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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith review

Posted : 8 months, 2 weeks ago on 28 August 2023 12:40

serinin en iyi ikinci filmi anakin saçları uzatınca karizma da olmuş order 66 sahnesi süperdi sondaki fight bambaşka seviyede darth vader oluşum sahnesinde hazır ola geçtim


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The best of the prequels, but it does disappoint

Posted : 1 year, 7 months ago on 21 September 2022 08:37

Revenge of the Sith was a decent entry of the Star Wars saga. It is for me the best of the prequels, by far outshining the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Having said that though, I still was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it looks absolutely amazing. If there is one thing all the Star Wars movies have in common, it is that they are all a marvel to look at. With the marvellous cinematography, splendid special effects and colourful sets, it was a feast for the eyes. John Williams has a record for writing truly magnificent scores for ET, Home Alone and Superman, and is up there with Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman and Jerry Goldsmith as one of the best film composers ever. The score he did for this film is no exception; it was absolutely outstanding. The performances in general were a lot more solid than they were in the other prequels. Ewen MacGregor impresses as Obi Wan, Frank Oz is brilliant as Yoda, Christopher Lee was superb as Count Dooku and Ian McDiarmund steals his scenes as the benevolent Palpatine. Natalie Portman shows beauty and a vast emotional range as Padma. However there were problems I had with the movie. While not as bad as he was in Attack of the Clones, Hayden Christensen did for me give a wooden and unconvincing lead performance. Plus whereas the stories in New Hope, Return of the Jedi and Empire Strikes Back are clear, sophisticated and fast paced, there were pacing problems here and the plot was murky and convoluted. And sadly, I also thought the dialogue was as wooden as Christensen's performance. Overall, a good movie, if you want the real thing, watch New Hope, Return of the Jedi and Empire Strikes Back instead, but on its own merits it's watchable. 7/10 Bethany Cox


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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith review

Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 18 December 2017 04:40

30 Views For Star Wars IV Review if we not get the reach in a week i no gonna make more Reviews of star wars (the last jedi is gonna have and more i gonna see it today

30 Vistas para la critica a Star wars IV Si no lo conseguimos en una semana no hare mas criticas a star wars pero a los últimos jedi si pienso hacer una de hecho hoy la voy a ver


in if the last one was where the story was better
what I liked the most was the fight of obi-wan kenobi and anakin skywalker long but good

even as before the music and characters remain the same

the music is decent but could lower points since they have many movies and in few there are memorable soundtracks without being the same

good but not outstanding means that this is the best of the trilogy

but for obvious reasons the original trilogy is better

here in a few words is not that I feel like criticizing them

they have mixed opinions that do not have much to talk about and i dont know if give a good score or bad score


7,0/10


en si aquí la historia mejoro dando mas interés que en las otras
lo que mas me gusto fue la pelea de obi-wan contra anakin skywalker larga pero buena y si que era memorable

pero en lo otro sigue igual bueno pero no sobresaliente la música es decente pero podría bajarle puntos ya que tienen muchas películas y en pocas hay soundtracks memorables sin ser los mismos

pero de todas formas sigue siendo la mejor de esta trilogía

aunque la trilogía original es mejor obviamente

miren no es que tenga ganas de criticar esto
tienen opiniones mixtas y no puedo pensar demasiado si darle buena calificación o baja





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A good movie

Posted : 8 years, 10 months ago on 21 June 2015 08:18

At last, Georges Lucas got it right. Indeed, the first two prequels were rather disappointing, especially 'Attack of the Clones' which was by far the lowest point in this franchise in my opinion. Finally, we finally got what we were asking from the very beginning: the dark story of Anakin Skywalker and how he became one of the most feared men in the galaxy, one of the greatest villains in film story, the mighty Darth Vader. So, it was indeed pretty gloomy and so many people got killed but it was much more satisfying that anything that happened in the 2 previous movies. Even the political intrigue, which was still pretty shabby, at last started to make sense. Indeed, the way Anakin got confused between both sides was actually pretty convincing and you could feel his struggle. Still, the whole journey to get to this result was seriously awkward and Lucas made so many mistakes along the road, it was almost beyond repair. Eventually, his biggest mistake was probably to choose to write and direct all the prequels, something he didn’t even do for the original trilogy. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was far from being a masterpiece, it was still pretty solid and entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith review

