The power of character building emphasized in best of three

Rating: 9/10 (16 August 2009)

As the Clone War rages on, Anakin (Christensen) is angry with the Jedi Council's decision to not make him a Jedi master, which leads him to find comfort and advice in Chancellor Palpatine (McDiarmid) as his visions of his wife's death plague his dreams.
The final of the prequels was perhaps the most anticipated as it would be the showcase of Anakin Skywalker's descent into the dark side of the force and the prospect and anticipation of this eventuality make this film such a joy.
The film starts with Obi Wan and Anakin fighting in the stars as they seek to rescue the Chancellor from Count Dooku. The lighting and special visuals are once more on form with the urgency not quite on the same length as the pair seems to find easy solutions to the problems they face. R2D2's involvement is quite funny, if oddly unappreciative of realism. Nevertheless the action and drama that engulf the first half an hour is a fine setup for what follows.
Once the issue is resolved does the plot start to become exciting as the two Jedi's return home and face tough decisions about the war as Anakin is once more neglected by the Jedi council. This film is remembered for Anakin's obvious change into Darth Vader and it is a strong writer such as George Lucas who made the transition inevitable, but still utterly compelling. From The Phantom Menace we saw the Council's reluctance to take the child on and in Attack of the Clones we saw the anger finally bubbling over the surface as his mother passed away. The character build is therefore exceptionally strong and the ramifications of this are shocking, despite the knowledge we already have. The demise of the Jedi, the rise of the dark side and the shocking ramifications of the galaxy all down to Anakin's passionate love for his wife makes this such a dark love story that you could argue this rivals the previous releases for film of the saga. Not to be too hasty though as the 70's and 80's smashes are certainly three of a kind.
Obi Wan's tracking of this ridiculous villain General Grievous sparks some action and interesting duel in an enclosed cave base. Ewan McGregor is certainly more on par as the legend than he was in the previous releases and the devastating climax with the gripping duel between him and his trainee is vintage from the Scottish actor.
Natalie Portman is left out quite strangely for the majority of major proceedings but when on screen in the latter stages the Leon actress is shockingly good you maybe shedding a tear with her. Hayden Christensen steals the show though for his marvelling portrayal.
The plot is consistently exciting, thankfully less political than the previous releases as it focuses its attention on the power of the force and evil against good. The action sequences are exceptionally lively and whilst not as energetic and springy as necessary, pack such a punch that you will be left reeling as the credits roll on what has been the best out the three modern releases.