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Plot - Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars the noble Jedi Knights have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxywide battle against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic reveals his true nature as a Sith Lord as he unveils a plot to rule the galaxy by transforming the Republic into a Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) is seduced by the dark side of The Force to become Darth Sidious' new apprentice - Darth Vader. The Jedi have been all but eliminated with Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) and Jedi Master Yoda (Oz) forced into hiding. The only hope for the galaxy is Anakin's own offspring - the twin children born in secrecy who will grow up to become Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa.
Now this is more like it. Much, much, MUCH better. While it still may come up some way short of the original trilogy, in comparison to its prequel counterparts the improvement here is really quite sizeable. Just everything about it is so much better. In fact it was such an improvement that when the end credits began to roll I was expecting to see that it had been written and directed by someone other than George Lucas. In fact I think I found the opening 25 minutes of Sith more satisfying and engaging than the previous four hours of prequels action combined. Right from the off the film opens with a slice of brooding, thumping score music which lets us know that we are in for something decidedly darker than what the prequels had so far delivered. The action opens right in the midst of a huge, chaotic scrap where it becomes immediately apparent that the film's CGI has had a bit of an upgrade. The animation of the characters is much more fluid and believable while the spectacle of the space-set action is more impressive than ever. That action-packed prologue is a particularly impressive sequence. Another factor which improves the action is their storytelling nature, giving them a lot more substance as opposed to the chaotic, throw everything at the screen style of the prequels. After that initial burst of interest the film does once again get a little bogged down in the politics of the whole situation but overall this is a far more entertaining beast than its forebears, with a much more intriguing plot.
Finally both the character of Anakin and the film itself finally embrace their darker side. In fact this is probably the darkest entry in the entire series, surpassing even Empire Strikes Back. And it certainly helps add a richness and depth that was missing in the first two prequels. Around about the time of the Jedi culling, and particularly the slaughter of the younglings, I realised that for the first occasion in the sequels I was actually beginning to care about what was happening; I had become invested in the story and the fates of its characters. While I was actually quite taken aback by the moment where we see Anakin burning in the fires of Mustafar. For a series which had previously been delivering Jar Jar Binks and fart jokes I found it really quite surprising in its graphic nature.
Revenge of the Sith concludes with perhaps the most impressive lightsaber battle of the whole series, a great duel between Obi-Wan and the newly monickered Darth Vader on the volcanic planet of Mustafar; a wonderfully realised world that comes off like a futuristic Mordor. Fighting in amongst a hail of lava showering down around them it is a strongly choreographed fight which unfolds at a lightning speed and contains more emotion than any of the other action sequences of the prequels by some distance. Although that fight, and indeed much of the film, suffers from the problem that all prequels suffer from; we know the outcome of the story and the fate of the characters no matter how much peril you place them in in an attempt to convince us that their life is on the line.
Once again Ewan McGregor gives a very decent account of himself as Obi-Wan Kenobi (loved his heartbreak at the end) and is finally given some competition in the acting stakes by Ian McDiarmid. He is quite excellent as the sinister Palpatine, delightfully sly and conniving as he tears Anakin down before rebuilding him again in his own image. Sadly Samuel L. Jackson continues to feel kind of wasted as Windu. I'm a little torn on the character of General Grievous. The design and conception of the character I felt were strong but he was poorly written and is never truly established as the threat he should be. Though unlike many characters throughout this series of prequels he did actually put a smile on my face on more than one occasion, whether it be revealing that he is a wielder of four lightsabers (FOUR!!!) or revealing that he has the ability to move around like a scorpion. I also felt that the CGI in regards to him was a lot stronger than the previous instalments, making him much less cartoonish and making his interactions with the human cast more believable.
So there are certainly a lot of pleasant surprises to be found here following the atrocities of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. The most pleasant surprise of all though would probably have to be Hayden Christensen. Now I'm not going to say that he turned it around completely and delivered a great performance, but it is a truly vast improvement. While he remains wooden on occasion he just looks so much more comfortable and relaxed this time out. Back in Attack of the Clones the only thing more robotic than him was C-3PO. And even then it was damn close! Although I've got to say that I still wasn't 100% happy with the character of Anakin and his journey towards becoming Darth Vader. Anakin should have had an obvious streak of darkness in him through all three of the prequels, certainly the last two, but instead it just came across like he was a silly, naïve little boy who had just been manipulated into the position. When you combine that with his compassionate change of heart in Return of the Jedi it feels like Lucas was desperately attempting to humanise him, whereas I think it would have been better to just leave him as a really evil b*stard! It's something that happens occasionally in films when a villain is so good and becomes so popular that the filmmakers then feel the need to try and soften the character and give him redeeming features, perhaps even turning him full-on good guy. The other most obvious example would have to be Arnie's T-800 from the Terminator films.