Posted : 11 years ago on 20 April 2013 09:47

The prequel trilogy is one of those series that is heavy on the quantity, but almost nothing in quality; akin to a new restaurant in town releasing an offer, only to discover they're cheapskates and are asking more for less. I've never been in the very least affected by the whole Star Wars phenomenon. Even though I ended up liking most of the characters and dialogues, none of the films in both trilogy attracted my fullest attention. Revenge of the Sith is no exception. It is an irony that the prequel trilogy was hampered by the very thing that Star Wars is least known for: acting. Weak performances by many led to awkward situations and thus made many characters weak and under-developed, but I'll talk about that later. RotS memorably opens up with an awesome battle scene, an impressive example of the wonders modern CGI and technology can do. It is only after when it has ended and when the dialogues have taken over that you wish they had done some CGI tinkering on the actors / actresses as well. Still to this day I've never cared about the story at all. Republic, Siths, Jedis, Emperial blah, blah, blah... this is all been there, done that, and nothing exciting in my opinion. Just replace certain real world words / phrases with strange sounding words / phrases and you got yourself Star Wars.

The pacing of the film was decent, but the acting by many were tiring, tedious, dragging, and hence, the pacing felt almost exactly like that. WTF was George Lucas thinking in casting Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker? It was such a boring performance. Not only he had no chemistry or love with his co-cast, he had absolutely zero connection to himself. He completely ruined an otherwise promising role. There was no range, no depth, reluctant showcase of expression, and nary an emotion change in the vocals, angry, sad, happy, excited - all the same. What Kristen Stewart or Steven Seagal do with their faces, Hayden did with his voice. Ewan McGregor was another tiring joke in the film. His acting - alongside Hayden and Natalie Portman - is one of the awful I've seen in movies. Their combined awful performances, with stiff dialogues and wooden chemistries, make them the worst trio if not in history then just in the Star Wars franchise. Even a badass like Samuel L. Jackson was pitiful, laughable even, in his role as Mace Windu. So, yes, basically what I'm saying is that almost all of the cast were an embarrassment. The only saving grace was Ian McDiarmid as Lord Sidious. It was a menacing role, a vicious snake-like one.

In conclusion, Revenge of the Sith is impressive in the battle scenes, also has breathtaking imagery and the technology was put into good use. Had it been better in the acting department, then this film would've been an all-round heavy-filled awesomeness. In short, the film's greatest irony was its greatest defeat, and of the whole prequel trilogy in general.

6.0/10


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The saga is complete and ended in a huge way.

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 20 October 2010 08:12

Well here it is! The film we have been waiting for approximately 20 years: how Anakin turned to the dark side and what happens with Obi-Wan and Yoda. After its two predecessors The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones were decent but not brilliant, expectations were high because obviously it is the last Star Wars film and is the most crucial one but expectations were low at the same time because the first two prequels didn't live up to the original trilogy. However, when I watched it I almost instantly loved it! Yeah, there was like one or two flaws but there is no denying that for me it certainly lived up to the originals.


I mean, it is a great dialogue with some great action effects, a lot of emotional drama, mind-blowing music score and even very intense which is something that a Star Wars film hasn't really expressed before until now. Because Episodes I and II didn't really show anything crucial, it was all down to Revenge Of The Sith and with all this pressure on the shoulders of George Lucas and the actors within the film, I think that they pulled it off really well! I mean, it is clever how the story forms together from the prequels at the start and ends where all the characters who were in A New Hope started in that film. Admittedly, there were only two flaws: Hayden Christensen wasn't brilliant as Anakin. I mean, yeah he improved in this one but could have been better. Other flaw being that this was simply overloaded with CGI effects. I don't think there was one shot where there was no CGI involved. Obviously times have changed and there are going to be new effects but not in literally every single shot of the film. Still gets 5-stars from me despite those two flaws.


