Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Review by Clint Morris

Count Dooku feels the heat in Revenge of the Sith

Remember when you were a youngster having a birthday party and ending up gravely disappointed by it all because you never got the present you expected?

That's how I felt baring witness to George Lucas's first two-chapters in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy.

Plain old let down.

Like homebrand cola to the preferred fizzy original, both of the recent "Star Wars" films - prequels to the original trilogy (1977 - 1983) - didn't quite have the same kick as their predecessors.

Instead of the thrills, spills, cool characters, even cooler villains and solid storytelling of the vintage originals - which I grew up watching again, and again, and again; God bless cinema triple-features! - we were left with little more than a two-hour plus advert for the toy line and a showreel for the George Lucas's progress in special-effects technology.

Like the presents you got instead for your birthday that time, you still enjoyed the previous films to an extent - Attack of the Clones being the more tolerable - but really wished it could've been that present you were hankering for.

The third and final part in the back-story of Anakin Skywalker - the fallen Jedi who would become that tall, heavy-breathing clunk of black metal known as Darth Vader - was always going to be the most eventful chapter.

Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is hungry to become more. Fearing that the Jedi are only holding him back, he makes a friend in the sinister Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) - who we, the audience, know is pulling double duty as a treacherous evil Sith Lord named Darth Sidious.

Hayden Christensen gives one of his best performances yet as Anakin Skywalker

Disturbed by a premonition that his beloved Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) will die giving birth, Anakin confides in Palpatine, who reveals to the youngster his alter ego and ability to help save Padme, should Anakin agree to join him on that gloomy dark side. It's a switch that Anakin will never recover from.

Palpatine, growing both more powerful - not to mention uglier - by the minute, convinces his new apprentice that the Jedi are bad and that they must all be wiped out. And so begins both the fall of the good guys, and the rise of one…well, you know who.

Did George Lucas really direct this? The same guy who slapped together the previous two cock-ups? Surely not? This one is so darn good!

Surely he hasn't learnt from the mistakes he made with the first two films and given us the film we've all wanted from the get-go?

Revenge of the Sith is a satisfying package - good plot, impressive but never overbearing effects and, to an extent, some good performances (shock!).

Hayden Christensen brings much more depth and complexity to the character of Anakin Skywalker than last time around, and Natalie Portman, though reduced to the sidelines for most of the proceedings, is allowed to give a more emotional performance this time.

But best of all is Ian McDiarmid, as the villainous Darth Sidious. He is an absolute corker - just his evil laugh and sinister speaking voice are enough to hold an audience.

In fact, near of all the actors in the film -- Ewan McGregor as the film's key good guy, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jimmy Smits as Senator Bail Organa, and Samuel L.Jackson as stern Jedi Mace Windu -- have been given much more range to 'act' here.

And thankfully, there's next to no Jar Jar Binks, the exasperating trawl we loved to hate from the first two prequel films, who doesn't even get a line.

General Grievous (left) leads the Confederacy of Independent Systems and is more feared than Count Dooku after his merciless strikes on the Republic

Yes, Sith is still a platform for special effects, but there's a much more entrancing storyline taking precedence - and like an out of control twister, you'll be swept up in it.

From the opening space battle to the continuous lightsaber duels, and Skywalker's ominous fall from grace, this is an exhilarating, inexorably dark and somewhat distressing rollercoaster ride of fun.

Yes distressing. While the first two films felt as if they were squarely aimed at ankle biters, Sith is a gift to those adults who grew up with the series and have remained a fan all these years.

The younger ones might actually be a bit frightened in this chapter: it does get pretty dark and some scenes will indeed disturb.

Sith still has its problems - too much ass kicking CGI Yoda, dorky dialogue, and a rather weak secondary villain (General Grievous), but all in all, they're such minor flaws.

This is probably the film "Star Wars" fans have been waiting for - okay, not quite as good as A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back, but much more enjoyable than Return of the Jedi - making one even wonder whether the first two instalments in the prequel trilogy were even necessary. I'm sure the very rich Lucas wouldn't have it any other way though.

Revenge of the Sith will still remind you of a birthday party - but only one that was such a blast you'll be sad to see it end. And so the curtain falls on the six-part "Star Wars" series, and your reviewer looks back with fond, fond memories.

Thanks Uncle George.

4 out of 5

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Australian release: Thursday 19th of May, 2005
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L.Jackson, Jimmy Smits, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee, Kenny Baker, Keisha-Castle Hughes, Silas Carson, Bruce Spence, Temuera Morrison.
Director: George Lucas.
Website: Click here.

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