It's not all plain sailing however as the film does still suffer from many of the problems that plagued the previous two prequels. The most grating of which remains the romance between Anakin and Padme which is still a real slog to try and get through. With Christensen's improved performance the chemistry between the two is more obvious but still nothing to write home about. And unfortunately it's with this dynamic that Lucas once again displays his tin ear for dialogue and melodramatic nature; “You're so beautiful..", "Only because I'm so in love.", "No, it's because I'm so in love with you." And the moment where it turns out that Padme is dying because she “has lost the will to live”?
Seriously George? That's the ending you want to give your newly completely trilogy? Couple that with the brutal moment where Vader lets out a heartbroken “Nooooooooooooo!!!” and the film actually ends on a little bit of a whimper. While once again Lucas attempts to squeeze in what I felt were unnecessary references back to the original films, the most obvious this time out probably being the inclusion of Chewbacca. Out of all the wookies in the world the one who helps Yoda out just happens to be Chewbacca. Really? And if you're going to include him you might as well make it worthwhile by giving him something to do. Instead it just comes off as feeling cheap.
So as you can see a lot of improvements. The biggest reason this film is the best of the prequels however? Jar Jar never utters a single word!
Conclusion - It may not be a perfect film but the step up in quality is considerable. The effects are both more impressive and better utilised, the acting in general has gone up a notch and while Lucas' detrimental impact in the writing and directing departments may still be present it is certainly not as conspicuous or damaging. There's a chance I may be over-rating this one ever so slightly because on the back of the two preceeding films it looks like a masterpiece. After being continously kicked in the nuts for 4 straight hours Revenge of the Sith is like instead having your ears flicked over and over again; it's still not ideal but oh what a relief it is!
So here we are with the final instalment in the prequel trilogy.
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Year of release
2005
2005
Directed by
George Lucas
George Lucas
Written by
George Lucas
George Lucas
Starring
Hayden Christensen
Ewan McGregor
Natalie Portman
Ian McDiarmid
Samuel L. Jackson
Frank Oz
Hayden Christensen
Ewan McGregor
Natalie Portman
Ian McDiarmid
Samuel L. Jackson
Frank Oz
Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Plot - Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars the noble Jedi Knights have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxywide battle against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic reveals his true nature as a Sith Lord as he unveils a plot to rule the galaxy by transforming the Republic into a Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) is seduced by the dark side of The Force to become Darth Sidious' new apprentice - Darth Vader. The Jedi have been all but eliminated with Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) and Jedi Master Yoda (Oz) forced into hiding. The only hope for the galaxy is Anakin's own offspring - the twin children born in secrecy who will grow up to become Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa.
Now this is more like it. Much, much, MUCH better. While it still may come up some way short of the original trilogy, in comparison to its prequel counterparts the improvement here is really quite sizeable. Just everything about it is so much better. In fact it was such an improvement that when the end credits began to roll I was expecting to see that it had been written and directed by someone other than George Lucas. In fact I think I found the opening 25 minutes of Sith more satisfying and engaging than the previous four hours of prequels action combined. Right from the off the film opens with a slice of brooding, thumping score music which lets us know that we are in for something decidedly darker than what the prequels had so far delivered. The action opens right in the midst of a huge, chaotic scrap where it becomes immediately apparent that the film's CGI has had a bit of an upgrade. The animation of the characters is much more fluid and believable while the spectacle of the space-set action is more impressive than ever. That action-packed prologue is a particularly impressive sequence. Another factor which improves the action is their storytelling nature, giving them a lot more substance as opposed to the chaotic, throw everything at the screen style of the prequels. After that initial burst of interest the film does once again get a little bogged down in the politics of the whole situation but overall this is a far more entertaining beast than its forebears, with a much more intriguing plot.
Finally both the character of Anakin and the film itself finally embrace their darker side. In fact this is probably the darkest entry in the entire series, surpassing even Empire Strikes Back. And it certainly helps add a richness and depth that was missing in the first two prequels. Around about the time of the Jedi culling, and particularly the slaughter of the younglings, I realised that for the first occasion in the sequels I was actually beginning to care about what was happening; I had become invested in the story and the fates of its characters. While I was actually quite taken aback by the moment where we see Anakin burning in the fires of Mustafar. For a series which had previously been delivering Jar Jar Binks and fart jokes I found it really quite surprising in its graphic nature.
