Movie Review: Star Wars Episode III--Revenge of the Sith (***):

( *** out of **** stars: Good)

The most eagerly awaited movie of the summer, Star Wars III details the fall of the Galatic Republic, the ascention of the Galactic Empire led (appropriately) by the Emperor Lord Sidious, and most importantly Anakin Skywalker's embrace of the dark side whereby he becomes Darth Vader. After two mediocre prequels in The Phantom Menace (**1/2) and The Clone Wars (**1/2), there has been quite a bit of trepidation regarding whether ROTS would finally provide moviegoers with a film that stands up to the films in the original trilogy. The answer is yes, this is a much better film than its two recent predecessors, though not the unparalled triumph that many have stated.

First, the positives. Director George Lucas did a fantastic job with special effects, and the movie really looks great. Also, the acting performances are much improved across the board, with Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Ian McDiarmid (Chancellor Palpatine) giving the best performances. The light saber scenes are quite entertaining, particularly those involving Darth Sidious, and the battle between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) may be the best of all the Star Wars Movies. The pacing of the movie is also better than the two previous films, as things move briskly for the first half-hour and last 45 minutes of the film. Most importantly, Lucas does a pretty good job of connecting all the story arcs between these prequels and the original trilogy. Revenge of the Sith has much to recommend it, but it also has a few flaws that prevent it from achieving the heights that the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back reached.

The key flaw of the whole film, and indeed these prequels, is that Lucas decided to have the fall of Anakin largely due to his marriage with Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman). However, the "love scenes" in all three prequels between the two feature poor dialogue and a lack of chemistry between the two actors. It is hard for the viewer to relate to Anakin's desire to protect his wife by any means necessary since the movies fail to establish a convincing love and chemistry between the two. Thus, the dramatic and emotional heft of Anakin's tragic fall are greatly reduced. Other failures in the movie include the opening space battle scene, which looks great but lacks any dramatic tension. The reason it lacks tension is because the Jedi Heroes do not actually do any dogfighting with enemy pilots. Instead, they have to dodge missles coming from nameless, faceless fighters, and primarily need to get gremlin like mini-droids off their ship. The tension is missinig because we do not have any opponent we can root against in the battle.

No review of a Star Wars film would be complete without a brief discussion of the themes that Lucas presents in the film. Though I think it is wise not to take a Star Wars film too seriously, as Lucas is not a deep theological or moral thinker, the fall of Anakin is worth discussing briefly. First, as the movie goes on it becomes clear that Annakin is willing to use evil means to achieve the good of saving the life of his wife Padme, and that he is doing it not so much for her overall good, but rather to ensure that he will not lose her. In the end, he treats her as a means to his happiness and his love for her is turned to selfishness. It is a potential flaw in our love of any person not to care for their well being but rather use them to satisfy our needs. Anakin shows his supreme selfishness in that he is willing to betray his ideals, his friends, and in the end his wife to meet his own needs. To the extent that this theme is internalized by moviegoers, Lucas has shared a valuable truth with his audience.

In the end, Revenge of the Sith qualifies as a good move and one worthy of being a Star Wars film. However it is not a great movie. It is not a self-contained film like the original Star Wars that manages to introduce all its characters, revolutionize special effects, provide outstanding action, humor, and an iconic story all in one film. Nor does it pack the emotional wallop and surprises of Empire Strikes Back, a film that is also the best directed of the series. The force is with this one, but it is not the chosen one that some claim it to be.