The Final Masterpiece: THE BEST

Rating: 10/10 (20 June 2005)

Please stop bashing this wonderful film. Episode 3 is the last film we'll ever see of Star Wars on the big screen, proof enough of its value. But maybe the reason so many people disliked this film was because the majority of the older audiences are fans of the old Star Wars (1977-1983) and in truth there is a generation gap and even rivalry between these old-timers and the new generation of Star Wars fans who saw Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and now this last installment (1999-2005). Now, let's put it this way. Lucas had already intended to write a 6 part saga back in the 70's when he first conceived Star Wars, influenced in part by Joseph Campbell's teachings about what constitutes heroism. Episodes 4-6 (New Hope, Empire and Return of the Jedi) deal with the fall of the Empire by the efforts of the Rebel Alliance lead by Luke Skywalker, Leia and Han Solo. But it's really about the redemption of Anakin Skywaler/Darth Vader through his son. Episodes 1-3 look back at the Old Republic and its collapse, the takeover of the evil Dark Side Lords the Sith (Emperor Palpatine) who manages to convert the otherwise good Jedi Anakin to the Dark Side. The evil scheming Palpatine manages to do this by tricking him into believing only the Sith magic of preventing death of loved ones would save Padme Amidala from dying at childbirth. This is the darkest of the trilogy, with a feeling of despair and tragedy as the Jedi are slaughtered (including children) as Anakin succumbs to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader, the new right hand man of the Emperor who has formed the Empire.
Lucas was wise to wait years until computer graphics in films could enhance his movies dramatically and visually. This is very cool to look at cinematic ally. The music was very poignant and tragic sounding. Though people complain of the bad acting by Hayden Chritensen and Natalie Potman (who by the way was busy taking on other roles during the production of all the new films, including Closer and Garden State) I think this can be overlooked because let's face it, these are mythic characters who function in a surreal, Shakespearean way. The best acting is actually performed by Ewan McGreggor as Obi-Won, who actually captured the essence of Alec Guiness and sounds just as Obi Won would have in his younger days (I especially felt this in the line "Always on the move" when Anakin impatiently leaps up the elevator in a starship as they save the Chancellor and in his lament "You were the Chosen One".) Ian McDiarmid as the evil Emperor Palpatine does a superb job, so frightening and dark. One imagines he is possessed by the Devil himself. Overall, this movie is wonderful, and all hardcore fans have been waiting years for this. I have read Star Wars books, even those that occur after Return of the Jedi- by such writers as Kevin J. Anderson and Timothy Zahn, and I knew all about what would happen in this movie even before it came out. So watching this movie was a supreme pleasure and long overdue for me. At last, how Anakin became Darth Vader....in the most human way possible, out of love!