Set 3 years after Attack Of The Clones and the Clone War is still going on. Revenge Of The Sith begins immediately in action where Chancellor Palpatine has been abducted by alien-robot creature General Grievous and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are both assigned to rescue him. They manage to do so and arrive back on Coruscant which leads to him reuniting with Padmé and learning of her pregnancy. One night, Anakin has nightmare visions of Padmé dying in childbirth and fears that this will become real like the last nightmares about his mother came true in Attack Of The Clones. As time goes on and because he is so desperate to save Padmé, he becomes more and more tempted to succumb to the dark side (without knowing that his is really a scheme by Palpatine to turn Anakin over to destroy all Jedi including Obi-Wan).


Well, in The Phantom Menace we didn't really see very much of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, in Attack Of The Clones he was good and in Revenge Of The Sith he did a brilliant job! I mean, in the first 10 minutes of the film he was bad but after that, he did really well and I personally think he did reach the late Sir Alec Guinness's level at portraying Obi-Wan. Natalie Portman improved a lot in this one as Padmé! I think the level of the chemistry between her and Anakin was about right because it wasn't soppy romance where they'd slowly fall in love but there was drama added to that which made me like the bond between them both this time. Hayden Christensen doesn't deliver an amazing performance but it was an improvement to his performance in Attack Of The Clones. One bit of credit that I have got to give him is that he perhaps had a lot on his shoulders playing a confused Anakin and then becoming a psychotic, deranged Darth Vader and Anakin/Vader is a very iconic character! Then again, an even worse actor could have played him (Orlando Bloom, Zac Efron or Robert Pattinson for example). Ian McDiarmid was just fantastic as Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious! Well, we all knew from the start of The Phantom Menace that Palpatine is Darth Sidious but it was really suspenseful in the scenes with him and Anakin. When he was revealed to all that he was Darth Sidious and the one Sith Lord, he went on to a different level of acting and had this rasping voice, really evil cackling laugh and looking just revolting in appearance (like he does in Return Of The Jedi). Also, General Grievous was a great villain for me too. What we see of General Grievous is what we should have seen of Darth Maul but more! I mean, I like General Grievous but Darth Maul is a Sith Lord and we needed him more involved but obviously not.


After his lame directing in The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones, George Lucas shows us what he really can do and how to make a true Star Wars film (even though the franchise is his creation anyway). The music perhaps is the best quality the Star Wars saga has had and I did like how they mixed music from the two prequels and some from the originals. The script was a lot better this time but there were some moments that were a bit forced (maybe that is because of some acting more than the words in the script).


Overall, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith is an absolutely amazing finale to one of the most successful franchises of all time. To be honest, I don't think they could have thought of a better story to end it. It is an epic film that I think certainly lives up to the original trilogy and it makes The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones like very cheap student films and were written by amateurs. Just amazing!


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"Lucas reminds us that he IS a filmmaker"

Posted : 14 years, 8 months ago on 15 September 2009 03:48

by Dane Youssef


It's all over. The saga is complete. Lucas has come full-circle and so has the universe and it's inhabitants.

After "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones," Lucas had been accused to selling out on his creation and one of the greatest serial-movies of all time.

He had lost the way. Lost his voice. He had become the worst thing an artist can be... a businessman. With all the technology and control in the world... he had become lazy.

Unmotivated.

Even unimaginative.

Being branded just another "businessman" is the worst thing that can happen to an artist.

At times, the movie feels unnatural and at times, I would call this one of the best thing Lucas has ever done.

But this is truly a movie not to be missed.

