You did it George!

Rating: 8/10 (19 May 2005)

The nickel Revenge of the Sith review: George Lucas redeems himself.
Returning to his storytelling roots and genius, George Lucas has, against much die-hard fan skepticism (and I include myself in that skeptic's camp), pulled it out brilliantly with Revenge of the Sith and with enough authority to make it not by the skin of his nose.
Anakin Skywalker's fall from Jedi to evil Sith Lord Darth Vader is told against the backdrop of the growing fascism of the Republic, destined to be ruled by Vader's master, the equally terrible Emperor Palpatine, played masterfully by Ian MacDiarmid.
To Lucas' credit, the story's dramatic arc is FAR more involving this time in Episode III. Anakin's internal conflict is shown against the background of conflicting loyalties, pulled at one side by his wife Padme, another by Palpatine, and another by the Jedi Council, it is a believable story about a passionate man involved in a deep internal struggle. Anakin does things for all the "right" reasons, but with entirely the wrong motivation and with entirely the wrong means to achieve his ends. He is unable or unwilling to see the forest through the trees and is easily led astray by Palpatine into the Dark Side. What we end up with, inevitably, is tragedy.
Finally, after spending Eps. I and II skimming over plot and character development and constructing movies that were special effects set pieces, Lucas has revealed characters we care about, including Anakin, Padme, Obi-Wan, Palpatine, and Yoda and played them in a story we are emotionally involved in, the final revel of the Star Wars universe and space opera. Yoda is simply awesome in Ep. III, not just a green cartoon caricature of himself who kicks butt (though, truthfully, he seriously kicks butt), but an important piece in the puzzle. He is the conscience of the Jedi: Careful, cautious, wise, and full of foresight. If you were not in love with Yoda's inverted grammar before, you really won't be this time around.
As Anakin's master and a key center to the story, Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi is truly an inspired, almost British homage to the great Alec Guinness. He is utterly convincing as Obi-Wan, someone who is unafraid to deliver Lucas' often stilted dialog with authority and a bit of British panache. If Yoda kicks butt--well, Obi-Wan probably kicks butt even more. He has serious fighting skills that almost bump the little green guy off the map. Obi-Wan is a counterpoint to Anakin throughout the story, trying to pull Anakin out of his conflicted state and simultaneously recognizing when he has become consumed with evil--and dealing with it appropriately. Like Yoda, he recognizes that Anakin is being led astray and where ultimately his--Obi-Wan's--duty lies, and that is with the Jedi.
There are other characters--General Grevious, Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson)--that are worth talking about, but I cannot dismiss discussion of Anakin and Padme. They had all the chemistry of a bowl of lukewarm water in Ep. II, but both Christensen and Portman have picked it up quite a lot in Ep. III. I could almost fully buy Christensen as Vader, but his voice and general acting style lack the full depth to characterize a tortured soul. Still, he and Portman edge far closer to mild respect and appreciation this time. Portman was plastic in Eps. I and II, but has given us a good performance this time; her emotions are real and her place in the story believable. Padme's relationship with Anakin is cautiously developed by Lucas this time. While they are given a lot of screen time together, he does so in bits and spurts, never stretching their scenes out too far to the point of awkwardness. He had a solid editorial instinct this time.
While ROTS is no Empire Strikes Back, the benchmark of the series, it is far better than Return of the Jedi and perhaps a notch or two below the original, A New Hope, if only because of nostalgia. Without giving too much away--and it's pretty tough to give anything away in a franchise that has been a part of my generations' consciousness and mythology for a very long time--Lucas deals gracefully with Ep. III's connection to A New Hope.
What I found to be the biggest revelation about Episode III is my lack of involvement in the special effects. And this is truly the greatest compliment to Lucas--that I didn't care so much about them. Yes, they were necessary and of course excellent, but I was far more interested in the story and the characters this time, which is a major, major change from Eps. I and II. Indeed, that is THE change from Eps. I and II. Lucas has proved time and again he knows how to be a storyteller and he simply lost his way with Eps. I and II, thinking falsely his audience would be a new generation of little kids who would be happy with bubble gum entertainment and mindless eye candy. It's the story, stupid, that's finally hit back home with George. I was praying that George would get back to that in Episode III and he thankfully delivered.
While not a slam-dunk, Revenge of the Sith is close enough to not care so much if it is. It captures all it needs to, with a few faults to be expected here and there. MacDiarmid chews some of his scenes as Sidious too much and some Jedi mysticism that feels out of place is touched lightly upon. Still, ROTS has its drama and it is ripe with characters that we enjoy and fit cleanly into a meaningful plot.
On a scale of 1 to 10, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith rates an 8. Well you have done, Mr. Lucas.