One for the SITH

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2005)

Long time ago, in a Galaxy far far away George Lucas said let there be Wookies, and there were Wookies and they were good Wookies. Some 28 years ago Mr. Lucas started his mythic 6 part movie epic; the problem is that he started in the middle. So over the last 6 or so years he has been finishing the epic with the beginning. Revenge of the Sith is the last movie in the series but the third in the epic and continues the story from episode I and II while leading into the stories of episode IV, V and VI. The story follows Jedi knights Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor of Mounlan Rouge and Big Fish), Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen of of Star Wars episode II: Attack of the clones) Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson of Pulp Fiction and S.W.A.T) and Jedi Master Joda as they fight for galactic peace. The Galaxy is at war and it's up to the Jedi and the Republic to end the war before all is lost. But nothing is as it seems as the shadow of evil lurks in the heart of democracy and the dark side clouds the minds of men. With the evil Sith Lord, Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid of Sleepy Hollow) gaining power and the mighty Droid army of the wicked General Grievous spreads through the systems of the republic; the idea of peace is too far gone to be reached by diplomacy and now must be won at the tip of a Light-saber. The fate of the entire galaxy teeters uneasily on the edge of chaos. How far will young Skywalker go to protect all that he loves, what is the dark secret at the center of the galactic war, why in God's name is Jar-jar still alive and how bad ass can a 3 foot tall green Muppet really be? All these question and more will be answered in the final installment of Sci-Fi's biggest epic seriesStar Wars.
Now over is the review, start critiquing I will. Well this movie has it all: light-saber dues, space ships fights, Droids, Wookies and all the Jedi-ness one could ask for. This time around we get to see the darker side of the force, where the true passion of the Jedi lives. We also get to see the return of some old favorites, like Darth Vader and Chewbacca as the saga comes full circle (or is it just a half circle at this point). The epic is complete and it managed to finish on a really good note. I have to say I liked this movie, I liked it a lot. It made up for the utter crap-tastic-ness of Episode I: Phantom Menace and the some what disappointing nature of Episode II: Attack of the Clones. It managed to combine the two halves of the series nearly seamlessly. Answering question from both ends and looking pretty damn good while doing it. It's a much darker movie, and the first to get a PG-13 rating, with a high body count and some pretty twisted acts of the dark side. And with one of the longest fight scenes in cinematic history -a lengthy 12 minutes- this movie has enough light-saber swinging to keep every Jedi fan happy. With a good story, a little drama and lots of action this movie is fantastic and ranks up there with Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi.
The only down side I have to say to this movie was some of the dialog and acting was not to par. The biggest offender was Darth Sidious/ Supreme Chancellor Palpatine character with some rather chewy (not the Wookie) dialog, some of which was quite laughable. He was like Jim Cary's Riddler from Batman Returns gone all dark side, "Was that over the topMuhhahahahahahaha.I can never tell!" But that's all I really had a problem with.
So there you have it younglings my opinion on Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and with all that out of the way it's time to score this flick. So now that the gap is closed and the saga complete I feel really good, partly because it ended well and partly cause it just ended (I was getting a little tired of it to tell you the truth). So taking in both sides of the force to weigh the pros and cons I give this movie a strong +8, a damn good flick, worth seeing and worth buying when the time comes. So there you have it another week down and another closer to Batman Begins and the Fantastic Four (I'm still geeking out about this). So have fun and may the force be with you.
Tiny Tim