If you condemn it, it's simply because you didn't understand it.

Rating: 8/10 (1 June 2005)

I've noticed that the people who bash this movie didn't understand the story or the motivations behind the characters' actions. They say that this new sequel is nothing more than a 2 1/2 hour chance for Industrial Light and Magic to show off, thus forsaking character development and a compelling story. These claims are abominable, because Revenge of the Sith is easily on par with the original trilogy and ties the prequels together with those films quite nicely.
The story starts off with Anakin and Obi-Wan infiltrating General Grievous' ship to rescue Chancellor Palpantine. When they get to Palpantine, they also run into Count Dooku and have to face off with him. Obi-Wan is knocked out cold and Anakin eventually slices off his hands in their light saber duel. Palpantine convinces Anakin to kill Dooku right then and there instead of arresting him. This brews up confusion in young Anakin's mind. He knows it was wrong to kill an unarmed prisoner, but Palpantine says he was too dangerous to be kept alive anyways. As soon as the two of them get back with Obi-Wan, Anakin runs into Padme and finds out she's pregnant with their child.
Though almost nothing happened in Episode I besides character introduction and Episode II only saw light development, it seems that Lucas was planning this all along. It's as if he made episodes I and II just to set the stage for Episode III. There is a moving story found here and we get a better knowledge of why Anakin turns to the dark side. The only thing he wants is to keep Padme in his life. Their love for each other is so strong that it blinds Anakin from the truth. Granted, this makes way for some overly mushy dialogue between Padme and Anakin, but I thought it was one of the things that made the inevitable end all the more moving. Ian McDiarmid and Ewan McGregor give great performances. They pull you into every scene they occupy.
If you haven't seen it, I don't know what you're waiting around for. This is one of the most touching Star Wars epics I've seen, so good that I watched Episode IV immediately when I got home from the theater.