Ever since I was a little boy, when I first saw Darth Vader, I asked myself, "Is he supposed to be a robot? An alien? Why does he wear that strange suit? It's probably just to make him look scary." For those who've all wondered the same, Episode III answers that and a lot of others. And you will never look at "Star Wars" the same way again.

George Lucas seems to be trying to make amends for his later and lesser films, and I for one, think he succeeds wholly here.

Lucas totally the gamut totally here and shows the world (just like he did in THX 1138 and American Graffiti) that he is a force to reckoned with, even feared. The force is not merely with him, he is controlling it here.

Of course, throughout his whole career and even now, poor Georgie boy has never been able to write so much as a line of realistic dialouge.

But I forgive him. Don't we all? When it comes to the creative writing process, there are two schools of thought and different ways to go.

those who conjure up great, thrilling worlds (like Mr. Roald Dahl) and those who capture the sparkiling art of conversation (Kevin Smith).

The two just don't ordinarily mesh together very well. They just mix like oil and vomit. And Lucas is a dreamer, so we can understand him wanting to do it his way.

I don't like to give things away in movies, but really, what's to give away? EVERYONE who has seen "Star Wars" and anyone who's seen any of the first three released chapters knows EVERYTHING COMING.

We know that Anikan will convert to the dark side and become Darth Vader. We know that the traitor in the midst is Chancellor Palpatine, who will become the Emperor. And that Padme will bore Luke and Leia. Even in Episode IV, Darth Vader tells us how a showdown between him and Obi-Wan turns out.

But to see how it all came to be is just plain shocking and even a little disturbing. There is such cruelty and sadness in this chapter. Haven't we all grown up laughing and smiling and looking to "Star Wars" for fun and upbeat cheer? "Star Wars" has always stood for escapist fantasy.

His movies are about visual worlds and dreams, not sparkling, chatty conversation. Lucas pretty much does it all here, so he exposes all his talents and faults clearly. But he is truly a dreamer. Perhaps Lucas wanted to do it all so he could see (and the whole world could as well) just how good he truly is and what good he's at.

I truly believe that if Lucas wasn't a filmmaker, Lucas would be that older guy sitting around the campfire telling stories. Old, long forgotten legends of ancient lore and spinning some new ones. Lucas is a dreamer, a homage-payer in his movies.

The battles are so amazing, we can forgive everything Lucas has done wrong in his career so far.

He creates beautiful galaxies and worlds, especially the planet Mustafar. Another moment comes in a showdown between one of the great Jedi masters and the great Sith masters.

Perhaps one of the problems was Lucas has all but done away completely with sets. All of his movies since 1999 are filmed in front of green-screens (or are they called "green-rooms"? I forget).

You can finally see why Lucas has abandoned real sets and muppets and locations in favor on green-screens. Finally, after all this time... you've never seen a movie like this! The first-class FX are all seamless. I know that this is all a movie... all actors, sets and props... but Lucas made me forget.

Christensen and Portman feel more natural here than they did in "Clones." Probably because their lines here are only half as awkward. And the movie doesn't gloss too much over cheap "romance" scenes. Lucas and his team have NEVER excelled there.

Well actually, the dynasty between Han and Leia was worth it's weight in gold. Han and Leia. Hell, Luke and Yoda. But Lucas attempts to handle all of the production of this one (and the earlier two) himself.

Some artists are talented and blessed enough to be able to just go into a movie and single-handedly make a masterpiece. Some artists do their best as soloists. (Orson Welles, Edward Burns, Woody Allen, Albert Brooks, etc).

Others just... need a helping hand.

When Padme' tells Anikan she is pregnant from what they've been doing together (see "Episode II." Or rather DON'T), Anikan seems like this'll get in the way of his becoming a true Jedi knight.

Lucas has problems directing dramatic scenes and even more writing them. As for love scenes, Good Lord, he sure as hell can't write them. But a moment where Padme' expresses her pain at where Anikan is headed and we see his reaction....

