A Disappointing Finale

Rating: 6/10 (11 June 2005)

"Revenge of the Sith": Getting Down with the Darkside
Bringing balance to the force, a task that Anakin Skywalker is prophesied to fulfill,seems like a walk in the park when compared to returning the Star Wars film saga back to its original glory, a task George Lucas tries to accomplish with the series latest and last installment, "Revenge of the Sith". After two prequel duds, critics and Star Wars' fanatics alike have expressed doubt about Lucas' ability to direct the Star Wars finale, perhaps the most anticipated film of all time. Could Lucas restrain himself from including awful side characters such as the infamous Jar Jar Binks? Could he cut out the wooden dialogue and coax better performances out of his actors? Could he stage epic battle scenes and light saber duels like those that permeated the original trilogy?
"Sith", however, seems destined to erase these doubts and give modern audiences a great Star Wars film of their own. The film has thus far received critical acclaim across the country, and for the most part I agree with the critics. "Sith" is a vast improvement on its two prequel predecessors; it's a good film, but not a great one.
Lucas' solution to making this film an improvement is fast and furious pacing. "Sith" starts out with an epic space battle and rarely lets up. The film has more light saber battles than any of its predecessors and only slows down for scenes in which Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) carefully lures Anakin (Hayden Christenson) toward the dark side of the force.
Unfortunately while the action is magnificent in scale, not enough back story is given for the battles to have much emotional feel. Who and what is General Grievous? Why is the republic fighting on so many different fronts? What's up with the Wookies? The performances and dialogue also are also disappointing especially during the exchanges between Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin. When these two talk they come across as two men trying to convince themselves that they are like brothers instead of actually feeling like it.
One advantage the film has is its storyline, which is the most compelling of the entire series. So many epic sagas are about redemption or a hero fulfilling a destiny, but few narrate the story of a hero who falls from grace and becomes an embodiment of evil. Darth Vader is one of the silver screen's most memorable villains, and the film is at its best during the interchanges between Anakin and Palpatine. Even these scenes, however, fail to reach the emotional intensity of the Luke/Yoda scenes in "The Empire Strikes Back" or the Luke/Vader/Emperor scenes in "Return of the Jedi".
Despite all the flaws, the film's final thirty minutes are pretty spectacular. The light saber duel between Anakin and Obi Wan sizzles with its hellish background and sheer speed. Jedi Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) finally confronts Sith Lord Darth Sidious and watching the two gurus of their respective sides of the force go at it is a high point in the series. So if one can sit through the mediocre first two acts, one can get their moneys worth during these two final showdowns.
The original Star Wars trilogy is the most significant film series of all time. Sure Lord of the Rings was great, but those stories were originally conceived as novels and can arguably be appreciated better as such. The first Star Wars saga was conceived solely for the screen and through its revolutionary use of special effects to its epic storytelling, those films will always have a place in pop culture. The characters were so memorable, from Yoda and his lack of grammatical correctness to Chewbacca the world's favorite walking carpet, that they could be cast in mainstream films and no one would blink an eye. "Revenge of the Sith" is at its best when playing off story lines and characters established in the first trilogy, rather than creating new ones for itself. And while the film may not live up to the originals' quality, it certainly resurrects the franchise by delivering a respectable prequel.
Two and a half out of Four Stars