Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Hard core fans should have nothing to complain about with “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”. George Lucas gave them everything they wanted and were waiting six years for (impatiently I might add). The story is very well crafted and the drama is genuine. At long last, all our questions have been answered and we have seen plot points that we have been wanting to see ever since 1977. The design of the movie and its special effects are masterful at connecting one trilogy with another. Towards the end of the film, when I saw it for the first time, my eyes with misty with the drama that was unfolding on the screen. “Episode III” is a tragedy in every sense of the word as “a young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of [Obi-wan’s] before he turned to evil…betrayed and murdered [Luke’s] father.

The film’s opens with a great sequence full of action, drama and humor. The battle over Coruscant is very reminiscent of the battles in the old trilogy thanks to the design and dialogue. You have the precursor to the X-wing being used by the clones and Anakin & Obi-wan’s ships look and sound like TIE fighters. The clone wars bring about a familiar look and environment that Star Wars fans have been waiting for. Also in this film, Clonetrooper armor starts to look like Stormtrooper armor. At the same time, we are being reintroduced to Anakin and Obi-wan after three years of war. Anakin has achieved the level of Jedi Knight and Obi-wan is a Master. We later see that Obi-wan is on the Jedi Council. The opening sequence features more connections to the older movies. Obi-wan’s hairstyle and beard remind us of the beloved Obi-wan character played by Alec Guinness. He has small amounts of grey hair. We also hear Obi-wan being called “General Kenobi”. After various hairstyles considered for Anakin, he was given Luke's style in the first film. That works so well and I also like the scar that Anakin has on his face. R2 has smudges just like on “A New Hope” and Anakin says the line, “This is where the fun begins.” Finally we see Anakin with the lightsaber that Luke will inherit later in the story. The sound effects for this saber match those on the original film and I love that too. At times in the movie, Anakin’s robe seems slightly darker than on “Attack of the Clones” and symbolizes his future as well as the fact that he is more mature. Three years of war and the loss of an arm changes a man. As mentioned, this opening sequence of rescuing the Chancellor includes moments of humor. I love the line “Oh, its you” and the banter between Anakin and Obi-wan throughout the opening. They have gone from a teacher/student relationship to a brotherly one. Anakin must be a good man at the start so as to contrast what happens to him at the end. Once our heroes enter the vast room on the ship where the Chancellor is being “held captive”, images from “Return of the Jedi” should come to everyone’s mind. This is obviously something that has been set up just for Anakin. It works in that Anakin kills Dooku and so why not try the same tactic on Luke Skywalker 25 years later above Endor? It is a little humorous when Palpatine orders Anakin to kill Dooku and Dooku has that look of betrayal on his face. I kind of chuckle at the phrase “unarmed prisoner” because Dooku truly had no arms to fight with. I like how Palaptine was aged a little more in this movie. Despite Anakin having done something contrary to a Jedi’s nature, he will not leave Obi-wan behind to die. I enjoy the short battle between the star destroyer and the General Grievous’s ship because it resembles two sailing ships firing their cannons at each other.

The film does appear to have references to the current events of 2005 such as the search for Osama Bin Laden and the Iraq War. This story however was written during the Vietnam War but there are parallels to both moments in history. This shows that Lucas’s films reference historical events in a broad sense. I enjoy the nice conversation between Anakin and Obi-wan at Senate building after the rescue. It further portrays them as brothers. I am also glad that Anakin converses with Senator Organa, the man that will end up raising his daughter. Padme’s hair in her first scene is a style we have been waiting to see in the prequel trilogy as well. Sidious’ first scene in the movie is important because it indicates that Anakin is ready to be seduced by the dark side of the Force. If you look careful, you can see Sidious’ eyes for the first time and it leaves no doubt in the minds of new Star Wars fans who he is. I enjoy the nice romantic scene in Padme’s apartment. It is nice to see that Padme still has the necklace that Anakin gave her back in “The Phantom Menace”. The scene becomes very foreboding because of Anakin's nightmare about Padme. Yoda’s advice to Anakin might sound a little inconsiderate but actually, I believe the same thing about death myself. Death is a natural part of life and I rejoice for those who have left this difficult world. The point I wish to make is that Yoda senses fear and greed in Anakin, which is the dark side. This is a cool scene because it is the future Vader one on one with Yoda. Palpatine’s motive for appointing Anakin his representative on the Jedi Council is to make Anakin suspicious of the other council members and doubt them. Palpatine knows that the council will approve the appointment so that Anakin can spy on him. Anakin is against this as Palpatine expected. He also requests that Anakin lead the fight against Grievous, knowing that this will not happen. All this is to create further separation between Anakin and the rest of the council. There is a moment when the lighted room silhouettes Anakin and Palpatine and it is further foreshadow. Palpatine has been in office too long for the Jedi Council and their suspicions are proving true that