STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)

It’s here! After six years of waiting that would test the patience of the most mindful Jedi, there’s no more spoilers, no more sneak previews and no more insider exposes. George Lucas’ highly anticipated final instalment of the most successful sci-fi film series of all time has arrived at last. Many hardcore fans literally queued for months to see this picture (with some even camping outside the wrong theatre in one amusing story) whilst others, in a manner akin to Corellia’s most famous son, chose to gamble and play their sabacc hand for tickets at the last possible moment. However, the waiting is now over and the Revenge of the Sith is upon us. So, is it any good?

For the first twenty minutes or so, it’s difficult to respond with anything but an open mouth. ‘Revenge…’ swiftly ushers us into ringside seats for the incredible battle for Coruscant, the capital planet of the Republic, which is under siege from a vast droid army. Cruisers and heavy destroyers broadside one another with turbolasers and shells whilst a myriad of fighters from both sides dogfight to the death in a sequence that simply dwarfs any other space conflict ever projected onto the silver screen. Indeed, such is the incredible magnitude of the engagement that it is difficult to focus upon the tiny craft piloted by Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), streaking towards the droid command ship in an attempt to rescue Senator Palpatine (superbly played by Ian McDiarmid) from the clutches of the spiteful droid commander, General Grievous (Matthew Wood).
Unsurprisingly the pace soon slows and following the rescue of Palpatine, during which the devious, dualistic statesman convinces Anakin to slaughter a disarmed and defeated Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), the film begins to follow a more political and emotional tangent. As Palpatine simultaneously moves closer to the execution of his master plan to gain dictatorial control of the Republic and to finding Dooku’s replacement, Anakin grows ever more confused in his loyalties and feelings towards his pregnant wife Padme (Natalie Portman) and the Jedi Council. Although he eventually uncovers the truth of Palpatine’s allegiance to the teachings of the Sith and informs the Jedi of his shocking discovery, he tragically yet inevitably turns to the Dark Side by saving the Emperor from execution at the hands of Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and is rewarded with the soon to be legendary title of Darth Vader.

With a certificate of ‘12A’ in the UK as opposed to the standard ‘U’ bestowed on most of the other titles in this series, it was intriguing to see what ‘Revenge…’ would offer. It plays out in a manner akin to a very dark tragedy, featuring some poignant moments such as the discovery of the Jedi children butchered by Vader at the Great Temple and the last stand of the Jedi, which bodes ill for the future of the galaxy. Indeed, the moment when the Emperor orders the clone army to “Execute order 66!” stands shoulder to shoulder with the shocking revelation made by Vader to a beaten but unbowed Luke Skywalker at the pinnacle of Cloud City, in Lucas’ unmitigated masterpiece The Empire Strikes Back.

It also features some simply stunning fight sequences, from Obi-Wan’s lightsabre duel with the cyborg General Grievous to Yoda’s epic confrontation with the Emperor and of course, the inevitable conflict between student and teacher that sees Kenobi going head to head with an enraged Darth Vader in the midst of a lava flow. Also, there are major battles being fought throughout, such as the Wookee/Republic coalition’s defence of Kashyyyk and the Republic invasion of Rhen Var, both of which will be familiar to campaigners of Lucas Arts’ Star Wars: Battlefront game.
Of course, ‘Revenge…’ (which clearly stands head and shoulders over Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones) is not perfect but then again, neither were the original trio of films (for example, has anybody not laughed at the Star Wars scene on the Death Star where a storm trooper walks into a bulkhead?). However, there are several issues with this picture that will spring to the fore of either the most neutral of critics or the most ardent of Star Wars fans, with the most obvious being the lack of quality acting on display. As previously mentioned, McDiarmid plays his role with real force and power as the unspeakably evil dictator, and McGregor is surprisingly capable as a bearded, maturing Jedi Master. However, some of the moments between Anakin and Padme play out in a manner more appropriate to an episodic soap than the climax (and new beginning) of an incredible sci-fi saga, and pale in comparison to the performances of Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford et al in the original trilogy.

There is also a lingering suspicion that more care could have been taken with both the script and character use; some of the dialogue is embarrassingly bad and gimmicky, such as Yoda’s lines, understated in ‘Empire…’ and ‘Jedi…’ but now just a tad too numerous, and the piecemeal appearances made by the likes of Chewbacca and Threepio (Anthony Daniels) is a little annoying. Also, some of the Jedi such as Plo Koon (Matt Sloan) and Kit Fisto (Ben Cooke) (who feature heavily in the outstanding Clone Wars animation) perhaps should have made a more spirited stand against the marauding armies of clones shooting at their backs.

However overall, it is a great film that suitably concludes the Prelude Trilogy in fine style. It’s arguable that following Lucas’ sabbatical from filmmaking between the late eighties and ‘The Phantom Menace’, he may have mislaid some of the finer aspects of his craft and needed several outings just to warm up. But with ‘Revenge…’ the circle is finally complete and he has proven, at least to this sceptic, that his ability and vision for making exciting and vivid sci-fi action adventure movies is still intact, and in this case, almost in a world of its own. Here’s to parts seven, eight and nine then.