Star Wars - Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Director: George Lucas
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor

Synopsis:
The separatists launch a daring assault on Coruscant and kidnap Chancellor Palpatine in a bid to bring the war to a swift end, but Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi lead the mission to rescue him.

Impressions:
This is without a doubt the best of the Prequel Trilogy and the closest to recapturing the quality of the Original Trilogy, but the top of a foothill still falls short of the mountain. Yes, many of the problems of the previous two entries persist, but for the most part, it's dramatically less bad and what's good about this one is dramatically better.

These problems, just to reiterate, include action set pieces that overstay their welcome, awkward dialog and stilted performances, and an over-reliance on CG that results in overly sterile settings. However, lest you think I just mindlessly harp on the CG, it should be noted that just as Episode VI represented a full step forward from the leap made in Episode IV, so too does Episode III kick things up a notch from Episode I. The opening space battle in a visual feast, for instance.

While Hayden Christensen's performance continues to be awkward in places, it's markedly improved over Episode II and beyond him, the character has developed quite a bit, still deeply flawed but growing. The interaction with Obi-Wan is a lot more entertaining to watch, which makes their eventual opposition all the more effective. Speaking of which, all due credit to Christensen and Ewan McGregor for getting so proficient at lightsaber combat that the final duel was performed entirely in real time. It truly is impressive and while said duel goes on a little too long, it manages to outdo the duel with Darth Maul from Episode I.

Just as with Episode VI, Ian McDiarmid is a real treat to watch. He hams it up gloriously. You can say he goes a little too far, but it's so entertaining that I don't mind in the slightest. It was fun watching all the teasing and buildup in the previous two films and the payoff is amazing. Admittedly, the subtler work of his corruption of Anakin is just as much of a treat as "UNLIMITED POWAH!" ^o^ Also, Christopher Lee makes the most of his limited screentime for Count Dooku's reprisal.

I know fans of The Clone Wars like to go on and on about what a cool villain General Grievous is, but here he's pretty lame. Even allowing for the measure that this is intentional, I just don't like him. I guess we'll just chalk him up to a necessary evil for the sake of the plot and leave it at that.

And now for the obligatory praise of John Williams' score. While you don't hear "Battle of the Heroes" played at football games like "Duel of the Fates", it's still an excellent track for the final confrontation and "Anakin's Betrayal" really delivers the emotional punch to Order 66.

So, all problems aside, this is the one entry in the Prequel Trilogy that I can recommend for viewing without any reservation. It's just a shame it took six years to build up to this level.

Rating:
Watch It