Palpatine is part of a conspiracy. I like how we get to see Jedi Council sessions. There is a moment when Yoda rubs his head while he is on route to his battalion and this is a reference to the film “Seven Samurai” by Akria Kurosawa, which I have seen. This moment in the movie has Yoda and Master Windu doubting whether Anakin is the Chosen One but Obi-wan surprisingly has faith in Anakin. This sets up the tragic climax even further. Another important moment story-wise is that Padme begins to see that the Republic is practically no longer a democracy. Had she lived, she probably would have helped form the Rebel Alliance. Anakin unfortunately sees this remark as a little treasonous. We have a very pivotal scene after this with Anakin and Palpatine at the opera. Palpatine tells Anakin that he knows about the spying and verbally suggests that Anakin not trust the council. He tempts Anakin to look for fault in the Jedi. Palpatine also wants to blur in Anakin’s mind the difference between good and evil. That doesn’t really work and so Palpatine plays on Anakin’s desire to stop death. How does Palpatine know about Anakin’s wife but not Yoda? My theory is that the dark side can only be fully interpreted by the Sith. Yoda can sense the dark side but not any specifics. Also, Palpatine probably has been secretly looking into Anakin’s life so as to better “recruit” him. For those non-Star Wars fans who have seen the preceding prequels only, Palpatine’s words at the opera are enough to tell us that he is evil.

Before Obi-wan leaves for Utapau, he and Anakin resolve their differences and this is yet another very important plot point. The next time they meet, Anakin will not be the man he once was. The line “Good-bye old friend” is quite meaningful. Obi-wan in this scene seems to remember his last conversation with Qui-Gon and says similar things to Anakin. In the fight between Grievous and Obi-wan, it is kind of funny when Obi-wan gets a good kick in but he is the one that gets hurt. The scene when Anakin learns “a terrible truth” is always enjoyable. By this point, every member of the audience should know that Palpatine is Sidious and so Anakin’s discovery of this is a long awaited moment. It makes perfect sense that he was Sidious all along for new Star Wars fans, even though some might have thought him to be under the influence of Sidious only. When it is hinted that Palpatine knows how to use the dark side, Anakin no longer stands beside him. He can’t believe his friend was the Sith Lord all the time. He won’t kill him but he does turn him in to Master Windu. Another problem plaguing Anakin is that Palpatine is the key to saving Padme. Anakin wants to go with Windu in order to ensure that Palpatine is arrested, not killed. The scene alone in the council room shows us that Padme is his biggest reason for turning to the dark side. I love the arrest scene when Palaptine defends himself because I have been waiting for it for six years. The line “I am the Senate” is all Darth Sidious. I always assumed that the Emperor’s face in “Return of the Jedi” was the result of old age and inner evil. When I saw the first few previews for “Revenge of the Sith”, I realized that the Emperor’s face must have been deformed in some accident. Palpatine’s new face without the hood is something fascinating. Anakin is listening to both Palpatine and Windu and it is apparent that he cannot stand on middle ground anymore. He “must choose.” In my opinion, Palpatine was expecting to be killed and hence the pause after Windu’s hand is cut off. I don't think Palaptine would have taken the risk of pretending to be at Windu's mercy. Palpatine was truly too weak to defend himself any further but he got a rest. Without Windu’s lightsaber, Palpatine knows he can win against him. Because Anakin can’t believe what he has done, it seems like he has no choice now but to join Sidious. After killing the Sand People in the last movie, he felt he could still repent but not now. He also verbally makes it clear that Padme’s life is another reason why he accepts Sidious’ invitation. This is such a big moment for me in movie history that it is hard to articulate. Finally after many years of watching and waiting, the world gets to see Anakin Skywalker become Darth Vader!!! The line “Thank you my master” as accompanied by Darth Vader’s musical theme is monumental in feeling. I would like to mention my opinion however that he is both Anakin and Vader for some time after his pledge to Sidious. He is Anakin trying to save his wife but he is also following the orders of his new master as Darth Vader. Yoda believes Anakin to be already gone but we understand that there is good still left in Anakin. As he said: “I want more and I know I shouldn’t.” The shots of Anakin in tears on Mustafar are evidence that he is in extreme emotional pain. In order to save Padme’s life, he has to kill hundreds in cold blood and he can’t believe it has come to this. These scenes of murder are where Anakin betrays himself in the words of Obi-wan from the other films. I was hoping to see a Darth Vader without the suit and I got it. Darth Vader did not become the villain we know by a snap of the fingers. Even at the end of “Episode III”, he is not yet the infamous leader we know. Nineteen years of destroying the remaining Jedi Knights and living in that suit are yet more causes of what “kills” Luke’s father. Some might not accept this whiney “teenager” as Darth Vader but the teenage Hitler and Saddam Hussain were not all that different. Further more, both of these men had hard upbringings and Vader started out as a slave. Vader is also symbolic of the devil himself. Lucifer rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven despite being “the son of the morning”. It is hinted that Darth Plagueis is not a legend but a part of Sith history. Sidious can use Anakin to find out how to stop death and everybody wins.

