Darth Vader turns to Evil

STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Original Review from 2005

 "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" is an unpretentious, darkly humorous ride, and quite possibly the most significant "Star Wars" film since "Return of the Jedi." It is chock full of glorious action setpieces, double crosses, deceit, some political mumbo-jumbo (no filibustering this time), and plenty of lightsaber battles (oh, and Jar Jar Binks who doesn't utter a single word). As eye-poppingly entertaining as it is, it sets a more sinister tone for the series, ending more on a bang with a cold heart than a joyous, heartwarming one. In other words, this film comes as close to the spirit of "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back" than either of the last two prequels.

Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is as reckless as ever as the Jedi who longs to be a Jedi Master. In the opening sequence, Anakin and his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan MacGregor), are trying to rescue the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from the clutches of a Sith lord, Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), and some evil, skeletal droid commander named General Grievous who seems ready to cough up a lung. Count Dooku, as you may recall from "Episode II," was the Emperor's right-hand man and apprentice. After Dooku's brief exit, General Grievous seems to be the last hope for the Emperor in his desire for the Sith to rule the galaxy. Or so we think.

Meanwhile, Anakin is dealing with joining the Jedi Council and wondering if he should spy on the Chancellor. Naturally, the Chancellor wants Anakin to spy on the Jedi Council. There is also the growing anger within Anakin, fully exploited by the Chancellor who, in a riveting scene, describes the seduction of the Dark Side of the Force. The lure, the seduction is there, but will Anakin turn and believe the Chancellor's Jedi conspiracy theory? And what of Anakin's secret marriage to Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), who is now pregnant with twins? Romance, marriage, Luke and Leia! A Jedi craves not these things.

Unless you live in a galaxy, far, far away, you know very well that Anakin Skywalker will become Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith who ruled the galaxies and surrounding systems in the original trilogy. It is the transition that we are interested in, the eventual transformation into the dark helmeted, leather-strapped, machine-breathing Darth Vader, and I am happy to say that it works beautifully. George Lucas handles it as well as one can imagine, and Hayden Christensen brings that seething, slow boil to the character in a startling way. Though the actual turn to the Dark Side is somewhat abrupt, what follows is not. We see a hooded Anakin marching to his own beat as he helps destroy all the Jedi knights, fearing they will destroy the Senate and the Chancellor (a misguided fellow, this Anakin is). His capricious longing to be the most powerful Jedi ever is evident, and we watch with uncomfortable ease as he decimates all the Jedi without mercy.

So what else can you expect in "Episode III" besides Anakin's gradual transformation? There are lightsaber battles galore, including General Grievous armed with four lightsabers! Obi-Wan riding a huge lizard while the Clone Wars are fought! The wise Yoda rubbing his head as he strongly feels the disturbance in the Force, though this little green gremlin is still aces with a lightsaber. Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu fully engaged with his purple lightsaber. There is also the dastardly, powerful Emperor whose verbal tongue, corroded with the Dark Side, is as consuming as his knowledge of the Force. And there are the lava lakes of Hell, or more appropriately Mustafar, where Anakin faces Obi-Wan in "Lord of the Rings" fashion. We are talking the depths of Hell here, folks, and even less inviting than Mordor. We are talking about the declining and eventual eradication of goodness of Anakin Skywalker.

Being a minor fan of the last two prequels (oh, heavens, don't say it is so Jerry. You actually liked "The Phantom Menace"? Hate mail to be delivered by torpedo), "Revenge of the Sith" certainly delivers with a major bang, and writer-director Lucas has pulled out all the stops for a grand finish. Every sequence is jaw-dropping in its visual imagination of new worlds and wondrous new galactic spaceships. The lightsaber battles are as grippingly intense as ever. There is a battle with the Wookies that will have fans cheering (yes, indeed, Chewbacca does fleetingly return). And, as in the previous films, people indoors face enormous windows where dozens of ships are headed somewhere (the air traffic jams must be horrendous considering a war is going on). In terms of special-effects backgrounds, lavish cityscapes and incorporating seamless CGI with live action, George Lucas and his ILM team have outdone themselves yet again. Just looking at the opening sequence, bordering on the usual laser beam battles amongst cruisers and TIE fighters, the ships move with such three-dimensionality that you may end up on the edge of your seat. Considering that Lucas is re-releasing this saga in 3-D, it will be even more awesome than ever (UPDATE: Apparently not. Some theatergoers found the 3-D effects in "Phantom Menace" to be fuzzy).

All effects aside, "Revenge of the Sith" is occasionally uneven despite a lightning pace and several frenetic action scenes. I admire the innocent relationship between Anakin and Padme but it is still wooden compared to Han Solo and Princess Leia's romance. In fact, Christensen and Portman are at their best when tension grows between them - her gradual shock and his malevolent side works nicely in contrast. The Wookie battle is terrifically fun to watch, but it is so short that you'll wonder what the purpose was (I suppose Master Yoda was looking for new armies to recruit). The movie also has a slightly weak section involving the destruction of the Jedi Knights - we see two or three of them killed but what about all the others? Darth Vader is supposed to have hunted down and destroyed all the Jedi Knights. A scene involving an implied killing of "younglings" may be a little too intense for tots, but more violence (did I just say that?) may have paved the way to understanding Anakin's emergence into evil.

These criticisms are highly subjective. "Revenge of the Sith" may not be as grandiose in its emotional context as say "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" but this is Star Wars, not the land of Frodo and friends. There is nothing as revelatory as Vader's famous line to his offspring, Luke, in "The Empire Strikes Back," but there are still a few surprises in "Sith." The malicious nature of Palpatine and (spoilers ahead) his twisted Darth Sidious, also known as the Emperor, is almost Shakespearean in tone, especially as he persuades Anakin to turn to evil. Yoda is the biggest marvel of this prequel trilogy as he expounds on his philosophy using backward oracular phrases. His rousing confrontation with the Emperor is a spectacular display of action and seamless animation - Yoda is no longer a puppet held by Frank Oz, as you all know. Brief appearances by C3PO and R2-D2 (who supplies a lot of the film's humor) are welcome.

But major kudos must go to Hayden Christensen, no longer the wimpish, rebellious teenager of "Attack of the Clones" - he shows how cruel and malevolent a Sith lord can be. And the sad conclusion of his destiny is truly tragic and paints a new picture on the original trilogy.

"Revenge of the Sith" is superb entertainment guaranteed to please most "Star Wars" fans, if not all of them. George Lucas has given us his final hurrah to a thirty-year endeavor that began with the most influential phenomenon of the twentieth century. For many of us (myself included), "Sith" is as fitting a reminder of that nostalgia as "Star Wars" gets.