An impressive and glorious end

Rating: 4/10 (27 October 2005)

George Lucas has finally proved himself worthy of the legacy of "Star Wars". With Revenge of the Sith, Mr. Lucas has proved that he can actually direct a great movie. Revenge of the Sith manages to successfully and satisfyingly close the Star Wars circle. The saga is finally complete.
Many Star Wars fans (myself included) were disappointed with George Lucas when he made the first two prequels, Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Episode II: Attack of the Clones. We felt that he ruined the charm and the magic of the original trilogy (Episodes IV, V, and VI; A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi respectively). While nobody really goes to Star Wars to see great acting, the acting in the prequels (especially by those who played Anakin: Jake Lloyd in Phantom Menace and Hayden Christensen in Attack of the Clones, and also by Natalie Portman, who played Padme) was below any real level of tolerance. The fact that Natalie Portman is normally a good actress proves that the problem with the prequels was the director, and not the actors. The script was uneven, and George's pathetic attempt at writing romantic scenes in Attack of the Clones was so pathetic it was embarrassing. George also ruined some favorite Star Wars lore: The Force became a scientific matter (Medichlorians), and R2-D2 and C-3P0 became the sources of comic relief, thus completely ruining their characters. C-3P0's one-liners in Attack of the Clones were so bad it hurt. We all asked ourselves, "What was George thinking?" Well, with Revenge of the Sith, we understand that George asked himself the exact same thing.
Revenge of the Sith is so much better than the previous two prequels it's amazing. Everything in it is better. I'll start with the least important: the special effects. The opening shot of the movie totally blew me away. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it. Many people complained about the way the CGI Yoda looked in Attack of the Clones, and I also thought that he wasn't a really amazing achievement in CGI. In Revenge of the Sith, the animators have clearly taken some more classes, and Yoda looks perfect. Who would have thought that a 2-foot-high green CGI character could look so believable? And he really does. The character of General Grievous is brilliantly executed. If you're a special effects fan, prepare to be completely blown away. What's so overwhelming about this, though, is that while the movie is built with the special effects, it doesn't rely on them, it's not built around them. They are used as tools to create the visuals of the Star Wars universe. They are second to the plot, and to the drama. And that's one of the reasons that Revenge of the Sith is so successful.
The acting has improved by far. Natalie Portman finally proves to all Star Wars fans that she can, in fact, act. And she acts wonderfully in this movie. The true shining star, though, is Ian McDiarmid, who plays Palpatine powerfully, with ruthless supremacy bordering insanity.
The film's single, biggest flaw is the casting of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. Episode II was too flawed to really notice Hayden's bad acting, but in Episode III it stands out, and really drags the film down. This is especially unfortunate because of the intensity of the film and his character  intensity that is brought down because of his acting.
The true crowning achievement of Revenge of the Sith, though, is the drama. It sounds strange saying this, but Revenge of the Sith is actually emotional. I was totally engaged in the drama. It's not all drama, though, there's plenty of action, but the scenes with the Jedi, especially with Palpatine or Anakin and Obi-Wan are really tense and powerful. The emotion in this film is something that hasn't been seen in Star Wars since the dramatic scenes between Luke and Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. Their intensity can definitely be compared to those very scenes. Anakin's decline towards the dark side is portrayed so brilliantly and dramatically, that you really feel for him, feel his and his loved ones' pain. Star Wars once again becomes a true cinematic experience, and not just a bunch of special effects.
And despite the drama, there still is some of that good old Star Wars fun. The difference is, that with this movie George isn't (painfully) trying to create "cool" things on the screen. Yoda fighting Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones wasn't really important (after all, the fight ended quickly, and unresolved). It was put in just because George knew that people would think that seeing Yoda fighting would be "cool". The same goes for R2-D2 flying with the jets on his legs. In Revenge of the Sith, George doesn't show any of these things only because of their entertainment value. Yoda fights because he's fighting for his life. R2-D2 uses his jet packs as a tool, not as a way to show off his "coolness". It seems that George's attitude towards the film has completely changed from his attitude towards the other two prequels.
Any Star Wars fan (and hopefully, that's all of you) will be delighted while (and after) watching the film, because of all the reasons mentioned above, but also because it's such a thrill watching as all the loose ends are tied, and all the pieces of the puzzle fit in perfectly with the beginning of the original trilogy, starting from Episode IV.
All in all, Star Wars Episode III is a total success from George Lucas, who managed to end the saga with an impressive and glorious bang. And if you manage to look over the feeble dialog and the wooden acting, you'll see that it's actually a really good movie.