It is a cool moment when Palpatine puts on his hood, never to take it off again on screen. The shots of Anakin approaching the Jedi temple with an army behind him are powerful. The shot from above almost looks like a suited Vader leading an army of stormtroopers. The montage of all those Jedi being killed is very sad and the music of John Williams was a big reason for this. It was hard for me to watch my first time. Organa was the right person to see the truth about the “Jedi rebellion”. The ship off the start of “A New Hope” has been very well recreated for this movie. Another connection that is made between the old movies and these ones is the fact that Obi-wan and Yoda are basically all that is left of the old Jedi order just like on “The Empire Strikes Back”. Also, it is important that we understand that the Empire must continue to use a Senate until it has the might to rule by itself by means of an "ultimate weapon". The clone wars come to be military occupations in disguise with clonetroopers now spread out all over the galaxy. Lucas plays homage to “The Godfather” when he intercuts Anakin killing the Separatist leaders with Palpatine’s declaration speech. Palpatine creates sympathy for his “near death” experience just like Hitler did after “Operation Valkyrie” in WWII. One of my favorite shots in this movie is when Palpatine raises his arms in triumph while the Senate applauds. He is now the Emperor of the galaxy. The code recalibration in the Jedi temple explains why there were those nineteen years of hunting Jedi by the Empire. Obi-wan can’t imagine killing Anakin and we don’t blame him. Padme is more overwhelmed by the truth. Obi-wan is able to assume that Anakin is the father from Padme’s concern and silence. Padme has always trusted Obi-wan and that is why she goes to Anakin on Mustafar. She must know the truth. She is scared to find out the truth and that is why she hesitates on the ship after landing. When Anakin reports to the Emperor from Mustafar, he is speaking like the classic Vader character and I like that choice in Christensen's performance. Padme’s line “Come away with me” references Vader’s line on “Return of the Jedi”; “Obi-wan once thought as you do.” Anakin thought that Padme was doing Obi-wan’s bidding. When Anakin says that he plans to overthrow the Emperor, Padma turns against him at that point. Anakin’s smile is pretty evil with the subtext of turning against democracy, something that Padme values very much as a politician. Anakin’s desire for him and Padme to rule the galaxy is probably the goodness in Anakin that Padme mentions later. I couldn’t believe it when Anakin choked his own wife. To me, he is now Darth Vader in name and in being because he is running on pure passion, anger and hatred. In my opinion, Anakin as we knew him is “murdered” once Padme is forced to turn against him. Once he sees that Anakin has hurt his own wife, Obi-wan is able to understand his duty as a Jedi and why he must kill Darth Vader. Because of this pivotal scene, Vader’s story comes to resemble that of the Greek character Oedipus. A prophecy was fulfilled by a character doing all he could to prevent its fulfillment. If Vader had not turned to the dark side, his wife would have lived.