The ending is so sad, so heartbreaking. We have to remember that this is only Episode III of VI.

The average American household (or any other country in the world) has Episodes IV-VI waiting for them at home. After Episode III, IV would be good to wash away this downbeat feeling.

"Star Wars" has always been a hallmark of childhood fantasy, but in this entry, everyone does a lot of growing-up. You'd think all this reality and contemporary sadness would ruin the memory of "Star Wars."

But no. It doesn't ruin "Star Wars." As a matter of fact, it deepens it.

This is a movie that needs to be seen by every "Star Wars" fan.

This is a movie that needs to be seen by every movie fan.

This is a movie that needs to be seen by everyone.

Why are you even still reading this? See it NOW.


by Dane Youssef


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Lucas finally ends it all

Posted : 15 years, 9 months ago on 26 July 2008 11:41

Episode 3 wasn't as bad as 1 or 2. But it was in no way as good as Empire. No matter what some reviews said. After thirty-odd years, you would think that he could at least come up for a worthy end for his series, but apparently he just couldn't. There are some good bits to this film, but mostly, it's just more of the same, and quite painful to watch.


The Tie-fighter-like ships at the beginning bugged me, but the scenes on the ship were good until Duku appeared. I really expected more from that sequence, but it was so flat. I did like the end of the fight, with Palpatine egging Ani to kill Duku, and Duku's shocked look. You could almost see him saying "but master..." Very Luke/Vader in Jedi, really. I liked the ship plunging towards the planet, and the fact that General Grievous escaped. Sliding down the elevator chute when the ship righted itself was good...different. :)

The Padme/Ani stuff didn't bug me as much this time round. Still wasn't great, though this time it was her that bugged me more than him. Like the second she decided she loved him, she turned into this whiny, clingy, boring person who had no other life beyond him. yeesh. Oh, and she was so not big enough to be pregnant with full-term twins (and both of those babies were definitely full-term). They should have been tiny.

I did think that Ani's journey was a lot less whiny this time round. He actually seemed confused, and it felt to me like he was trying to work it out, at least. The scene with him thanking Ben before he left to get rid of Grievous was excellent, particularly since the next time they saw each other, they were on opposite sides. And his turning was near-perfect, actually. Sam Jackson did a great job of playing both sides of what was going on. Both that he was honestly trying to get rid of a threat to their way of life, and someone who had gone a bit too far over the edge and was trying to kill a community leader. I could see Ani struggling with the ideas he'd been fed from both sides, and trying to come to a decision. Well done, really. Still a bit wooden, but better than most Ani scenes in Clones. You can almost feel the sorrow of the realization that if they'd just trusted Ani a bit more, things would have gone the other direction. There was real horror in his face when he realized Palpatine was Sideous. He would have helped them if they had arrested the man. But Windu and the rest of the council are so blinded by what "must be done" that they just don't get it.

The scenes in the temple were the only thing that was touching enough to make me cry in this film. I cried at the end, but that was because it was over, and I was feeling emotional from realizing the future Luke and Leia had to look forward to. Ani activating his lightsaber after the kid asks him what they should do... So dark.

The confrontation between Ani, Amidala and Ben was perfect. Shows the true problem with "just doing it for the knowledge." You might be, but the knowledge isn't positive or pure, and it changes you. As does killing. It becomes a habit, and you forget your true intentions. I liked him choking the life out of Padme, very fitting. And the scenes between he and Ben were perfect. They played off each other well. The fight left a bit to be desired, but the finale was perfect. No big, "oops, I left my padawan in a lake of boiling lava...oh, well..." His warning to Ani not to do it, and that flash of lightsaber when he jumped were perfect. Gruesome, but perfect. And the best touch? Ben taking his lightsaber as he left.

