The origins of Darth Vader revealed!

Rating: 8/10 (18 June 2005)

Now that the final(?) Star Wars film has been released, the gap between the two hit trilogies has been filled. Of the 3 prequels, this is the most important, and the best as well. I really don't doubt that Fox will release a 6 DVD collection, and that fans will be happy to finally get a chance to view all the films of the saga in order. But now that any person has the chance to do this, I wouldn't recommend, not for a single second, that someone should be introduced to the Star Wars films by viewing episodes in order of I-VI. If the new, not-nearly-as-good trilogy has taught me anything, it's that it's essential to be viewed after seeing the originals. Of course, no one has this problem yet, as most people have already seen the 1977-1983 trilogy first, anyway. But surely any fan who someday has kids and wants to show them these movies will have a hard time getting them to warm to the droning dialogue of the 1999-2005 series.
I thought this was a good entry because it went to a lot of effort to show what made that rambunctious little boy from episode I turn into the evil Darth Vader that we all know and love. Yes, it got lazy in some respects, like names. They seem to be just floating in the air, waiting for the characters to grab them without thinking twice ("from now on you shall be known as Darth Vader," "Luke...Leia"). But what they got right on was the mindset on Anakin. Things just go to a point of no return for him. It is kind of sad, kind of tragic.
This is a pretty good movie but I think that the problem with the prequels is that they became limited since the main focus is with Anakin and Obi-Wan. Right from Episode I, we all knew it would probably end up something like this. It's a completely joyless series. Fun and entertaining sometimes, but joyless nevertheless.
My rating: 8/10