Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman
The Verdict: Episode III is triumphantly executed, unlike the first two prequels.
Movie: 3 / 4 stars
Extras: 31/2 / 4 stars
“Revenge of the Sith” is a Star Wars prequel that is worthy of the franchise name. It’s about bloody time.
After failing with the corny “Phantom Menace” and the driveling love story in “Attack of the Clones,” director/scripter George Lucas wraps his saga together with this final installment. And taking a cue from the moody and best Star Wars film, “Empire Strikes Back,” things get really dark. Expect to see plenty of limb chopping and heads rolling.
But “Revenge” doesn’t wield its lightsaber at first. The first scene is a visual-heavy starship battle; while you can definitely tell a lot of work went into it, it still lacks the firepower of earlier space fights in the series. Stupid dialogue delivery never helps, either, with Anakin Skywalker’s “I’m not leaving without you, master.” Actor Hayden Christensen is the loser responsible for this flaccid line, unsurprisingly.
Of course, when Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin fight two-on-one against film legend Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku, things are a bit more passable. Yet, it doesn’t take long to kill the coolness. Natalie Portman (Padm‹¨) and Christensen share a few awkward scenes together, where bad chemistry and overacting rape the screen.
However, get through the first mediocre 40 minutes, and that’s when “Revenge” releases its morbid charm. Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), a shady and mysterious politician, begins to tempt the young, talented and fearful Anakin. Skywalker is worried that his love, Padm‹¨, will die during childbirth, and the chancellor informs him that the Dark Side of the Force could help him save her.
Finally, we see Darth Vader’s sordid history; unfortunately, Christensen is hit-and-miss at best. Despite his many shortcomings in consistency, he rises above his horrendous performance from “Episode II.” Can’t say the same for the ever-unbelievable Portman. It would have been great to see her set on fire. And Mace Windu, played by an alarmingly tame Samuel L. Jackson, is an utterly forgettable character.
On the other hand, McGregor finally nails his turn as Obi-Wan, becoming a younger copy of the wonderful Alec Guinness, who played Kenobi in the old trilogy. He even carries himself well when he has to exchange lines with the other lacking stars.
Chalk up McDiarmid’s performance as one of the slimiest of the year. His insinuating and smart Palpatine strikes you with this impeccably delivered line: “The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.” He does approach high camp a couple of times, though.
Disappointingly, Lucas overkills the syntax with Yoda. Backward sentences are unique, but not when they come every five minutes. General Grievous is a good addition, notwithstanding a dumb name.
Overall, the reason to watch this film is the climactic lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan in the middle of a lava-ridden locale. Lucas gives viewers thrills that resemble the high points from the first three movies in this awesome final showdown. And it doesn’t end pretty.
Before saying anything else, I have to mention John Williams’ beautiful composing. He masterfully blends the classic themes with stunning innovations. Music has been a huge part of Star Wars, and it’s satisfying to see that it went out in style.
I can’t give the special effects as much credit. There are many superb things to see, and Lucas wanted to make an eye-arresting piece. Too bad he goofed up a few times, especially in the scene where Obi-Wan rides a lizard that looks like an unimpressive video game creature.
There’s no doubt that the original three movies beat this one with no problem. Yet unlike the last two attempts, “Revenge” feels like a Star Wars experience. And I couldn’t have thought of a better ending than Darth Vader breathing with a thick rasp behind his mask.
Extras start out with an audio commentary track featuring Lucas, producer Rick McCallum and few other names you won’t care about. “Within a Minute” is a documentary that runs over an hour and shows how the entire Star Wars production team created a 50-second scene during the last lightsaber battle. A feature called “It’s All for Real” details the stunts involved in the various duels of the movie. “The Chosen One” explains the psychological journey of Anakin Skywalker.
There are also 15 Web documentaries included that focus on a variety of topics: General Grievous, the special effects and Wookies just to name a few. Six deleted scenes with intros are available as well, only two being good watches: “Grievous Slaughters a Jedi,” an enthralling action scene, and “Confronting the Chancellor,” which allows you to see Palpatine indoctrinate Skywalker even more.
Rounding out the extras are galleries, video game previews, trailers and TV spots. This DVD is just as promotional as it is comprehensive.