The rescue and resurrection of Ani was perfect. And Palpatine telling him he'd killed Padme was excellent. I liked the idea that he couldn't even recall what he'd done. Him having a fit about it and pulling free of the restraints was good, though it was hard to get much emotion from that suit. Only to be expected, but I had to say it. The Padme dying scenes were stupid. I hated them. She should have been in a coma for the entire thing, and hence unable to name the children. She was certainly far too coherent at the end there when she did. And she said the names like they meant something. What was that about? I wanted more from her side of the story. I felt ripped-off. I wanted to see her interacting with Bail, and a lot more interaction with Ben. Emotional connections. Plans. Something.

I liked the Wookie planet, and the fact that we saw Chewbacca (I knew it had to be him, but I wasn't sure until Yoda called him by name), and I'm quite glad there was no little Han, thankyouverymuch. Yoda really kicked ass this time. He was perfect. And Order 66? Eerily perfect. Though I did get a bit sick of Yoda's reactions each and every time...

The dialogue? Who did he hire to write this? A six-year-old? Just made me want to tear my hair out. Not like he couldn't have afforded a good writer by now. However, I was pleased that Jar Jar had no lines, at least.

As I said in the section about Ani's downfall, the point where I got all emotional was the moment they showed Alderaan. I've been waiting to see it for thirty years. And it was beautiful. I really would have preferred a very different story here, as I seem to recall reading in the Jedi novelization that Leia knew her mother (but I could be imagining things...), and I would have liked to see Bail/Padme, even if one-sided. I think she was a strong enough character before they were married. And it wouldn't have been that difficult to save her, but let Ani think she was dead... Watching Leia and Luke with their respective adopted parents just made me bawl. By the last shot, I had tears streaming down my face, knowing what they had waiting for them in the future. Just so sad.

Oh, and the "training" Yoda sets for Ben? That seemed a bit too contrived to me. I mean, I get that Lucas was trying to connect that to the "Jedi ghost" thing in the original three, but come on...


Anyway, ultimate feeling on this? I needed to see it in the theatre, but just the once. Maybe I'll get lucky, and it'll age well. Not that I really believe that.


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Cinematic diarrhoea

Posted : 16 years ago on 27 April 2008 06:47

"Learn the power of the Dark Side, Anakin. The power to save Padme."

For whatever reason, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith was embraced by critics and film-goers alike back in 2005, with some foolishly proclaiming this prequel to be a masterpiece on the same level as the original trilogy. Oh, how reckless such comments now look in 2015. One supposes the warm reception was simply because the world was too eager for another good Star Wars movie after The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, and it was too hard to come to terms with yet another disappointment. Ten years on, however, and Revenge of the Sith is every bit as awful as the other entries in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, finding writer/director George Lucas at his most unrestrained and excessive. Here's the issue: Lucas makes movies for himself, but rather than making something personal and admirably experimental, he just enjoys lathering the screen with as much CGI nonsense as possible. And believe me, it is nonsense, with very little in the way of logic or emotion as the long-suffering actors stand around delivering stilted dialogue in front of blue screens.


With the Clone Wars coming to an end, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) becomes haunted by visions of his now-pregnant wife Padme (Natalie Portman) dying during childbirth. Anakin's request to join the Jedi Council is rejected, leaving the young Jedi confused about who to trust, ultimately turning to his one true supporter, Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who assures Anakin that he has the capacity to keep Padme alive. The Jedi Council suspects that Palpatine is involved in a power play that may lead to the downfall of the Republic, while Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) grows suspicious of Anakin's allegiances.

One cannot help but lament the dreadful storytelling of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. The main points of The Phantom Menace could have been covered in the brisk opening third of a more skilful film, while the primary story of Revenge of the Sith should have taken two movies to cover. Lucas rushes the important material, and as a consequence the story does not make the impact that it should, and it doesn't help that Lucas is a special effects pioneer rather than a storyteller. Anakin's transformation to the dark side is outright amateurism; he transitions from whiny young Jedi to child killer in the space of five minutes. In Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Obi-Wan explains that Vader was seduced by the dark side, implying a dense, tragic tale of Anakin's descent into darkness. But Revenge of the Sith depicts a rage-filled, angsty Jedi who fears the death of his missus, and who's tricked by Palpatine - that's the rich history behind the legendary Darth Vader? At the end of the day, this trilogy wastes too much time on a sappy romance that's never believable, in the process utterly mismanaging Anakin's entire arc. With the metamorphosis lacking proper drama and humanity, it's hard to feel moved by any of the on-screen events. Worse, Darth Vader's rising should be momentous, but it's ruined by the infamous "Noooo!" moment that will still make any Star Wars fan cringe.


