George Lucas has gone to the dark side of the STAR WARS franchise and made a great film. All the naysayers need to shut up. All the fans have something to rejoice about. It’s not only the best film in the prequel trilogy; it’s better than RETURN OF THE JEDI.
The story, as we know, is how Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen, SHATTERED GLASS) falls to the Dark Side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader. The film starts with Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, TRAINSPOTTING) on a mission to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid, SLEEPY HOLLOW) from the Sith Lord General Grievous. Anakin later learns that his wife Padmé (Natalie Portman, CLOSER) is pregnant and he begins to have dreams of her death while giving birth. Plagued by the death of his mother, Anakin is tormented with his seeming powerlessness to stop his loved ones from dying.
The film contains all the secrets that STAR WARS fans have being dying to find out. Most important though is that Lucas has returned myth to the franchise. This film is a Greek tragedy in space. The emotional connections between the characters work and we care about them more than the first two prequel films combined. Connections to the original trilogy are made in the themes, vehicles, set design and story.
Chewbacca and the Wookie planet make an appearance. Yoda returns and his fight with Palpatine is equally as good as his battle with Count Dooku (Christopher Lee, LORD OF THE RINGS) in EPISODE II. R2-D2 adds a nice touch of comedy to the beginning of the film before it gets dark. Additionally, Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson, PULP FICTION) and Senator Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits, TV’s L.A. LAW) play crucial roles in the film.
The acting is improved. Christensen finds the right iconic tone for Anakin. Moreover, Lucas nails every iconic moment in the film with emotional resonance. The cinematography and visual effects are breathtaking. Some of John Williams music in this film is the most emotional it has been in any of the prequel films. After being disappointed with the first two prequels, I had no faith that I could say — George Lucas is the master and REVENGE OF THE SITH is one of the best films of the year.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
