Star Wars a Major Let Down

Rating: 7/10 (19 December 2005)

Star Wars has become embedded within today's culture. Everyone has seen at least one of the movies or knows about them. Since the release of Star Wars in 1977 (re-named Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope in 1981 after it was re-released), the once believed failure became a phenomenon, defining a new generation of geeks. Following the release of the original was The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. Since then, they have been re-released in theaters in 1997 and the prequels Star Wars: Episode I - Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones have been released. On May 19, 2005 that last and final episode Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith was released and much to my horror did not live up to expectations.
The acting in Sith is atrocious. Hayden Christensen, playing Anakin who then becomes Darth Vadar, seems awkward in the part. In Attack of the Clones Christensen seemed a little childish and whiny but it fit the development of him character. However in this movie where supposed to see the beginnings of Vadar, a character well feared and Christianson is still being his usual whiny character. Ian McDiarmid, who plays Supreme Chancellor Palpatine looks as if he is trying to make up for Christianson and tries to be this over the top evil but it just comes off as too much. Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) is mediocre in his role. He pulls is off okay but sometimes if feels like he completely forget how he portrayed the character previously.
The bad acting can always be made up with a well written script, but that was not the case for Revenge of the Sith. The dialog and the playful banter between Ewan and Hayden is not funny and does not fit the characters at all. In one of the beginning scenes, Obi-Wan brags to Anakin about the number of times Anakin had saved his life. When I saw this part of the film I was thought it was a dream of Anakin's because it was so off, but it wasn't. Padme, played by Natalie Portman, who was previously written as a strong woman in Attack of the Clones has seem to fallen to the dark side of love. Her character has now become inferior and seems to care less about universal concerns and more about Anakin. She comes off as little teenage girl, hanging onto her boyfriend. Anakin also becomes evil far to quickly. It goes from Anakin being happy about his wife Padme's pregnancy to him calling Palpatine "Master". Though the movie drags on for what seems like eternity, the change is far to sudden. Also, Anakin's turning to the dark side lies on the relationship between Anakin and Padme which is hardly shown. There is not much for the viewer to see in their relationship in the movie, so we're left to assume that the two deeply love each other to the point of killing.
The digital effects themselves were over the top and fake looking. In the first scene there is a fight scene between Obi-Wan and Anakin versus Count Dooku, a fight the two lost in Attack of the Clones in which Anakin lost an arm. The fight, which seemed unreality to short considering the previous battle was such a struggle, involved some jumps and cartwheels done horribly by CGI. The jumping figures were obviously computer made and just looked funny. Lucas also overused the CGI. When Lucas could have had something real, he instead made it with a computer. For instance, sometimes the clones were without helmet. Instead of having an actor in a suit, Lucas digitally made a body and plopped a head on the image. The result is a hilarious fake looking image.
The major turning scenes were also very pitiful. When Samuel L. Jackson signed to play Mace Windu he requested two things - a purple light saber and a good death scene. Jackson got the purple saber but the good death scene Lucas did not deliver on. Jackson ends up following out of a window after being hit, screaming like a fool. The fighting scene between Obi-Wan and Anakin has a good, promising start, but the end made Anakin look pitiful and far from the powerful Darth Vadar. Then of course there is the scene where we scene Darth Vadar, suit and all. This film is the time all Star Wars fans have dreamed of and hoped for. However its completely ruined by over the top acting, yelling and over-dramatizing. I honestly laughed out loud in the theaters when I saw it.
There was one good scene in the movie. In the original Star Wars the only jedis left were Yoda and Obi-Wan. So what happened to all the others? The death scene, with music provided by John Williams, truly was well done. The scene shows the unsuspecting Jedis being murdered. The slow motion and music come together for perfect unity. The scene truly brings tears to any true Star Wars fan. This could quite possibly be the best acting by extras in movie history.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is a must see for any and all fans. As movie in its Sci-fi genre its okay. However as a movie alone its horrible.