The Best Star Wars Flic, and Good In Its Own Right

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 2005)

I'm not a "Star Wars" fan. I see the movies because I want to keep up with popular culture.
I really liked this movie. It flew by. I didn't look at my watch once. I teared up in places, which really, really surprised me. I found Hayden Christensen, as Annakin / Darth Vader, surprisingly sexy. I haven't found any Star Wars characters sexy so far, except maybe Chewbacca.
Recent, special-effects-heavy, teenage-boy adventure movies are not my genre. I like the older ones like "Adventures of Robin Hood" but those were more about charismatic characters and finely honed bodies flying through space with skill and menace. Errol Flynn really could fence, as could Basil Rathbone; they didn't need a glowing sword to thrill you.
So, yeah, "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Ring" movies tend to bore me.
But "Revenge of the Sith," actually had something of a plot, and some characterization. It was asking some big questions. Admittedly, it asked them in a format designed for boys between the ages of eight and twelve, but within that format it did a pretty good job.
What is evil? How do good people go bad? What is the price to pay? What does one gain by selling out? What are the limits of love, of friendship, of obedience? Interesting stuff.
Unlike other viewers, I did not find the acting wooden, but that's maybe because my expectations were very low. But, again, Hayden really moved me, as did Natalie Portman as Padme, aka Mrs. Darth Vader. When she debated Annakin's fate with him, I teared up. I didn't actually cry, but that's the biggest reaction I've had to a "Star Wars" movie so far.
Ewan MacGregor was fine; Yoda was as appealing here as he's ever been.
The film had some drawbacks. Just too damn many special effects, and too many urban settings. In previous "Star Wars" films, you had the natural deserts of Tatooine, the Lake Como of Naboo, the redwoods of the Ewoks. Here everything was computer generated and urban; it looked like Newark and the New Jersey Turnpike.
Also, the film could have used some more funny moments. We all know the story by now; an in-joke or two would have been appreciated.
When Darth Vader learns a terrible truth, he screams "No;" this scene verges on melodrama and inadvertent humor.
Not enough wookies.
Otherwise, though, wow, to me this movie is proof that even a movie with too many special effects can also be moving if the script addresses some big issues.