“Revenge of the Sith” Review
“Revenge of the Sith” sees Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen, (Left) turn to the Dark Side of the Force and fight his mentor and friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor.
Well after two disappointing films in the prequel trilogy, 2005’s “Revenge of the Sith” marked the end of this series of films. However, many fans actually enjoy this film and I am one of them. While still containing some of the problems of its predecessors, “Revenge of the Sith” has a compelling story and darker imagery which shows the birth of one of the greatest villains of all time: Darth Vader.
Taking place three years after “Attack of the Clones,” the galaxy is engulfed in the Clone Wars: a civil war fought between the Galactic Republic’s Clone Army and the Droid Army of the Sepratist Alliance. As the war nears its end, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, and Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen, return to the planet Coruscant, capital of the Republic and home to the Jedi, where Anakin finds out that his wife Padme Amidala, played by Natalie Portman, is pregnant.
After having visions that his wife will die in childbirth, Anakin searches for ways to prevent this from occurring while Obi-Wan is sent off-world to fight the Droid Army. With no guidance, Anakin becomes alienated from the Jedi after being sent on a mission to spy on his friend Chancellor Palpatine, played by Ian McDiarmid. Palpatine, secretly a Sith Lord, manipulates Anakin and causes him to turn to the Dark Side of the Force with the promise that it can save Padme.
With Anakin as his new apprentice, Darth Vader, Palpatine orchestrates the destruction of the Jedi, the end of the Clone Wars and the formation of the Galactic Empire. When Obi-Wan and Master Yoda, voiced by Frank Oz, discover Anakin’s betrayal and the true identity of Palpatine, they each go to confront them resulting in an epic battle between master and apprentice.
The main reason why I love this film is that it feels like the prequel George Lucas wanted to make. The other two films felt like they were there just to be part of a trilogy with some factors building up to Anakin’s turn like the death of his mother or the start of the Clone Wars. This film has a lot of the creativity and fun that George Lucas put into the original trilogy.
The opening of “Revenge of the Sith” is fantastic with an incredible battle taking place over Coruscant, Anakin and Obi-Wan flying in space ships trying to rescue a kidnapped Palpatine, comedic banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin, lightsaber duels and the death of Count Dooku, played by Christopher Lee. The scene where Anakin decapitates Dooku at the behest of Palpatine is well done because it shows that Palpatine already has some psychological hold over Anakin. When Anakin kills Dooku, there’s silence for about 10 seconds, letting Anakin’s actions sink in.
Even the CGI, which felt very dated upon watching the first two prequels, looks incredible 15 years later and the effects hold up extraordinarily well. When Obi-Wan fights General Grievous, voiced by Matthew Wood, the cyborg general of the Separatists who can wield four lightsabers, it looks like he is actually fighting someone and it’s suspenseful.
The set up for Anakin’s turn is also brilliant with the visions he’s having resembling the ones he had of his mother before she died and his desire for them to not become real. The alienation from the Jedi Order is done well too and having Obi-Wan off world was a good choice because Anakin feels alone now. Palpatine also does a fine job of manipulating Anakin which is best seen in the Opera House Scene. During this scene, Palpatine tells Anakin a fable of a Sith Lord, which may or may not have been Palpatine’s master, who could save people from death and says that this power can only be learned by a Sith.
When Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he’s a Sith, Anakin doesn’t immediately turn to the Dark Side and actually threatens him with his lightsaber saying that he ought to kill him while Palpatine relishes this. I know that it’s difficult to believe that the same trilogy with Jar Jar Binks can have subtlety but “Revenge of the Sith” honestly has a lot of quiet moments of atmosphere.
When Anakin turns, he looks incredibly intimidating especially when he massacres the Sepratist leaders. He’s cold blooded, silent and menacing which honestly made Hayden Christensen a good choice to play a young Darth Vader.
Among the film’s most effective scenes is when Padme is at her home looking at the Jedi temple and Anakin, in the temple, is looking back at Padme’s home as they ponder their future. This scene not only is powerful, but also shows off the good editing of this film. Both Ben Burtt and Roger Barton did a fantastic job editing this film because they know the power of juxtaposition.
One of the best examples of this is when Order 66 occurs and the Jedi are gunned down by the Clone Troopers they fought beside. We see many Jedi brutally massacred and the weight of the Jedi order collapsing is on full display.
John Williams provides one of the best scores the “Star Wars” franchise has ever had, along with “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “The Last Jedi,” with a sorrowful tone that appears throughout the film. Unlike the “Duel of the Fates” from “The Phantom Menace,” “Battle of the Heroes” is epic, but more tragic in tone as two former friends are forced to fight.
The battle of Anakin and Obi-Wan is visually and emotionally powerful as they duel on the lava planet of Mustafar. The choreography is fantastic, the setting provides constant obstacles for the pair and the emotional turmoil is epic, especially when Obi-Wan chops off Anakin’s arm and legs and lets him burn alive. When Obi-Wan screams to Anakin, “you were my brother,” it’s a legitimately powerful line.
Despite being better than the other prequels, the film does have its flaws. This is abundantly clear in the film’s dialogue like when Anakin and Padme exchange romantic dialogue. At times, the dialogue can feel like the kind seen on a soap opera.
Also, Ian McDiarmid can be a little too over-the-top which is clear when he fights four Jedi Masters, including Mace Windu, played by Samuel L. Jackson, before Anakin turns to the Dark Side. When Anakin debates whether or not he should turn as Windu threatens to kill Palpatine, Palpatine is no longer the subtle manipulator and has instead become a screaming maniac.
At times, Palpatine, played by Ian McDiarmid, can be too over-the-top.
When Anakin does turn, it’s way too sudden. To be fair, this can’t be easy to pull off. Turning the hero of a trilogy evil is a tricky situation, especially since it’s Anakin’s decision to become evil. Everything leading up to his turn in “Revenge of the Sith” is done fairly well as is Anakin’s evil deeds after his turn. But when he decides to turn to the Dark Side, it feels like a switch has been flipped in his mind instead of a slow process.
The film’s ending also has a few problems like when Padme gives birth to her children and dies after “losing the will to live” leaving her children in the care of Obi-Wan, Yoda and Senator Bail Organa, played by Jimmy Smits. In my opinion, it would have been more powerful if Anakin’s “force choke” resulted in complications that killed her instead of her “losing the will to live.”
When Anakin is fitted into the Darth Vader suit, it’s epic to hear James Earl Jones’ voice again until he screams “Nooooooo” after finding out of Padme’s death. It’s a ridiculous scene that could have been more powerful if he remained silent and destroyed everything in his path.
Overall, “Revenge of the Sith” is a fairly solid film. It’s nowhere near as good as the original trilogy but that’s to be expected from the prequels at this point. When the film ended, many “Star Wars” fans felt that there would be no more films about the galaxy far, far away but, fortunately, a new generation of filmmakers would breathe new life into “Star Wars” a decade later.
With baby Luke Skywalker in the hands of his Aunt and Uncle, the Galaxy has a new hope in a time of tyranny and evil.
