Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

2005

2.5/4 Stars

Undoubtedly "Sith" is the greatest of the Star Wars prequels. It is as if Lucas and co. have finally begun to harness the great special effects processing power that they possess. Unlike the other two films, the CGI does not dominate the screen in such dramatic fashion and the action feels more natural.

Most of the film flows at a good pace, moving the story forward and keeping the audience engaged. There is a sense of impending doom throughout, which is appropriate given that this marks a major turning point in the Star Wars saga.

The color palette of the film has evolved a great deal from the vibrant, child pleasing colors of "Phantom" and is now darker, filled with reds, greys, and blacks. The climax of the film puts the audience in "hell" and saturates the lens with oranges and reds.

There are problems however, and these keep it from gaining a higher rating. Once again, the bad dialogue has resurfaced. It is more bearable than in the other two films because there is less of it. Most of the dialogue is pragmatic and acts to move the story forward. In other cases however, the screenwriters have failed to obey a simple rule of writing- "show, don't tell"- and beat the viewer over the head with the obvious.

Anakin: "I feel like I am changing. Something is going awry inside of me. It is as if I am becoming darker and moving toward the side of something dark. A dark side perhaps?"

The love scenes are just as horrible as they were in Episode II, but thankfully there are less of them. It is also interesting the fact that Natalie Portman's character has been relegated to a much smaller part in this film. All that she seems to do is cry and ask for male characters to hold her. This is a great departure from the spunky space politician a younger Anakin grew to love on the sands of Tattoine and in the pastures of Naboo.

There were rumors circulating while the movie was in production that Steven Spielberg had been brought in to help put the film together. It is uncertain whether or not this is true (he is uncredited), but one does get the sense that there is something different (and better) about the overall quality of this film from the other two prequels.

Overall, this is the best of the three prequels but it still drags at points. It is ironic, but the climax of the film slows the overall pace of the story somewhat. The best lightsaber battle of the prequels remains Darth Maul's. Nevertheless, the film takes the series to a dark place and sets up the saga for the next chapter, which bears the appropriate title "A New Hope".