the dark ending we were all craving

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2006)

I first realised that this would be a fitting end to the story when Anakin and Palpatine had their discussion in the Opera house. The way in which Palpatine was able to mold and cajole Anakin to his way of thinking was a masterful and sublime piece of film making. The undulating tone of the score just helped reflect the confusion and chaos in Anakin's mind.
This was the first main attack on the young Jedi's value system and beliefs, but for me it had the most impact. In his speech about Darth Plagus he made Anakin curious concerning the dark arts, by giving a chink of hope that Padme' could be saved through those means. He gave enough information to wet Anakin's appetite but not enough to incriminate himself if Anakin were to reject the carrot being offered. It was reminiscent of the way in which Shakespeare's villains sowed seeds of doubt into the minds of the unwitting heroes. The villain need just wait until the seeds bore fruit and then go in for the kill, which is exactly what Palpatine did.
Ian McDiarmid brought all his stage skills to the fore to give a masterclass as Palpatine. In my humble opinion he was shamefully overlooked in the category of Best Supporting Actor at this years Oscars.
When Anakin sides with Palpatine over Mace Windu he realises he has crossed a line from which he can not return. He lets go of any lingering doubts and swears fealty to his new master Lord Sidious. He genuinely believes that the Jedi are the biggest disease in the galaxy and that the Sith are the cure.
His charge on the Jedi temple was breathtaking. With an army behind him his eyes glazed over to the colour of pure evil and his face was mercilessly resolute. It was uncomfortable to see the young lings in the palace look to Annakin for protection not knowing that he was the danger.
The climactic fight scene between Annakin/Lord Vader and Obi-Wan shows how far Annakin's demented opinion of himself had gone. He tells Obi-Wan that he will restore order to an empire that he believes will inevitably become his. He makes boasts about his power and knowledge of the force. His tantrums are childish which leads us to remember that he is little more than a child. Even at this stage after all the evil things he has done, he is able to illicit some sympathy/pity from the audience.
It is his overconfidence which leads to his defeat. He tries to take the higher ground from the experienced Obi-Wan and is turned into little more than a torso as his legs are swiped away. It's extremely interesting watching him struggling to get himself to higher ground. Is he trying to save himself from being burnt by the lava flow? Or alternatively does he believe that he can still defeat Obi-Wan, even as little more than a torso, if he can get onto level ground with him. Considering the hatred that was fuelling him and his obvious over confidence, the latter suggestion may not be as ridiculous as it first seems.
In my opinion the thrust of this movie was played out by the varying fortunes of the relationship between Anakin and his two masters (Palpatine and Obi-Wan). However, there were other great moments in the film. The fight scenes between Obi-Wan and General Grievous and between Yoda and Darth Sidious are exhilarating as would be expected. The cold and clinical extermination of the Jedi Knights was both poignant and agonising to watch.
This is by no means a flawless film. The chemistry between Anakin and Padme is wooden. Darth Vader's reaction to Padme's death is both camp and embarrassing to watch. However, these slight flaws are inconsequential to wealth of great moments throughout the rest of the movie. This film tied up all the loose ends and will delight both fans and non fans of the Star Wars franchise. Despite, some of the tragic and disturbing scenes in the film it ended in the way it all began in 1977 with A New Hope.