Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Revenge of the Sith has a lot to prove. The follow-up to two frustrating and at times disappointing prequels, this is where it should all come together, letting us finally find out how that annoying brat from Episode I became the bad*ss of Episodes IV to VI. Emma Farrell finds out if it manages to!
So does it deliver the goods?
The good news is…YES! Dark, moving and surprisingly violent, Revenge of the Sith finally reaches the heights that The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones only hinted at. Gone are the boring politics, happy-slappable gungans and playstation pod races. Instead, after a frenetic opening battle/rescue, the story focuses on Anakin’s spectacular fall from grace.
Jedi and Siths
Hayden Christensen glowers as the disturbed, doomed Anakin. At times nothing more than a sulky kid who deserves a slap, there are moments when he really does show the darkness required by any wannabe Sith Lord. Ewan McGregor also finally gets the chance to shine, his natural charisma blending with Alec Guinness mannerisms. Samuel L Jackson is effortlessly cool and Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine/Darth Sidious steals every scene he is in – check out his casual manipulation of Anakin at the Opera, proof that nobody does arch, evil baddies better than the English.
Tears and lightsabers
The action never lets up, with the deaths of key characters from the outset and more fights than you could shake a lightsaber at. There are even genuine shiver-inducing moments –Anakin marching to the Jedi temple flanked by storm troopers, the demise of the Jedi, the final moments between Anakin and Obi-Wan on the volcano planet of Mustafar…bring tears to your eyes they will.
Of course, there are flaws. At times the dialogue is so clunky you can imagine the actors having to drag it around with them by a chain – but hey, Star Wars was never Oscar Wilde. The romance between Anakin and Padme (whose role is reduced to standing around looking anguished) is also never fully convincing and the film features the most unintentionally funny “Noooooo!” in film history.
But who cares? All of this pales into insignificance when you have Jedi-slayer General Grievous brandishing four lightsabers, a whole planet of Wookiees, Anakin and Obi-Wan’s battle royale and the first rasping, wheezing breath of Darth Vader.
So ignore the hype. Go and see the last film of the biggest sci-fi saga of all time. It’s the end of an era and what an end it is…
Revenge of the Sith is out to buy on DVD on 31st October.
But who cares? All of this pales into insignificance when you have Jedi-slayer General Grievous brandishing four lightsabers, a whole planet of Wookiees, Anakin and Obi-Wan’s battle royale and the first rasping, wheezing breath of Darth Vader.
So ignore the hype. Go and see the last film of the biggest sci-fi saga of all time. It’s the end of an era and what an end it is…
Revenge of the Sith is out to buy on DVD on 31st October.
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