A Brilliant Achievement - The End of a Saga

Rating: 10/10 (19 May 2005)

I cannot begin to express the sheer joy I had watching Revenge of the Sith. This film soars as an achievement in storytelling and as a bridge to the original Star Wars trilogy. As the opening scene blazed onto the screen I was riveted.
This film unlike both previous prequels does not suffer from the fatal flaw of bad pacing. The story is very good and told in a way that flows very well. The acting is good overall. Hayden Christensen is actually good to watch and his gradual transformation into Lord Vader is in my opinion entirely believable. The only flaw in that regard was the scene where he finally submits to Palpatine. The final moment where Anakin turns is underplayed and needed some work. But when Skywalker enters the Jedi Temple and wipes out the Jedi, it is sheer brilliance. Especially the scene where he prepares to kill the young padawan children. The true failure acting-wise is Natale Portman.I never felt she was particularly strong in the films, but in this one she simply does not do well. Her acting is either very underplayed or very overplayed. As she watches her husband fall to the dark side her reactions are not believable. The rest of the cast though is excellent, especially Ian McDiarmid who plays the Emperor in all his glory. Every scene with him in it is wonderful. The special effects were very good and all of them sold me for believability. Yoda was amazing. Overall the film worked on every level and was on par with the original trilogy as a part of the Saga.