I am depressed and saddened.

Rating: 1/10 (27 May 2005)

I saw Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith once, and I will never see it again. This movie is utterly devoid of anything positive or enjoyable. The first half of the film is basically about Anakin being an idiot and messing everything up, and the second half consists of him on a killing rampage. Sure, I know that the story of Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader absolutely HAD to be told, but therein lies the problem. This movie (and the other two, for that matter) was created solely to explain what is present in Episodes IV, V, and VI. There is no point to the film other than explanation.
The plot was not the main aspect of the movie that upset me, however. What really bothered me was how negative the movie was. There is so much unnecessary death and agony in this film that I can't even justify viewing it. I am thinking in particular of the scenes when Anakin assaults the Jedi Temple, and when he storms the Trade Federation HQ. In the former scene, Anakin kills almost everyone. He enters a room of young Padawan learners, little kids, and slays them all. That is just plain disturbing. I am sure most people who see this film are desensitized and gloss over this, but I am sensitive to violence in movies and I didn't feel good about seeing senseless killing.
Later on, when Anakin assaults the Trade Federation, he enters the T.F. control room, with the Neimoidians under the impression that he came to assist them. Instead, he slaughters them all. The Neimoidians are unsuspecting and don't put up much of a fight. They try to plead for their lives, but Anakin doesn't listen. The last one he kills (Nute Gunray?) even explains "The war is over!" Anakin's killing is totally unnecessary. Yet Anakin slashes Gunray across the chest and kills him. I was so confused during this scene because the Neimoidians are previously portrayed as cunning and selfish, but I feel sad when I see Anakin murder one of them. I used to think that the Neimoidians were stupid characters, but they suffer so much in Ep. III that I feel bad for them, and bad about the violence they are involved in.
Everything basically adds up to a great deal of suffering and violence. Each good character either dies or fails in this movie. Obi-Wan fails (he says so during his final showdown with Anakin), Yoda fails also, Padme dies, the Jedi are wiped out. Anakin is a big, big idiot who does everything wrong and destroys the loved one he was questing to save. He strives to obtain the legendary dark power of resurrection because he saw in a vision that Padme would die in childbirth. He destroys the Jedi order, kills little kids, and turns against his master, just to save Padme. But he even kills Padme! His anger at and total rejection of Padme drains her will to live.
The fact that the movie is poorly made doesn't help the horrid content. This brings me to my final complaint, and the one most relevant to the Star Wars universe. First of all, let me say that I am a Star Wars fan. Not the kind of fan that simply thinks the movies are good. I have obviously seen each episode of the original trilogy many times, and have come to appreciate the cinematic experience they bring the viewer. The reason they are so good is because, aside from being excellent from a movie-making standpoint, they offer a completely absorbing universe for you to step into. As a collector of Decipher's Star Wars CCG cards, I have immersed myself in the amazing scope of this universe. Have you ever wondered why people watch the original three films hundreds of times and never tire of them? This is the answer. There is so much intricacy, so much care in each detail, that the Star Wars universe comes alive. That is what makes a Sci-Fi movie good, and that is why Star Wars endures to this day. Thousands of models and landscapes were created by hand. In the new trilogy, everything is computer generated, which contributes to the washed-out, boring scenes. As I have previously stated, the new films are so plot-driven that they don't engage the worlds they take place on. In the original trilogy, scenes were staged in memorable locations that an interested viewer will become very familiar with. In Ep. III, the plot jumps from planet to planet without creating attachment to a particular place. In contrast, everyone knows Tatooine from seeing the original trilogy. They know what it looks like, the creatures that live there, and why it is so important. I don't even know the names of half the planets that appear in Ep. III, and if I did, I wouldn't care. The environments are so indifferently rendered that no attachment to a particular place is created.
I am sorry for writing a review this long. I simply wanted to express my depression after seeing this movie. It absolutely fails at everything. Not only is it poorly made, but it is so depressing that there is no point in watching it. Who would want to watch a depressing movie if there is not some positive benefit to outweigh the negative? Not me. I don't understand what George Lucas was thinking when he made this film. He is obviously so full of himself that he forgot how to make a good movie. As abysmal as Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is, it helps me appreciate the magnificence of the original movies a little bit more. Episodes IV, V, and VI were so amazingly well done that even the man who thought them up doesn't understand what makes them enduring classics. There is nothing more to do except treasure the experience of those original three Star Wars films. Nothing like them will ever happen again.