connielane | Movie of the Day - Revenge of the Sith

EVAL, YO! Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

At the time it came out, I was convinced this one was the best of the three prequels, but I'm not so sure now. I think what I loved about it was that it was the last piece of the puzzle, the answer to all of the big questions. And of course, while Phantom Menace only glanced briefly at future events, Revenge of the Sith is inextricably bound to the original trilogy, leaving most fans wanting to take the RotS DVD out and put their New Hope DVD in right behind it and continue the story with the full knowledge that Sith has given them.

My biggest complaint about Episode III is what was so strong in the previous installment - Anakin and Padme. I don't buy Anakin's final steps to the dark side. It seems like Lucas is trying to make him more sympathetic by having the bulk of his motivation be his worrying about Padme rather than his growing distrust of the Jedi Council, but it doesn't quite come off. It makes Anakin seem more delusional than anything else, and while that might have been an effective way to play it, either it wasn't written effectively enough or not acted convincingly enough. And I really don't get why Padme suddenly goes all Catherine Earnshaw. She was a queen and a senator, for crying out loud! And she died of a broken heart?!

Okay, enough complaining. :P Despite my dislike of Anakin's character arc in this, I do have an immense love for his relationship with Obi-Wan. In Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan is like a father figure for Anakin. But here they are more like brothers, and Hayden and Ewan play that extremely well. I don't know much about the Star Wars fandom, but I wouldn't be surprised if the volume of Obi-Wan/Anakin slashfics increased dramatically after this film came out. And their final lightsabre battle is pretty heartbreaking. Intercutting it with Yoda's and Palpatine's battle makes it even more emotional somehow, because in both fights you know who has to lose, but in the Obi-Wan/Anakin duel, you wish (or at least I do) that it could end in a way where no one gets hurt. But then, if that happened, there wouldn't have been an original trilogy, and we can't have that, now can we? :P

I really love this installment of the series, but I do think most of that has to do with how well it kindles my love for the original trilogy. Pretty much everything after the death of General Grievous pushes one of those OT buttons. Yoda bidding farewell to Chewbacca, the first appearance of Vader in the helmet, Vader and Darth Sidious looking out at the construction of the Death Star, and especially the last image of the film with Owen and Beru holding baby Luke as the two suns set on Tattooine (*SOBS*). The use of John Williams' original score pieces in all of those moments is especially poignant. And at the end of the film you're reminded that even though this last chapter was exceedingly dark, the story is not over. Those babies will grow up and (with the help of a space pirate) change the fate of the galaxy. And the Chosen One *will* destroy the Sith lord and bring balance back to the Force.