The circle is complete

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2005)

I admit, I am the heretic who likes the Prequel Trilogy, even as much as the original.
In my review of Attack of the Clones, I had said that love was the driving force that pushes Anakin to the dark side. This continues in Revenge of the Sith, completing the arc, but it was Anakin's relationship with Obi-Wan Kenobi that struck me as the most interesting. In Episode II they were friends, with some tense moments, but it is in Episode III that we see the full strength of their friendship, and that makes its collapse all the more tragic.
Obi-Wan lets Anakin have his moment of glory after Palpatine's rescue, sincerely happy for his friend. Their conversation before Obi-Wan leaves to hunt General Grievous is a moment to remember, the last time the two have kind words to say to each other. It is unfortunate that Lucas edited in Hayden Christensen as the force ghost at the end of Return of the Jedi. Along with not making any sense (Why do Obi-Wan and Yoda look the same age as they were at death but not Anakin?) we lose the sense of the friendship rekindled.
The final duel in Revenge of the Sith is perfect. Anakin's sheer hate for Kenobi is the most profound case of friends becoming enemies. Obi-Wan versus Vader in A New Hope looks clumsy by comparison, which was the idea, they are not what they once were. In Revenge of the Sith we see them in all their fury. Obi-Wan, not as powerful as Anakin, has the patience and wisdom to defeat Anakin's brute strength.
The first lines spoken by Darth Vader with the James Earl Jones voice threw me off at first, but it all makes sense. The last thing Anakin said in the Darth Vader voice was something human to his son Luke. It is appropriate that the first Darth Vader lines would be something human as well.
For that matter it is interesting in Revenge of the Sith to see Anakin propose to Padme what he later proposed to his son Luke, that they rule the Galaxy together. Padme, like Luke, was too smart for it, knowing such power would be corrupting, and unable to see a loved one become so evil.
The Original Star Wars Trilogy was essentially a post-apocalyptic story, of a galaxy where all was in ruin. Watching the beautiful fairy-tale world of The Phantom Menace be destroyed was the idea of the Prequel Trilogy. The deaths of the Jedi, the deaths of the children, even the deaths of the evil Separtatists were disturbing images. All Anakin's good intentions lead him to evil, and that is as stunning a thing to watch as any of the movie's special effects.