Unforgettable performance!

Rating: 10/10 (26 September 2005)

Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen and Ian McDiarmid gave unforgettable and stellar performances! I have no doubt Natalie and Hayden are one day destined each for Academy Awards. As for Ian McDiarmid, what an awesome actor! Ian deserves an academy award for Best Supporting Actor. The ice cold shock I felt from his amazing performance as the Supreme Chancellor was heightened because his personality as Palpatine reminded me of someone dear to me. My late Dad whom I placed on a pedestal as the ultimate of moral integrity and Ian McDiarmid looked and acted so similarly. This made it all the more painful to watch the Supreme Chancellor transform, like a chameleon, from a seemingly moral leader in whom the people placed their total trust and lives. Someone in whom I fear I myself would have been taken in by, if I were in Anakin's shoes, because he would have represented the Dad that I never had! Who could have imagined such a moral icon turning into the face of pure evil as The Emperor! Palpatine's subtle corruption of Anakin symbolized the danger that youth face by those in positions of high authority and trust. Anakin's unexpected obeisance to the Emperor, as his soul fell into the hands of an evil demigod, was an emotional experience to witness. The emaciation of a beautiful Jedi soul into a slave to pure evil and death horrified many I know who went to this movie. The destruction of two lovers who were robbed of happily growing old together with their family added to the chilling reminder of evil's power over even the most innocent of souls. The Darth Vader persona became Anakin's death mask, entombing a reanimated corpse of a dear person prone to succumbing to The Emperor's lie that one can attain immortality. The mass murder of billions on the planet Alderon was the fruit of this lie. This was the most unforgettable performance I have experienced in decades. Truly a credit to the genius of George Lucas.