From Constipation to Serious Sith

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2005)

Thinking back on The Phantom Menace, which was nothing but poor acting in front of green screens, and Attack of the Clones, of which only meagre love scenes and a hilarious fight between Yoda and Count Dooku come to mind, Revenge of the Sith cannot possibly be any worse. Still, Episode III begins poorly, with emotionless performances from actors who have noticeable difficulty with acting in front of green screens. You almost start to think that the movie's title is nothing but an anagram, referring to the powerless impressions of constipated actors. Lack of emotion also arises because the Clone enemies are computer-generated robots. The special effects division seems to have taken over everything. What is it they want to prove? "Look what we can extend for over two hours with less than ten live actors"? A turning point is reached when Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) fights General Grievous, the Clone leader. The story picks up speed, introducing human emotions, something that the first two prequels painfully lacked. Maybe Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) eventually turns over to the Dark Side a little too easily, but when you compare the arguments given to him by Ian McDiarmid's wonderfully overacted role of Chancellor Palpatine, to Windu's (a very miscast Samuel L. Jackson), you would probably do the same thing: Palpatine is by far the most convincing character in the movie. Anakin, now called Darth Vader, lets his anger and frustrations take the overhand as he joins the evil Sith. With this, the original Star Wars sensation finally surfaces, even though it comes in its darkest shapes. The final fight, although dominated by special effects, is very compelling and the way Vader is left for dead is bloodcurdling. The finishing scenes are meant to neatly tie up loose ends, securely linking this movie to the next (or is it: the previous?). Episode III finally brings emotion to the screen. Moreover, it succeeds in recalling the true Star Wars feeling. It's a nuisance that some shots are corrupted due to special effects overachieving (there are over 2,200 special effects shots in this film, more than Episodes I and II combined), and that some actors can't stand their ground in front of green screens but in the end Revenge of the Sith is by far the best of the three prequels. George Lucas manages to strike the right tone once again, and he turned this movie into some seriously good sith.