a good film rather than seeing what the limits of CGI are.
-Ian McDiarmid gives an awesomely creepy performance as Palpatine and steals the show... the scenes between the Emperor and Anakin are worth the price of admission alone.
-The score by John Williams is captivating and leads you into the original trilogy.
-The special effects are seamless and take a backseat to the plot and the characters. The CGI is not the focal point of the movie, the people are.
What's not good? -While Hayden is apt in many scenes, he seems to bring down some of the heavier scenes. I'm not sure that is his fault, it may be due to the dialogue, but some of the delivery of the lines in his performance hamper the film and prevent me from really lauding his performance. He is better than he was in Clones, but the jury is still out for as to the merits of his performance in Sith.
-There is absolutely no chemistry between Hayden and Natalie Portman. Again, it may be the lines, but you don't feel much between them.
-As a whole, the trilogy does not give you much time to like Anakin. He is extremely likable for the first 30 minutes of this film, the only time in the series you actually get to see any personality out of him. It is unfortunately too short for my tastes since he starts going batty really early in this film. Thus, you have only seen him as a child and a whining teenager, with only 30 minutes of seeing him as a hero, making his fall less significant than if you had actually liked him prior to his turn to the Darkside.
Consensus The film is not perfect and has some hokey moments, but it delivers and may be a surprise to a lot of viewers. It is markedly different than the other films and it may be some time before we can actually judge its place in the Star Wars universe. Parents should be warned that some scenes might be too intense for young viewers. Most of the characters in the film do not meet their destinies pleasantly. Fore adults, the film should be satisfying. It gives the prequel haters what they wanted, a dark and adult oriented film and bridges the gap (with one or two inconsistencies that will probably be debated endlessly in the forums) and leaves the viewer with both a sense of loss for our favorite characters and a sense of completion that the saga has ended.
I was very happy with this film and think it just may do the job painting the overall picture for this saga. We'll have to see if the good vibes about this movie continue as more people see it.