The fight between Obi-wan and Darth Vader in “Episode IV” was assumed to be a rematch and now we get to see the first fight at long last. Now that I have seen "Revenge of the Sith" more than once, it is hard for me to see the Anakin we knew before as the one who is fighting Obi-wan. The look of his hair and eyes as well as his aggression make him into a Sith Lord even on the outside. I love how Yoda uses the Force to knock out the guards. He has had enough and I like moments like that in movies. Yoda's lightsaber skills, by the way, are no longer silly because we are used to him moving this fast. John Williams here composes musical references to his score in the climax of “The Empire Strikes Back” and because of this, the climax of “Revenge of the Sith” feels just like an old fashioned Star Wars movie. I see the fight between the Emperor and Yoda as the one that determines the fate of the galaxy because Vader would have died if the Emperor did not go to Mustafar. The fight occurring in the senate room is symbolic of its importance. One of my favorite shots in the film is Obi-wan in the foreground and the falling tower in the background. It is kind of funny when Obi-wan and Vader pass the two workers on the lava. Those workers sure act confused. The great plot point of Vader’s defeat came too suddenly for me but I don’t mind. Vader’s loss of the fight stems from his overconfidence in his new power. Obi-wan warned him not to try the jump. The music and everything else cinematically alluded to the fact the end of the fight was near but I was too caught up that I did not see it coming. In this moment where Vader is lying in defeat next to the river of lava, Obi-wan takes his lightsaber and I was glad that was a highlighted moment. The drama of this moment is very powerful with contrasting dialogue of “I hate you!” and “I loved you.” Hayden Christensen’s acting from being burned is real enough for me. Vader’s burned body is symbolic of the fact that he is consumed by hate. Obi-wan thought Vader would die and did not know that the Emperor was on his way to help so that is why Obi-wan, as a true Jedi, did not kill an “unarmed” man. I like how major Star Wars characters witness the birth of Luke and Leia. I also love how it is intercut with the construction of Vader’s suit. I am glad we get to see inside the mask and how “Anakin” has one last breath on his own, just before the mask is put on. Then comes a very long awaited sound effect in the Star Wars prequels: the breathing of Darth Vader. Vader’s suit is a large part of his fall to the dark side. As Obi-wan will later say: “He’s more machine now than man.” Vader has little humanity left in him. Because Leia says she remembers her real mother, I assumed that Padme would not die at the end of “Episode III”. It appears that Leia’s memory is either with the help of the Force or is that of her adoptive mother. It seems that only Anakin’s family can sense that there is still good in him. After this climax, that is understandable. I enjoy the pause before Vader responds to the Emperor for the first time in his new voice. The Emperor is pleased over Vader’s anguish. His apprentice has no one else to turn to. I like the cameo of Governor Tarkin by the way. In this epilogue, another question of mine is answered. Why do dead Jedi fade away in the classic movies but not in the prequels? Qui-Gon always mentioned the “Living Force” and so it makes sense that he has found a way for people to come back from the netherworld of the Force. This plot point contributes to the tragedy of Darth Vader. The Sith are obsessed with staying alive and keeping their power but fittingly, the Jedi are the ones who gain true immortality by accepting death. Despite the horrible things that have happened, the end of the movie is so hopeful. I am so pumped that we get to see Alderaan and the last shot with the twin suns setting on Tatooine symbolizes the completion of two beloved film trilogies. The nineteen years that separate the prequels from original trilogy are important for continuity reasons. The galaxy under an Empire looses its need for designer clothing and unique spaceships. The Empire also appears to clone others in order to expand its army of stormtroopers.

Those behind the scenes of “Episode III” should not be ignored. Ewan McGregor pulled out all the stops in mimicking Alec Guinness in this last film. They made a loop of Star Wars clips of Guinness for McGregor to watch before each day of filming. The fact that Obi-wan touches his beard a few times towards the end of the movie is evidence of McGregor’s attention to detail. I love Obi-wan’s last shot for example. Thank goodness Lucas didn't use anyone other than James Earl Jones for the end of the movie. I am glad Christensen was in the suit in this film as opposed to David Prowse. Those nineteen years must pass before we get to “Prowse” Vader. I hear Gary Oldman was considered for the voice of General Grievous and that would have been cool. The film is full of cameos and Lucas finally puts himself in a Star Wars movie. He is the Baron outside Palpatine’s opera box. Lucas’ son has a great cameo as the young Jedi who dies in front of Organa. It is very cool to see an army of Wookies in this movie and to have Peter Mayhew back. For “A New Hope”, Lucas got the tallest guy in Britain he could find but today, he could go to any basketball gym. The guys playing Wookies must have had fun. The special effects are amazing as always and this movie furthered the “digital age” of Hollywood. Unlike those for "Attack of the Clones", the special effects do not feel dated. Anakin’s mechanical arm is a cool special effect. The fight between Windu and Palpatine is cool because we have wondered whether the