The Circle Is Now Complete...

Rating: 10/10 (17 May 2005)

So here we are at the end of it all. To those who haven't seen it yet, I swear you will not be disappointed. Unlike the last two, you will NOT find yourselves fighting to defending this film, backs against the wall, muttering lame excuses about Star Wars being kids films, about Lucas having a grand vision, about us all just having grown up Revenge Of The Sith needs no defence. It's just great.
Revenge Of The Sith is everything Phantom and Clones were not. Like the original trilogy, it is about a WAR (Star WARS  geddit?) and the people caught up in it. Not Trade Routes, Taxation Issues, Immaculate Conceptions, Pod Races, Lakeside Retreats or Jar Jar frinkin' Binks. It's about space wizards flying about in space ships blasting hell out of stuff and then chopping what is left up with their lightsabers. Joy!! And yes, Georgie-boy, you can get away with clunky dialogue and wooden acting when the pace is fast enough. And Sith hits the ground running. From the opening scene racing around an immense space battle to the final bitter lightsaber duel, the action doesn't let up for a second. It is one hell of a roller-coaster ride.
What's more, we get GRAND THEMES again! Simple Good vs. Evil  not Gungans vs. 'Roger Roger' Robots. There is also the feeling of SPACE!! By not wasting time returning to Tatooine time and time again, we now get to see about seven new planets in all their glory, which expands the Star Wars universe instead of shrinking it. Another return to form is the EMOTIONAL IMPACT! I couldn't give a flying bantha fart when Qui-Gon died. Anakin's dead mum  who gave a Kentucky Fried toss about her silly lolling dead head? But this one  wow! I found myself choking back the tears for the last half hour of the movie. And, best of all, we get our beloved WOOKIEES back!! In a nutshell, this film has EPIC written all over it. Like the originals. And unlike I and II, it thoroughly deserves it's place in the Star Wars canon.
Come to think of it - looking back, were the previous instalments essential in any way, shape or form? "Anakin's mum died and he was a bit upset. He later married Padme." That is really all you need to know in the run-up to Episode III. You could cover that in the opening crawl. Or in a piece of throw-away dialogue.
So what do we do now? Now that we know without doubt that Mr. Lucas still has the magic touch? Do we burn our DVDs of Episode I and II? Do we pretend they never happened, that they were some kind of bad dream? Or Do we demand that Lucas REMAKE Phantom and Clones and bring them up to scratch with Sith? Get rid of the bloody children, Sweet Valley High picnics, frolicking cattle and infernal gungans?? He's fiddled about with the originals enough, isn't it high time to do some top-notch digital jiggy-pokery with the lamentable prequels? Well I for one say that he should  what's he got to lose? We'll all pay to see them again. It'll be another billion in the bank. Just keep to the simple formula  Space Wizards. Rocket Ships. Big Explosions. Lightsaber Duels. WE WANT ALL OUT WAR!!! Hell, it's really not that hard to impress us die hard fans  it's not rocket science, George. You've done it for Sith, now PLEASE do it for the first two.