Lucas finally again creates a very good movie

Rating: 7/10 (19 June 2005)

George Lucas crafted a wonderful film in the original Star Wars, then turned directing duties over to others for the next two films (which resulted in The Empire Strikes Back, one of the great SF films, and Return of the Jedi, a very good film in its own right). But he retook the helm, insisting on directing, writing, and editing the three prequels.
The first two prequels -- The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones -- were frustrating. They were by and large enjoyable films, good films even, but they should have been much better. Tighter editing, better dialog, and someone who was willing to tell Lucas "George, drop the dumb Jar Jar 'humor' " would have vastly improved them.
Now, Lucas has completed the cycle, and Revenge of the Sith is a film worthy to stand next to the films in the original trilogy, and in fact in some ways ranks close to The Empire Strikes Back. Lucas seems to have rediscovered what made those films great -- tight editing, interesting lighting and camera angles (which Star Wars did not have, but Empire and to a lesser degree Jedi did), a good story. Add to this a depth that the original Star Wars did not have. (Let's face it, it wasn't until Empire that we really go character development.) Sith tells in convincing fashion how a good person can go bad -- who even realizes that he is going bad as he's doing it, but who can't pull himself out of the spiral). It's compelling and at times heart wrenching. And it features scenes we've waited years (in some cases, 28 years for), such as the fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan (which was spectacular).
A few other points worth noting. The soundtrack is incredible. Williams has turned it into a grand opera of sorts. And the effects are quite innovative; the space scenes are much darker than in previous films, and this makes a positive impact. And Lucas does indeed tie up the lose ends that everyone was wondering about.
What doesn't work? The dialog could have been better in point. Oh, there's nothing that's outright awful (unlike in Attack of the Clones), but on the other hand, it doesn't sparkle the way the dialog in Empire did. And in a few cases, I would have like to have seen a bit more of a few of the characters, to better understand why they did some things. (Why doesn't Obi-Wan try to stop the Jedi council from asking Anakin to do something he knows is wrong, for example?) But overall, it was a wonderful film. It's good to see Lucas finish things off in grand style, after making two lesser films.