Lucas goes out with a bang!

Rating: 10/10 (19 May 2005)

Every scene seemed to be made for me, and my curious tastes. From the fighter battle of the opening scene to the coup of Palpatine (this movie was his, perhaps more so than it was Anakin/Darth Vader's) to the dramatic duel between Anakin and his 'brother'.
As I mentioned above Palpatine/Sidious (played by the wonderful Ian McDiarmid) was perhaps my favourite villain (and given my love for the villains in movies  my favourite character) ever. His skillful corruption of Anakin was masterful and a pleasure to watch. Even in a few scenes which saw the Emperor cackling manically (something so has become so clichéd and parodied its almost hard not to laugh when you set it done) where well done  I have no doubt a lesser actor wouldn't have been able to deliver it with the gravitas that McDiarmid had.
The special effects and CGI where truly primi inter pares, with only one exception which made me feel out of the moment. A few shots of Anakin on Mustafar didn't look 100%, and a shot of a volcano erupting looked almost stock-footage-ish to me.
The acting was excellent, the dialogue memorable, the music moving, the plot thrilling, the battles fierce and the duels exciting. In short it not only fulfilled my expectations, but exceeded them in a way I didn't think was possible. It is truly the best in the series, and I am itching to go and see it again, and again.