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Revenge of the Sith Lives Up to the Hype

So, does Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith live up to the hype? You bet it does...and then some.

Lucas has taken quite a bit of criticism over the years for the quality of the dialogue in the films. For Episode III, playwright Tom Stoppard gave an uncredited assist -- and it shows. It's a dark film that has a more linear plot than Episodes I and II: the film reveals the tragedy of how Anakin Skywalker succumbs to his fears and goes to the dark side, eventually becoming Darth Vader. Helping along on his dark journey is the incredibly talented Ian McDiarmid, who gleefully plays Chancellor Palpatine as if he were in one of Shakespeare's plays (Hamlet, perhaps, with him as Iago?) at the Old Vic on London. He skillfully plays on the young man's emotions and fears, gently and subtly nudging him down the wrong path. It's a powerful and terrifying performance and if Hayden Christensen weren't up to the task, the film wouldn't work. But he is up to the task, and has grown quite a bit as an actor since Episode I. Young men are impulsive and emotional (even those with Jedi training) and Christensen plays Anakin as teetering on a knife edge of destruction.

As the film opens, Anakin and Obi Wan Kenobi are on a mission to rescue Chancellor Palpatine from the General Grievous: in a lengthy masterpiece of non-stop action, they rescue the Chancellor. But the Republic is still at War, and Palpatine quickly takes Anakin under his wing, filling his head with dangerous ideas that will have tragic consequences. When Palpatine eventually makes his move, Anakin makes a choice that will change many lives. Lucas does an incredible job of tying up all the loose ends: how and why Anakin went to the dark side (the breathtakingly tragic moment of his transformation into Lord Vader is the most moving scene in any of the six films), why Luke and Leia were separated at birth, why Vader didn't seem to know he had any children in Episode IV: A New Hope, why Yoda went into exile and where Princess Leia got the idea for the double-bun hairstyle she favored.

John Williams does a fantastic job with the musical score, incorporating many elements of the first three films. The cinematography is gorgeously dark, and the city of Coruscant is a marvel. Even the throwaway shots are full of technological sleight of hand and intricate details. Lucas brilliantly and gradually alters the look of the fighters, the interiors of the ships and the look of the clone soldiers so that by the end of the film, they are quite close to the familiar look of the original Star Wars, released in 1977.

This is clearly the film event of the summer.

Posted on May 23, 2005

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