Star Wars: Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Spanning six films and lasting nearly thirty years, George Lucas' labor of love has come to an end. The saga is now complete. Lucas can now rest happily in his editing room, changing the smallest of details and pissing off the most ardent of fanboys. I remember coming out of Episode II pumped and ready for the final, inevitable chapter of film's most infamous series. The little teaser at the end of the prior film left my mouth watering; finally, a darker and more serious Star Wars film. About a month or so ago, they announced the PG-13 rating. "Wow, Lucas really is going to do this", I thought. "Maybe he can pull this off after all."

After seeing Revenge of the Sith, I hereby declare that I will never put my hope and faith into George Lucas again.

 

Smarts

40%

After the previews before the film, I watched the ominous textual backstory of Revenge of the Sith scroll up the screen in typical Star Wars fashion. The musical theme roared throughout the theater, fanboys' drool hit the floor; the final chapter was beginning. Immediately an immense space vessel passes over the audience's head followed by two other ships, utterly diminutive in comparison. The spacecraft, manned by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), fly towards their goal with unrivaled speed and motivation. Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is being held prisoner on another large vessel by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and the evil General Grievous (a CGI villain voiced by Matthew Wood). After dodging some missiles and announcing numerous times to the audience of how much fun they're having, the two Jedi's blow up the shields guarding the vessel and board it. Here begins the end of Lucas' ultimate claim to fame.

As stellar as the special effects are in the opening scene, the scene is pretty underwhelming. There really are no tense situations because it's established that Obi-Wan and Anakin can pretty much take on any and everything in their path. The lifeless opening scene, coupled with the strange usage of the film's majestic score (it pops in and out, in and out), really personifies the film's tone for the duration of the film. Overall, it's pretty lifeless, but every now and then, something will happen that will impress you and keep your interest. It's really sad that most of these moments come solely in the final act of the film.

Finding something rewarding-- other than the stunning special effects sequences-- in the first two acts is as hard as finding a winning lottery ticket. And I'm not talking about the two dollar ones where you might break even; I'm talking about the one million dollar lotto tickets. The one's that add up for weeks and months until someone finally wins. The first two acts are just plain horrid. Though Lucas did use the word once in the film, I really don't think he knows what "subtle" truly means. Characters in the film will literally be crying, then turn to one another and say, "I'm sad." Sometimes it'll be a variation, maybe a "I'm scared." or a "I'm frustrated." This is how blatant the film's emotions are. I don't know if this was due to Lucas' awful writing, or if the actors simply couldn't pull it off. I'm betting on the former though, as Hayden Christensen was fantastic in Shattered Glass, Portman was stunning in last year's Closer, and Ewan McGregor has proven himself a worthy actor many-a-time.

Also, going in to Sith, I'd have thought that Lucas would've put up the silly sideshow antics and made a serious film. In the end, the film isn't all that serious until the final act. The first two acts are plagued with Droids voiced by pre-pubescent teen boys and R2-D2's randomized beeping. While this is fine and dandy for what it is (and I certainly laughed on occasion), the film's abrupt tonal change pretty much shattered what the first two acts had accomplished. Anakin's inevitable turn to the dark side was literally mocked by the boyish shenanigans of the apparently "evil" droids and other silly creatures in the first half of the film.

The turn to evil is actually one of the film's biggest problems; it just happens far too quickly. The first two acts hint at something darker, but Christensen's cardboard facial expressions do nothing but confuse the audience. I was asking myself midway as to what the film was actually aiming to do. Halfway into the duration of the film, I would not have guessed the obvious conclusion would have been possible; but that's okay, Georgie Boy just decided to rush it and get it over with.

The next problem I had with the film were the transitions. Yes, I know the same transitions have been used in every single Star Wars film ever made, but seeing as Sith chronicles a man of the light's turn into darkness and evil, the editors (Roger Barton and Ben Burtt) probably should have considered keeping the editing consistent with the film's aim. In the darkest portion of the film, the last ten minutes, the same transition is used five times (yes, I counted) to segue into the next scene. That transition is essentially what Looney Toon's uses at the end of every single episode. Yes, it's the "That's All Folks!" circle fade out. This is the period of retrospection and horror, and here I am, laughing at the ludicrous transitional choice. Psst, Roger and Ben, Windows Movie Maker has the typical transitions and guess what: they don't take the viewer out of the film at all!

 

Popcorn

55%

Yes, Revenge of the Sith is a fairly action packed film. Nearly every other scene is some elaborate chase sequence or light saber battle (sometimes, the two are combined). The problem is that the action is so easy and lazily constructed that I just ceased to care. Allow me to explain; for each of the bazillion times that Anakin and Obi-Wan bust through hordes and hordes of seemingly defenseless droids, there is no doubt in anyone's mind that the two will not succeed. Good action sequences have a sense of dread coupled with exhilaration. The two are not substitutes for one another, but are rather complementary. The sense of dread adds to the sense of exhilaration. Watching characters nearly escape impending doom is tense and a lot of fun. Until the last couple of fight sequences, there is neither of these in Sith. Anakin and Obi-Wan have literally every single battle in the palm of their hands and the audience knows it. At that point, the action ceases to be action, and morphs into a simple special effects show.

I'd go so far as to call Revenge of the Sith boring. I would. The scenes with Padme and Anakin are three times as painful as they were in Episode II due to the need for the characters to add loads of melodrama on already bloated film. There is so much melodrama dripping from this film it's not even funny. Anakin's struggles with himself are not interesting or captivating, they're stupid and unfocused. The aforementioned action scenes do nothing for me until the last act, when character's actions finally reap some consequences.

For as much pummeling that I've given the first two acts, I greatly enjoyed the finale. Though nearly everything is rushed, Lucas finally decided to give the film's subject matter a darker series of events. Plus, I thought the mythology of the very first film (storm troopers, Vader, Luke/Leia) that Sith explains was interesting. Most of the reveals come in the final act; I'm actually starting to think Lucas wrote the first 100 pages without thinking about where his film had to go. He then just went in and added a few things to the first ninety pages to plug up some plot holes.

Hayden Christensen plays cardboard to perfection, and Natalie Portman cries a lot. Samuel L. Jackson is an impending force, as always, and Ewan McGregor is the typical good guy who is just looking out for his friend. Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine is the only actor who displays much range in the film; I find his character's transformation much more believable and rewarding than Anakin's. Yoda is fun to watch, and is voiced appropriately. General Grievous does nothing more than cough and try to sound angry. To say that the acting in the film is terrible is quite the understatement, though I believe Lucas' horrendous script is more at fault.

 

Final

In conclusion, Revenge of the Sith has two terrible acts and finishes on a high note. But even so, the final act and revelations are rushed and flimsy, but you can blame that on the poor script. Fans of Star Wars: chances are you'll probably love this one. Though I believe the problems of the prior episodes are amplified here, I'm sure most won't have much problem looking past them. For those on the fence or that are neutral on the Star Wars series, I really don't see much enjoyment in the film. Nearly everything is rushed, from the various revelations to the most vital progression in the entire series (Anakin's turn to the dark side). It's sad to see such a great franchise end on this note, but perhaps it was pre-ordained. As for me, I'll be sticking with my Episodes IV-VI DVD's. I'll need a couple viewings to wash this bad taste from my mouth, though.