Revenge of the Sith reinforces the opinion that George Lucas is really not cut out to be a writer, as this third prequel is a clusterfuck from a screenplay perspective. Inconsistencies are limitless, especially when it comes to Jedi powers which are only effective when it's convenient for the plot. For instance, Obi-Wan is able to sense Count Dooku's presence on a spaceship, but none of the Jedi Knights can sense that they are about to be betrayed? Even though the conspiracy has been years in the making? And as with the other prequels, Revenge of the Sith creates franchise contradictions as well. For instance, the Death Star is under construction at the end of this movie, but apparently it takes three decades for it to be built, whereas it only takes three years between A New Hope and Return of the Jedi for a new Death Star to take shape in the original trilogy. And how can Princess Leia remember her mother if Padme dies at the moment of childbirth? This is a powerfully stupid, unfocused movie, and even though it's built on a potentially interesting basis of themes involving power and politics, Lucas cannot quite figure out how to make it work. Revenge of the Sith was actually the first Star Wars instalment to receive a PG-13 rating, and it is a dark movie, with some violence that may be too intense for the younger kids Lucas has targeted for the past two prequels, which is a bit of an odd conundrum. 

Even the structure of the picture is problematic, with the movie cutting to different scenes in the midst of action sequences, which serves to seriously diminish impact and immediacy. In fact, Lucas keeps crossing to scenes which end so quickly without a proper resolution that one must seriously wonder what the point was. This keeps dragging on and on, with choppy editing marring the entire enterprise until it finally ends near to the 140-minute mark. Worse, Lucas also goes overboard with fancy scene transitions, leading to some seriously out-of-place moments. Film schools constantly tell students to avoid all transitions beyond straight cuts and dissolves (with the occasional wipe) for good reason: fancy transitions are fucking bizarre and distracting.


Revenge of the Sith is the first, and to date only live-action Star Wars film to involve absolutely no location shooting. Save for a brief Tatooine moment that was actually filmed during the production of Attack of the Clones, the movie was shot within the confines of sound stages, with minimalist sets and blue screens galore. Virtually everything is digital now, to the extent that it often looks like a Pixar movie. On top of CGI Wookies and CGI clone troopers, R2-D2 is entirely digital at times, and the little droid even fights. (Do not even get me started on how thoroughly stupid the battle droids are, with Lucas playing them for laughs and slapstick comedy; they're fucking useless.) Hell, Lucas famously wanted an additional shot during the Anakin/Obi-Wan lightsaber duel but the actors weren't available for reshoots, so an entirely digital shot was created. The Wookie planet of Kashyyyk looks like a PS3 game environment, while the space battles resemble computer game cut-scenes. Action set-pieces look like cartoons, packing very little in the way of tension. Obi-Wan even rides a digital lizard for a little while, but its weightlessness and speed renders it utterly fake.

It might be an unpopular opinion, but Revenge of the Sith is the ugliest instalment in the prequel trilogy. For all its flaws, The Phantom Menace was shot on 35mm film stock and did carry a certain amount of practical effects, but Revenge of the Sith is all about digital, digital, digital. Nothing looks tangible or real, with the excessive gloss and incredibly busy shots (which are often too frenetically-edited) only serving to take us out of the film. As a result, it's impossible to get fully invested in the drama. The climactic Anakin/Obi-Wan duel should be an intense, dramatic, heart-wrenching moment, but it has to happen on a volcano planet, moving between bridges and rocks, with lava rain, collapsing structures, and hovering platforms. It leans so heavily on the CGI spectacle, and is so far removed from tangibility, that the drama makes precisely zero impact. It's just ugly, rampant excess. Put simply, nothing here even comes close to the exciting Death Star assault in A New Hope, or the enthralling lightsaber duel at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.


