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

Director: George Lucas

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From Time Out London

And so, the end is nigh. From frantic opening battle to long-anticipated conclusion, ‘Revenge Of The Sith’ is the ‘Star Wars’ experience encapsulated: breathless, dramatic, effects-filled, badly acted and slightly disappointing. The basics: with the Republic in turmoil, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), Jedi knight extraordinaire and ambitious student of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), is heading towards the dark side with such reckless abandon that you have to wonder when he found the time to knock up Princess Padmé (Natalie Portman), his young wife who, shock, horror, is expecting twins. Where will it all end? Well, that’s the problem: we already know. Lucas claimed the sixth and final ‘Star Wars’ would be ‘“Titanic” in space’ – presumably a reference to the film rather than the boat – and you can see what he was driving at: both films have to get round the fact they’re plunging towards a tragedy that viewers already know is coming. To counter this impediment to meaningful suspense, Lucas intended Christensen to be his own DiCaprio – they share a line in sullen pouts after all – but while Chistensen might have the better six-pack, he lacks Leo’s acting muscles, offering only a charisma-free black hole around which the rest of the Lucas universe is left to flounder. To be fair to Christensen, he’s being asked to work within a plot more incomprehensible than anything Mark Hamill ever had to cope with. Add Lucas’ own notorious lack of interest in the human side of filmmaking and you’re left with a film that never wields the dramatic impact its plot should demand, and never realises the emotional potential at its dark heart. The solution is to whizz events along at such a clip you barely have time to snigger at the dreadful dialogue, remember who Count Dooku is or ask when R2-D2 learned to fly. Ultimately, it’s difficult not to be thankful that, as the saga meets in the middle, this enterprise has drawn to a close.

Author: PW 2005-05-16 11:43:00

Time Out London Issue 1813: May 18-25 2005

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JIM CALLAN said...

Posted on Jul 27 2009 17:45 The Saga Concludes...... In some ways, that might be a blessing as what could top this effort? For sheer exhilaration, panache, spectacle and action, this is by far and away the best of the so-called prequel trilogy and, in my opinion, the joint third best of the entire series. (The first and second being "A New Hope" and "Empire Strikes Back" with the joint third being "Return if the jedi"-even with the ewoks)
Why? Well, the final installment delivers on all levels, despite some dodgy acting by the two young principals who, admittedly, may have been assisted by some of the worst dialogue in the entire series. Still, the experience is a stunning one, all the same.
The battles in both space, and on the various planets of the bigger Star Wars universe, to the more personal battles between major characters and the "order 66" betrayals, are all excellently handled and show that Lucas can still mastermind and handle scenes of complexity and tremendous scale. And, as such, should be aluded for being able to do so.
As always, the masterful score by John Williams, the real Star Wars meastro in my opinion, is bombastic, graceful and just sulime as and where necessary.
Of course, everyone faliliar with the Star Wars mythos knows what's going to happen by the end of this film and what the fate of certain characters are going to be. it's how we all get there that matters. And, for one, I had a fantastic time doing so. After all, just to see the fully armoured Darth Vader in the final scenes was an indication that, over the last, or preceding, depending on your "point of view", 31 years that this saga has spanned, all has come full circle and we are returning back to the characters that we all came to love in the originals. How many film series can you really say that about ?

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