My my, this here Anakin guy...
12:01 this morning, the final episode in the saga of the Jedi came to a close, with the opening of Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
WARNING: I might be spoiling some things for those who have not see it yet.
This was a movie with a lot of good, and a lot of bad. Here's my take on it:
The Good:
Visual Effects. The movie opened with a breathtaking view of a space battle scene over Corusant. The detail in the background as we follow our Jedi heroes is incredible. Although some of the dialogue in this scene takes away from the full effect, this is easily the best space battle scene in the entire saga (in my opinion). The other stunning scene in the movie came towards the end, with the volcano lightsaber battle between Anakin and Obi-wan. Again, visually, this scene blows away any previous scenes of its kind, even the Darth Maul vs. Qui Gon and Obi-wan scene from Episode I.
Action Sequences. Although the opening scene ends with an awkward battle and rescue of chancellor Palpatine, after that point, the war and lightsaber scenes were excellently done. I did not know what to expect when I was General Grevious, but I was pleasantly surprised by his use of four (count 'em, four!) lightsabers in his battle with Obi-wan. Not only were the action scenes visually pleasurable, but mostly, they had much of the depth that made the battles of the original trilogy so special. Hearing Obi-wan say "Well, then you are lost!" as he realized he had no other choice but to kill Anakin had a similar ring to Luke refusing to kill Vader in 'Jedi'. The clone and droid fights were well done as well, showing a more war-like atmosphere than that of previous episodes. One last thing I want to mention is that we had to wait until this movie to really see Yoda fight. In Episode II, he jumped around and battled, but it left me unsatisfied, which I was not with his scene in Episode III.
Anakin's Transformation. In a scene that reminded me of Luke on Tatooine in the double-sunset, Anakin sat in the Jedi Counsel room and stared into the sky, his thoughts obviously on Padme. It was this moment that he decided he would do whatever it took to rescue and protect Padme. As Mace Windu is about to kill Palpatine, Anakin exclaims that he "needs" Palpatine, even though minutes before he expressed a desire to kill the Sith himself. Anakin, driven by his desire to save Padme from death, instead of taking Yoda's advice to "Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose", listens when Palpatine says "I have the power to save the one you love". He cuts off Windu's arm, and allows Palpatine to finish the Jedi Master off. Faced with the fact that he has just killed Windu, he is left with only one option: join Palpatine. Ironically, Anakin's desire to save Padme ends up killing her.
Correlation to Original Trilogy. I knew before I stepped into the theatre that this movie would either be one of the best movies in the saga or the absolute worst. This was going to fall primarily on how well Lucas connected Episode III to Episode IV. I believe this is the true gem within this movie. We see Anakin become Vader, and we understand why he wears the mask we all know and love. We understand why Obi-wan and Yoda (as well as Qui-Gon) live on in spirit forms; we understand why Obi-wan moves to Tatooine, why the droids don't recognize him, How Luke and Leia find themselves where they are, as well as nearly every other question that needed to be answered. It is not a long step to see where Episode IV follows after this movie.
Foreshadowing and Postshadowing. Vader's remark "When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master" from A New Hope is made clear through the Volcano battle scene. I thoroughly enjoyed the similarity between the fate of Anakin and his son, Luke. Both in the end were presented with danger to a loved one, and Anakin fell to the dark side through it, whereas Luke did not. The presence of Chewbacca, though not central to the movie, was a pleasant foreshadow to his place in the original trilogy. The ships, growing increasingly like those from A New Hope, were also a sight worth seeing (early TIE fighters, X-Wings, Blockade Runners and Star Destroyers).
The Bad:
Dialogue. Little comments made, especially in the opening sequence, like "This is where the fun begins" by Anakin and others drew attention away from more important parts of the story. Throughout the story, there were comments made that didn't appear to fit, or that were spoken in a puzzling way. After receiving his mechanical suit, Vader didn't sound like he should, and his "NO!" at hearing of Padme's death seemed utterly fake. There were good parts of the dialogue, however, and Obi-wan's exclamation "You were the chosen one!" as Anakin burst into flames sent chills down my spine. Overall though, I think the dialogue cost this movie a lot in the long run.
Padme. Her character was not bad, but her character had nothing to do during 9/10 of the movie. She sat at home wanting just to leave the politics of war behind and run off with Anakin. Her character has literally no significant part until the volcano scene on Mustafar at the end.
Cuts. I got annoyed as every scene started with an aerial view of some building or group of buildings in Corusant. Yes, the scenes were nice, with all the vehicles flying around, but it became monotonous by the end.
Questions. Although I believe Lucas did a wonderful job connecting the new trilogy with the original one, there were still questions and possible contradictions. How did Leia see her mother when Padme died after giving birth? Why didn't Obi-wan know there was another (Leia) when Luke let him and Yoda down in 'Empire'? Why didn't Obi-wan recognize R2-D2 and C3PO when they came to him in A New Hope? These questions may not be insurmountable, but they do leave the watcher wondering.
Overall, I thought this was clearly the best movie of the three new ones, and was in the same level as the original trilogy. After two sub-par movies, I think Lucas redeemed himself and the Star Wars name with an excellent end to an epic saga that wll live on for many years to come.
My rating: 8/10
I - 5/10
II - 6/10
III - 8/10
IV - 9/10
V - 8/10
VI - 9/10
Mmm... Banana!