It almost goes without saying, but awful dialogue runs rampant throughout Revenge of the Sith, proving yet again that Lucas should never be allowed to write a screenplay. Large chunks of the movie are dedicated to static shots of people talking whilst sitting or walking very slowly. And with none of the characters ever delivering memorable or witty dialogue, it's a chore to watch. Let's just remember that Lucas himself admits he's the king of wooden dialogue, and Harrison Ford famously told the filmmaker "George, you can type this shit, but you sure as hell can't say it!" Acting is uniformly awful across the board, with Christensen's performance on a par with a below-par school play, while Lucas manages to coax yet another performance out of Samuel L. Jackson that's boring and passionless. McGregor is a blank slate, while Portman is a cardboard cut-out. The only actor capable of making the script palatable is Christopher Lee as Count Dooku, arguably the best villain of the prequel trilogy, but he's bumped off in the first ten minutes. Another tremendous missed opportunity is newcomer General Grievous (voiced by Matthew Wood). Grievous should be a badass, lightsaber-wielding bounty hunter who kills the majority of the Jedi, but instead he's dismissed before the halfway mark, and the Jedi Knights die cheap deaths at the hands of the clone troopers. And it's every bit as stupid as it sounds.

What's depressing about Revenge of the Sith, and the prequel trilogy in general, is that Vader's entrance in A New Hope now loses a certain degree of effectiveness, with the woeful portrayal of Anakin in the prequels making Vader look less badass. What's more, watching the series in chronological order is a foolish idea, because it ruins the impact of the climactic "I am your father" reveal at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. This twist was a huge deal back in 1980, but now nobody will understand what the fuss is all about anymore. At the end of the day, there are enjoyable parts of Revenge of the Sith, most notably when Yoda (Frank Oz) cuts loose and fights, but for the most part it's a muddled mess in need of a complete overhaul. And I was left breathing a sigh of relief as the end credits began to roll, signifying the end of a trilogy that has fallen criminally short of all that it could, and should, have been.

4.1/10


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Return of the Hope

Posted : 17 years, 3 months ago on 11 February 2007 04:51

Arguably the best of the new trilogy. At first I thought it was so-so but seeing it a few times more made me think that it did what it needed to finish what had been started. Revenge of the Sith was a bit rushed. Anakin’s fall to the dark side was at first instantaneous but after review its all justified. We see the friendships of the main characters at their strongest and at their worst in this film. Probably one of the most emotional scenes in all of Star Wars was the Order 66 massacre, certainly made me feel more than excitement for once. Also, evil triumphs again but they are the first steps to its demise.

The film had loads of inconsistencies too. Losing the will to live was so cheesey, I couldn’t believe it! What was the point of Chewbacca's cameo except being a transport for Yoda, I personally think he should have taken out an extra clone or two when they was turning on Yoda, at least he would have had some point for being there besides his race.

Emotional, hard, fast, gritty. The fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin is simply a masterpiece. Everything about it is full of feeling. By the time of this battle, they are opposites in many ways. With Anakin’s thundering offence and Obi-Wan’s brick wall defence, every stroke is an effort to stop the other and so they essentially have a stalemate until Anakin’s overconfidence (a common trait in the Star Wars films which leads to someone’s death or failing) takes control and he loses all. This fight is also inter-cut with scenes of the clash of the titan’s battle between Yoda and Palpatine. Both masters in their own art, the whole sequence makes the revenge of the Sith so much more pressing. Everything is waging on these two fights but as you all know good can’t triumph this time but they strike some crippling blows before they disappear.

Thank You.


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