Chaos Magnet

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Now that I've had time to sit and think, I'm ready to talk about this film. The short version: yipee, yipee, yipee, it doesn't suck!!! In fact, it's excellent. Wonderful. And most importantly...

Fulfilling.

Yes, Episode III has actually managed to give me closure on this part of my life. For those non-fans among you, this may seem a bit ... odd, or even pathetic, but let's face it; Star Wars has been a part of my life since I was nine years old. You can't experience something like that, to that degree, without being affected by it. I'd been worried about how I'd react when it was done, but I feel strangely calm now. Like I can finally move on with my life.

OK, deep personal analysis done. On to the movie itself. If you want to go in not knowing anything about it, stop reading now. (Of course, if you'd wanted to do that, you've probably already seen it.)

At its heart, this film is, and has to be, one long transition from the state of affairs in Episode II to the state of affairs in Episode IV. There are no great mysteries in how it's going to end. You know that Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader. You know Padme has two children, Luke and Leia, and that they're split up and hidden around the galaxy. You know that the Republic becomes the Empire, and that Chancellor Palpatine becomes Emperor Palpatine. You know that the Jedi are destroyed and that Yoda and Kenobi go into hiding.

How that all comes to pass, however, is the interesting part. And I have to hand it to Lucas. Even though we all know what's got to happen, he's done it in such a way that it's still interesting.

The story starts with the rescue of Palpatine, who's been kidnapped by General Greivous, the head of the droid army, by Obi-Wan and Anakin. (I'm not giving anything away here. The opening crawler tells you that.) From the very beginning you know this is going to be a visual film, and that part of it has been carried off beautifully. But you can also see right away that there's actually some characterisation going on here. Ewan McGregor has gone from imitating Alec Guiness to chanelling him to actually adding to the performance, and he is quite possibly the best part of this film.

Lucas reportedly brought in Tom Stoppard to perk up the script, and it shows. There's actually real dialogue that you can say, instead of just typing, and the humor is very well placed. (Keep an ear out for the droids, especially.)

As the story progresses, we see that Anakin really is loyal to the Jedi, and especially to Obi-Wan. So when he finally does turn, we'll need a good reason, and the story actually provides one. I still wish, though, that someone had tought Hayden Christensen the difference between "angry" and "whiny". Still, when he finally does turn, it's believable. And chilling. You'll see what I mean when he gets to the Jedi temple.

Natalie Portman doesn't actually have a lot to do here, but she's the catalyst for much of it, and what she does she does well. Also a standout in the cast is Jimmy Smits, as Bail Organa. We knew back in the last movie he was important to the story, but now we find out how important, and Smits handles it extremely well.

Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine. What can I say here. This is a role that practically requires chewing the scenery, but I was impressed by how well he carried it off. We find out in this film how he went from gentleman to deformed ... well ... skeevy person, and that was well handled as well. I didn't think it was possible to make the Emperor any more creepy, but they've actually done it.

And while we're on the subject, the political machinations were absolutely spot on. We see how Palpatine took the Republic into Empire, and it's believable. A lesson that I hope doesn't go unnoticed in today's times. Witness specifically Padme's comment: "So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause."

One aspect both audiences I saw it with particularly liked was when Yoda kicks butt. If you liked him at the end of Episode II, you'll love him here. (I'll take a moment to digress and say that I actually didn't like the rendering of Yoda as much in this film as the last one, but it was still excellent.) It's amazing how much characterization you can put into a character that's entirely computer generated.

Were there missteps? Sure. Some of the computer generated characters -- particularly one CG shot of Obi-Wan -- are ... less than realistic. Overall though, while there are a couple of things I'd take issue with, all of the big mysteries, and all of the big continuity errors are cleaned up, and that's one thing I was really worried about.

So while I don't know if I'd call it "the best movie ever made" I'd definitely give it at least 9.8 out of 10. Go see it.

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