The Force is stronger with this one...

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2005)

"Star Wars" is back... and the Force is stronger with this one. Episode III in the saga (and also the final Star Wars film) is a better showing than the previous two prequels ("The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones"). The plot is solid, the effects are excellent and the action is real. There's everything a Star Wars fan could want: lightsabers, villains, Darth Vader, Luke and Leia... But the film lacks something: magic. "Revenge" fails to recapture the magic of the original "Star Wars" films, although it certainly gives a valiant effort, and toward the end of the film it comes very close. But it never really fully grabs on to that mystical quality that was so evident in those original films.
Part of the reason rests with Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker). He fails to deliver on all points. The delivery of his lines is terrible. His scenes with Natalie Portman (Padme Amidala) are almost painful to watch, and several times I found myself laughing at the ridiculousness of the dialogue. So perhaps Christensen isn't completely to blame. The script leaves much to be desired. The dialogue, as I mentioned before, is laughable in more than one scene. The opening scroll text is ridiculous (although, admittedly, it wasn't that much better in the originals). However, of any actor, the one portraying Anakin Skywalker should give the strongest and most stirring performance. The audience should be emotionally involved in his turn to the Dark Side. But Christensen makes that impossible. His lack of ability to make the character connect with the audience makes the film lose much of its potency.
Yet there are some truly stellar performances. Ian McDiarmid (Chancellor Palpatine) is stunning. Every time his character speaks, his voice manipulates both the characters and the audience. He is truly a worthy villain for this saga and it's refreshing to finally see the Emperor of "Return of the Jedi" fame finally come into being. Another solid performance comes from Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi). He manages to deliver some really awful lines with a spirit that few actors would have been able to muster.
Episode III, while not necessarily what I would call a true return to the spirit of the original "Star Wars," is still a fun, entertaining movie. And fans of the saga will enjoy seeing Darth Vader on screen again, in all his splendor. But this is not a film that I would take young children to. While the previous two films (especially Episode I) have been more family friendly, this film is not quite so. It is rated PG-13 for a reason. There are some very intense and disturbing images that were upsetting even to the film's older audience members. Overall, this film is more than I had expected. It has its faults, but it is still a decent, entertaining film that allows us to glimpse at the man behind the mask of Darth Vader.