Revenge of the Sith concludes with perhaps the most impressive lightsaber battle of the whole series, a great duel between Obi-Wan and the newly monickered Darth Vader on the volcanic planet of Mustafar; a wonderfully realised world that comes off like a futuristic Mordor. Fighting in amongst a hail of lava showering down around them it is a strongly choreographed fight which unfolds at a lightning speed and contains more emotion than any of the other action sequences of the prequels by some distance. Although that fight, and indeed much of the film, suffers from the problem that all prequels suffer from; we know the outcome of the story and the fate of the characters no matter how much peril you place them in in an attempt to convince us that their life is on the line.
Film Trivia Snippets - The original cut of Revenge of the Sith ran to nearly four hours, with the opening battle/Palpatine rescue alone running for over an hour. /// George Lucas had originally intended to have Peter Cushing reprise his role as Tarkin, despite the small fact that he had died a number of years earlier. He had planned to use stock footage and digital technology to bring him back onto the screen, but the idea was scrapped when the footage of Cushing was deemed unusable. /// Revenge of the Sith is the only Star Wars film that did not receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. And in total it only received one nomination for its make-up; losing out to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. /// One of the main criticisms levelled at the Star Wars prequels is its reliance on CGI. To illustrate that point this film had over 2200 visual effects shots, which was more than The Phantom Meance and Attack of the Clones combined. And by comparison the original Star Wars had a mere 350 such shots. /// To further highlight the massive amount of effects work that went into the film every single clone trooper in the film is CGI. Not a single clone costume or helmet was created. While the climactic battle between Vader and Kenobi took upwards of 70,000 man hours to create. /// The images of the volcanic eruption on Mustafar was actually real footage of Mt. Etna in Italy which just happened to be erupting at the time of production. /// During the birth scene, some shots were made using an animatronic puppet to portray the infant Luke and Leia. The puppet was operate by Ewan McGregor and as such the cast came to refer to it as 'Foamy-Wan Kenobi.
So there are certainly a lot of pleasant surprises to be found here following the atrocities of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. The most pleasant surprise of all though would probably have to be Hayden Christensen. Now I'm not going to say that he turned it around completely and delivered a great performance, but it is a truly vast improvement. While he remains wooden on occasion he just looks so much more comfortable and relaxed this time out. Back in Attack of the Clones the only thing more robotic than him was C-3PO. And even then it was damn close! Although I've got to say that I still wasn't 100% happy with the character of Anakin and his journey towards becoming Darth Vader. Anakin should have had an obvious streak of darkness in him through all three of the prequels, certainly the last two, but instead it just came across like he was a silly, naïve little boy who had just been manipulated into the position. When you combine that with his compassionate change of heart in Return of the Jedi it feels like Lucas was desperately attempting to humanise him, whereas I think it would have been better to just leave him as a really evil b*stard! It's something that happens occasionally in films when a villain is so good and becomes so popular that the filmmakers then feel the need to try and soften the character and give him redeeming features, perhaps even turning him full-on good guy. The other most obvious example would have to be Arnie's T-800 from the Terminator films.
It's not all plain sailing however as the film does still suffer from many of the problems that plagued the previous two prequels. The most grating of which remains the romance between Anakin and Padme which is still a real slog to try and get through. With Christensen's improved performance the chemistry between the two is more obvious but still nothing to write home about. And unfortunately it's with this dynamic that Lucas once again displays his tin ear for dialogue and melodramatic nature; “You're so beautiful..", "Only because I'm so in love.", "No, it's because I'm so in love with you." And the moment where it turns out that Padme is dying because she “has lost the will to live”?
Seriously George? That's the ending you want to give your newly completely trilogy? Couple that with the brutal moment where Vader lets out a heartbroken “Nooooooooooooo!!!” and the film actually ends on a little bit of a whimper. While once again Lucas attempts to squeeze in what I felt were unnecessary references back to the original films, the most obvious this time out probably being the inclusion of Chewbacca. Out of all the wookies in the world the one who helps Yoda out just happens to be Chewbacca. Really? And if you're going to include him you might as well make it worthwhile by giving him something to do. Instead it just comes off as feeling cheap. So as you can see a lot of improvements. The biggest reason this film is the best of the prequels however? Jar Jar never utters a single word!
Conclusion - It may not be a perfect film but the step up in quality is considerable. The effects are both more impressive and better utilised, the acting in general has gone up a notch and while Lucas' detrimental impact in the writing and directing departments may still be present it is certainly not as conspicuous or damaging. There's a chance I may be over-rating this one ever so slightly because on the back of the two preceeding films it looks like a masterpiece. After being continously kicked in the nuts for 4 straight hours Revenge of the Sith is like instead having your ears flicked over and over again; it's still not ideal but oh what a relief it is!