Feeling the Force again

Rating: 8/10 (19 June 2005)

Revenge of the Sith repairs the disappointment of the first two episodes. It has a good story, good action and good acting. Politics are not unnecessary complicated, as in Attack of the Clones, but simple and deceiving. The Jedi Council's motives may be true and good, their actions are not and it is them who allow the evil to take root in Anakin. His drift to the dark side of the force is carefully prepared even though a little short breathed in the decisive moment. Hayden Christensen is a credible Anakin, torn apart by love, ambition and politics and Ewan McGregor finally looks like a Jedi Master on screen. Ian McDiarmid's emperor dwarfs both. A good story and good acting have been missing since the first minutes of The Phantom Menace, and George Lucas finally pulled it off. R2D2 in action and intense showdown duels add to the pleasure, as well as very nice editing of Anakin's and Padme's destiny.
Revenge of the Sith cannot touch the first two and a half Star Wars Movies, nevertheless, for various reasons. More ships, more movement and more firing during fighting action do not make it more exciting. The excessive use of light sabres is tiring, in particular when handled by an uninspired General Grievous. The dragon that Obi-Wan rides is ridiculous. Padme has changed from a determined and graceful leading politician to a simple-minded woman without significance. The senate remains faceless even when Palpatine proclaims the first galactic empire. I would have loved to see some good old school Star Wars characters, thrilled by the speech, their excitement caught in adequate close-ups. What a fantastic moment this could have been for the prop department. Chewbacca would have deserved a better introduction than the weak squeezing-in of his people. Finally, I liked Yoda more when he was not digitally created.
But lament is misplaced, because Lucas has brought back the emotion and that is a great achievement when the outcome of the plot is already obvious. You want Grievous to be eliminated; you get annoyed by Mace Windu's politics and fascinated by Palpatine's tactics. And when young Darth Vader, already transformed into a ruthless slaughterer of children, is left in over-the-top mutilation, closer to ashes than to life, you can only feel sorry for him. That is powerful cinema indeed. Yes, the Star Wars feeling is back.