Closure to the Saga

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2005)

First of all, anyone looking for Academy-material acting or writing in a "Star Wars" flick will be disappointed. The love scenes are a step above the disastrous, groan-inducing lines from "Attack of the Clones" (2002), but still lack chemistry. But no one expected better from an action saga. "Revenge of the Sith" is possibly the most emotional of all six films. We all know that Anakin (Hayden Christensen) turns to the Sith and betrays the Jedi. We all know that Obi-Wan and Yoda survive the birth of the Galactic Empire, that Palpatine becomes emperor, and that Padme dies, but gives birth to twins. We don't know how or why these happen. The film opens right with Obi-Wan and Anakin plunging into an epic space battle at the heart of the Republic. From there, the film grabs you and doesn't relent until the Jedi heroes crash-land on Coruscant. The film hardly slows down, however, before you know it, the identity of the Sith Lord behind the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious, is revealed. Obi-Wan and Yoda are elsewhere leading clone troopers against the Separatists. Several Jedi attempt to thwart the Sith, but fail, largely due to Anakin. Anakin falls to the Dark Side and never recovers. "Order 66" is executed by the clone troopers and Anakin, now Darth Vader, in one of the saddest moments in the saga. The movie cuts to all across the galaxy, to see clones (who look more and more like stormtroopers) turn on their Jedi leaders in the midst of battles. The film only gets sadder from here. Vader murders a room of Jedi children, Obi-Wan watches a newly quadriplegic Anakin burn in lava (declaring that Anakin was his brother, that he loved him, to which Anakin responds "I hate you!"), Palpatine gives Yoda the electroshock treatment, and Vader turns on his pregnant wife. All in all, a very good movie, poignant, depressing, and triumphant all at once.