Anakin begins a tragic transformation into the menacing Darth Vader when he is torn between his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, his beloved Padme, and the dark powers of the Sith. Genre: Science Fiction Rating: PG13 Release Date: 1-NOV-2005 Media Type: DVD
Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
The Star Wars Family Tree (click for larger image)
It's just the latest maneuver in the ongoing Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist forces led by former Jedi turned Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). On another front, Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) leads the Republic's clone troops against a droid attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. All this is in the first half of Episode III, which feels a lot like Episodes I and II. That means spectacular scenery, dazzling dogfights in space, a new fearsome villain (the CGI-created Grievous can't match up to either Darth Maul or the original Darth Vader, though), lightsaber duels, groan-worthy romantic dialogue, goofy humor (but at least it's left to the droids instead of Jar-Jar Binks), and hordes of faceless clone troopers fighting hordes of faceless battle droids.
But then it all changes.
Star Wars Time Line (click for larger image)
After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies, Episode III finally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you've been living under a rock the last 10 years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn't matter. In fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they'll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because Episode III is a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.
Episode III is easily the best of the new trilogy--OK, so that's not saying much, but it might even jockey for third place among the six Star Wars films. It's also the first one to be rated PG-13 for the intense battles and darker plot. It was probably impossible to live up to the decades' worth of pent-up hype George Lucas faced for the Star Wars prequel trilogy (and he tried to lower it with the first two movies), but Episode III makes us once again glad to be "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." --David Horiuchi
The Complete Star Wars Saga
Episodes 4-6 Trilogy (widescreen)
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episde II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 1
Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 2
The Star Wars Store
Stills from Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (click for larger images)
Anakin
When Wookiees attack
Yoda, Jedi master
Mr. and Mrs. Vader
Saber training with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen
The cast
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Bridge:
With this prequel, George Lucas finally rediscovered why fans liked the original films, and it's not for the special effects. The characters interact with each other at a fever pitch, the action serves the story rather than vice versa, and we get to see unbridled evil at its greatest. This is one of the best Star Wars films, and certainly the best prequel. This story is sort of a bridge between the two trilogies. In the first half of the film, Lucas offers the urban, highly produced political sci-fi... more info
Is that it?:
Most of the problems with this movie have been discussed by others: the stiff dialogue, the wooden acting, the over-use of CGI, the ham-fisted attempts at making a political statement, the inconsistencies between this and the original trilogy. But ultimately, this could have all been forgiven if the movie had done a good job of charting Anakin's descent to the Dark Side. Unfortunately, Lucas couldn't even get THAT part right, ruining not only this movie, but casting a shadow over the whole Star Wars... more info
Best of the Prequels:
There are a ton of things I could gripe about with Episode III. I'll discuss a few below. But by and large, this is the best of the prequels and, in my eyes, ranks pretty highly as a sci-fi film. First, the bad. This should have been more than one film. Rather than a whole film for the events in The Phantom Menace, the Clone Wars could easily have consumed a whole extra movies. Unfortunately, squeezing all of this into Revenge of the Sith means that a lot of important footage was cut. Fortunately, it's... more info
