The best of the prequels, but it does disappoint

Rating: 7/10 (7 November 2009)

Revenge of the Sith was a decent entry of the Star Wars saga. It is for me the best of the prequels, by far outshining the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Having said that though, I still was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it looks absolutely amazing. If there is one thing all the Star Wars movies have in common, it is that they are all a marvel to look at. With the marvellous cinematography, splendid special effects and colourful sets, it was a feast for the eyes. John Williams has a record for writing truly magnificent scores for ET, Home Alone and Superman, and is up there with Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman and Jerry Goldsmith as one of the best film composers ever. The score he did for this film is no exception; it was absolutely outstanding. The performances in general were a lot more solid than they were in the other prequels. Ewen MacGregor impresses as Obi Wan, Frank Oz is brilliant as Yoda, Christopher Lee was superb as Count Dooku and Ian McDiarmund steals his scenes as the benevolent Palpatine. Natalie Portman shows beauty and a vast emotional range as Padma. However there were problems I had with the movie. While not as bad as he was in Attack of the Clones, Hayden Christensen did for me give a wooden and unconvincing lead performance. Plus whereas the stories in New Hope, Return of the Jedi and Empire Strikes Back are clear, sophisticated and fast paced, there were pacing problems here and the plot was murky and convoluted. And sadly, I also thought the dialogue was as wooden as Christensen's performance. Overall, a good movie, if you want the real thing, watch New Hope, Return of the Jedi and Empire Strikes Back instead, but on its own merits it's watchable. 7/10 Bethany Cox