A fitting end but you can't beat the real thing

Rating: 7/10 (8 May 2005)

SPOILER ALERT My thoughts on Revenge of The Sith. Although miles better than the previous two, when held up against the original trilogy it still left me feeling under whelmed. Whether that it symptomatic of today's era when big budget spectacles are two-a-penny I'm not sure.
I'll start with the opening space battle in the film. Nobody can say it wasn't visually effective. You jump straight in to the midst of a battle. Starfighters zig zagging across every corner of the screen, explosions left right and centre, Laser fire criss crossing the cold vacuum of space, Obi-Wan and Anakin in a frenzied dogfight with the droid attack fleet. Probably millions spent on the scene and endless manpower dedicated to its completion. Visually stunning yet souless. Give me the sequence in ROTJ anyday, when in the cold stillness of space the rebel fleet come out of Hyperspace, ready to mount an attack on the Deathstar. The Imperial fleet hangs back in the distance and you know you are in for the mother of all space battles. You can't buy that sort of anticipation, that sort of "Oh My God, I can't wait for what's gonna happen next" feeling. This is what Star Wars is about A grand spectacle with feeling, not just a grand spectacle.
Then we have how easy some of the main protagonists go down. Count Dooku goes from a Sith lord capable of fending off Obi-wan and Anakin in AOTC to someone is easily taken down by Anakin with the shimmy of a lightsabre. I don't see how his skills and powers have improved so much from the second movie but we are told by Anakin that they have and we should just accept it. In the return fight between Luke and Vader in ROTJ. You sense Luke is empowered by the knowledge he has of Vader and a momentary lapse into anger by Luke allows him to bear down on Vader and bring him to the ground. A believable turnaround of events considering what has gone on before. Not so in the rematch between Anakin and Dooku. Considering Dooku manages to immobilise Obi-wan quite easily once again and fought Yoda to an arguable draw in AOTC's, the swiftness by which Anakin dispatches Dooku is a bit stretched.
Then we have the romance. Portman is a great actress, you'll get no arguments from me. Apparently the rumour is Hayden can act as well judging by the reviews he had for Shattered Glass. Why is it then that when they share lines and romantic scenes together they can't muster an iota of the chemistry that Han an Leia had in the original trilogy. Anakin comes across as a simplistic figure, with simple lines. I believe the problem is Hayden always over compensates when he reads out his lines. Understandably he's trying to think how Lucas would want them to be delivered. Is he thinking, "How does saying I love you Padme in the Star Wars universe where there is a galactic war going, differ from saying I love you in the real world". What should I enunciate, what depth of feeling should I squeeze from my character, a tragic hero figure destined for a fall from grace. My feeling is that he shouldn't. Yes Star Wars is set in a galaxy far far away but I love you is still I love you no matter what context you put it in. That's why when the inevitable romantic scenes come along they still leave you feeling flatter than a pancake run over by a bulldozer. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher to me gave a very adult take on the relationship between Han and Leia. It was basically scoundrel meets women way out of his league and lets forget the hell out of all this sci-fi stuff and just act how we feel it should be. Result - classic scenes to watch again and again. Lucas unfortunately hasn't remembered this lesson in time for the final film.
The events that lead Anakin's turn to the darkside are also difficult to accept. Yes we know his transformation must be complete by the end of the movie less we find ourselves potentially forking out for the "Fourth in the Trilogy © Orange Cinema ad". But the excuse of needing knowledge to save his wife and keeping alive the only person who has this knowledge is the premise for an alarmingly rapid descent into the dark side. Sure he murders the Tusken Raiders in AOTC's without a second thought but that was shortly after his beaten mother died in his arms. After lopping Mace Windu's hand off and allowing the Emporer to lighting blast the bad-ass Jedi into the Corsucant night sky, there is not a hint of remorse by Anakin. A rapid betrayal of the Jedi, the murder of the Jedi children quickly follows, yet hours before he's still Anakin the Jedi. Sure a little confused, hugely frustrated but not a child-killer. Much more believable would be something like the murder of Padme in front of his very eyes and the Jedi complicity in this which might enable Anakin to turn against everything he believed in so quickly. Yet it is only the hint of great power he might be able to achieve under Palpatine tutelage that triggers Anakin to turn against everyone he loves, in an instant.
Oh and the final fight scene, Apparently doesn't matter if you are the chosen one. It's all about height. If you have the "Higher Ground" then the fight's yours. Someone should try telling that to the two pieces of Darth Maul laying at the bottom of a power shaft somewhere.
So to sum up George  thank for the memories. It wasn't quite a home run but you sure came damn close and 'A' for effort. I think that other trilogy with the guys with the funny feet kinda of stole your thunder though.