The one you've been waiting for

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 2005)

An epic 28 years in the making. Revenge of the Sith takes its rightful place in the pantheon alongside A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
Episode III begins with the most dazzling, electrifying opening sequence of any of the Star Wars films. Immediately after the familiar opening crawl we are thrust into a space battle of as grand a scale as any we have seen. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are leading a rescue mission to free the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine, being held on the command ship of General Grievous, a new character in the saga. Grievous, an immense droid with a puzzling wheezing cough, is along with Count Dooku who we met in Episode II leading the droid armies of the Separatists waging war with the Republic, led by Palpatine. Of course any fan of the saga knows Palpatine is not at all what he seems.
After the inevitable rescue (becuse after all we wouldn't have much of a film if our heroes were defeated ten minutes in) things begin to settle down. Back on the planet Coruscant, the now-familiar seat of power in the Republic, Anakin is greeted by his secret wife, Padme Amidala. Here, much as in Episode II, the film comes to a screeching halt for some truly painful romantic dialogue between Hayden Christensen as Anakin and Natalie Portman as Padme. It's not the actors' fault, let's just say writing romance is not a George Lucas strong suit. Thankfully there aren't as many of these type of scenes as in Episode II. In fact, Portman is really reduced to being a bit player this time around. Much of that has to do with the secret she has for Anakin...she's pregnant.
Soon, Anakin is racked by nightmares in which he sees Padme dying in childbirth. He'll do anything to save her. Only one man seems to have the ability to help him. That man is Chancellor Palpatine who Anakin will soon discover knows a lot more about the Dark Side of the Force than you would expect of a politician from relative galactic backwater Naboo. Palpatine believes he may be able to help Anakin save his wife by using his knowledge of the Dark Side. Anakin, who by now distrusts the Jedi Council (which in turn quite clearly does not trust him) is inclined to accept any help his new mentor, Palpatine, can offer.
Meanwhile Anakin's Jedi mentor, Obi-Wan who is played wonderfully again by Ewan McGregor, has gone to the planet Utapau to dispatch General Grievous. Should Grievous be eliminated the Clone Wars would be at an end and Palpatine would have to give up his emergency powers. Of course, Palpatine plans to do no such thing. Anakin will soon discover what we have known all along. Palpatine is in fact Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith the Jedi have been searching for. Having seen Episode IV we know what must come next. Sidious is confronted by Jedi seeking to place him under arrest. After an epic struggle, Anakin must decide where his loyalties lie, with the Jedi or with the only man he believes can save Padme. We know quite well what choice Anakin will make. Rechristened Darth Vader in the Sith tradition, Anakin's fall to the Dark Side is complete.
Suffice to say what comes next is very, very dark as George Lucas earns his PG-13 rating. Obi-Wan must come to grips with the fact the man he considered a brother has turned to evil. Neither he nor Padme can believe it at first but they will see for themselves what Anakin has become. On the fiery lava planet of Mustafar comes the inevitable but thrilling final confrontation fans of the saga have been waiting for. In actuality there are two equally thrilling final confrontations. And in the end there is of course a new hope.
After the somewhat disappointing Episodes I and II George Lucas comes through in the end. This film is epic in every sense of the word. The acting performances are, as a whole, terrific. The scenes between Christensen and Portman are awkward but those scenes are fleeting. Ian McDiarmid shines in his role as Palpatine. His is a performance worthy of any award he may be given. Samuel L. Jackson is terrific as Mace Windu. McGregor has really grown into the role of Obi-Wan, not an easy task with Alec Guinness' performances to live up to. Even Christensen, somewhat maligned last time around, brings the necessary intensity, rage and conviction of the man who would be Darth Vader. Jimmy Smits does not have much to do as Bail Organa but what he does he does well. The visuals are dazzling, the John Williams score is terrific and Jar Jar Binks is a nonentity. About the only faults which can be cited are some unwieldy dialogue and the fact that General Grievous does not turn out to be as strong a villain as might have been hoped.
Standing alone as a great film Episode III also serves as the necessary bridge between the two trilogies. Many questions will be answered here. Why was Emperor Palpatine so deformed? Why were Yoda and Obi-Wan forced into exile? Why did C-3PO seem to have no memories of the events of the prequel trilogy by the time Episode IV rolled around? And of course how does Darth Vader end up in that suit? Along with answers to these and many other questions there are many more nods to the original trilogy from Padme's cinnamon-buns hairdo to our first glimpse of Chewbacca. And the ultimate connection comes right at the very end. You know what the last shot will be, this movie could end only one way. Yet it may bring a tear to your eye anyway. Finally the saga is complete. And it ends with a rousing success.