Emperor could fight with a lightsaber but you can tell that special effects are used to help Ian McDiarmid fight. It is harder to see that with Christopher Lee. Speaking of that scene, Samuel L. Jackson wanted a cool death scene knowing he would have to be killed off at some point in the story and he got it in my opinion. Another great use of special effects is when Obi-wan gets on his lizard steed. It looks better than the scenes in the climax of “Attack of the Clones”. The fighting speed of McGregor and Christensen is unreal and it is not sped up in post-production (with two exceptions). The volcanic eruption of Mount Etna, Italy was coincidental and it was filmed as background elements for Mustafar. Because Steven Spielberg was not doing anything around the pre-production phase of this movie, he got to contribute and that makes me very happy. He made sure that Obi-wan & Vader would have visible sweat as they fought and he came up with the shot of the Separatist ship coming right up to camera as it crash lands. I have mentioned John Williams a lot already and I am so grateful for his use of old musical themes from the other films. They do wonders in connecting the two trilogies. His “Battle of the Heroes” is like “Duel of the Fates” but with a lot more subtext. I will now address those fans that hate the prequels. I have identified six reasons as to why the Star Wars prequels are unpopular with hard-core fans, two of which will be given here. For the remaining four, please refer to my earlier reviews for the prequels. First of all, Lucas is a technology-loving storyteller who hates limitations. It is who he is. Not only does he want the freedom to write and create whatever he wants but he also hates to abandon his past works to die on TV. He finds it fun to use complex special effects and also add to his past films. The argument can be made that once a movie is released, it belongs to the whole world. Another argument is that the original creator still has ownership because it would not exist in the first place without him. I favor both arguments. In the case of Star Wars, George Lucas loves moviemaking so much that he wants to keep making his old movies. Out of gratitude for him having come up with Star Wars, I will let him do what he wants and enjoy the version of the films that I like. If I obsess over Han shooting first for the whole movie, what is the point of watching the movie? My final reason I wish to illustrate is that expectations of most fans were too high and now, they are too vocal about their disappointment. This is the most important reason out of all six and I have seen it continue with the sequel trilogy and the Star Wars Anthology film series. The Internet makes it possible for one person’s opinion to be read by so many and everyone loves a fight. Negative criticism also attracts a lot more attention than positive criticism unfortunately. If any negative criticism existed in the public concerning the classic Star Wars films, it took a while to circulate around the world back in the 70’s and 80’s. This is why many of the problems fans had with "Return of the Jedi" for example are less talked about, even today. Professional critics and writers alone had the resources to express themselves to a vast audience and they had nothing but good things to say about Star Wars when compared to most other films of the time. Because of the Internet, fans now have the same audience numbers that critics do if not more and let’s face it: public fans are usually not experienced enough to judge a movie. Even this writer admits that his bachelors degree in media arts in not enough to make a correct judgment call. I am also bias towards Star Wars. If all you read bad criticism, chances are you will succumb to it (why does that sound familiar?). I have a friend who back in 1999 wasn't all that critical of "Episode I". These days, he has turned 180 degrees and I suspect he listened too much to others who set themselves up for disappointment. I personally choose to make my own opinions. Here are a few words of widsom which are not mine: "Fear is a path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. A fear of loss is a path to the dark side. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is." After 1999, there were those so afraid of losing something so important in their life that they failed to realize the fact that the original trilogy could never be taken away from them. Those who make Star Wars the entire purpose for their existence also deserve to be let down. They became angry against Lucas and since 2005 have come to hate him. Ironic, isn't it. They have come to hate the very man they used to worship. As I see it, the story of Anakin Skywalker is symbolic of that of many Star Wars fans: they have have turned against that which they once loved. Thankfully as time has passed, the hatred for the prequel trilogy has died down and the fanbase is currently divided in its opinion.

This movie is my second favorite science fiction film after "A New Hope" and it deserved its Oscar nomination for makeup. It is also my favourite film released in 2005. The drama in this movie is intense as we got to witness a story that we have heard but not seen for many years. The design “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” helps lead us into “Episode IV” and the special effects are quite noteworthy. Before 1999, I did not know what it was like to see a new Star Wars film. Thanks to George Lucas, I got the chance and I am so grateful. I am so glad to have seen on the big screen that beloved galaxy “far, far away” and I accepted the fact that there would be no more movies. Years later though, I was happy to get other experiences starting in 2015.

5 out of 5 Stars