Jedinet Review
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the final piece to a 6 part saga. After multiple viewings, I have finally sat down and put pen to paper. What follows is a collection of thoughts and observations that will serve as a review of the film, but also share some of my thinking while watching it and discussing it afterwards.
I loved the film very much. At this point, I’m comfortable in saying it rivals
Empire Strikes Back, but I’m not ready to say it’s better than. However with each subsequent viewing my appreciation deepens and I like it just a little more every time. I’m satisfied with the way it bridged the two trilogies together. Most of all, this film “feels” like Star Wars, more so than
Attack of the Clones.
VISUAL
As always, the production standard was very high. As far as looks goes,
Sith was beautiful. The special effects were spectacular, especially in the opening battle sequence. The dueling seemed to have more detailed choreography than in
Clones, and that may have been due to the focused one-on-one fighting; less Jedi means more focus on training and designing for Nick Gillard.
SOUNDTRACK
Nothing in particular stood out to me about the soundtrack. The music fit the action, added depth, but for the most part it took a back seat to the story. There was a good composition for the Obi-wan/Anakin duel and I did listen to it on the soundtrack CD. While watching the duel at the theater, however, I didn’t notice it; my attention was totally absorbed by the fighting.
WRITING
The writing was improved. It was less abrupt, more natural and believable. At times it was a little strained, but it certainly wasn’t distracting. Believe it or not, even some of the “questionable” dialog was covered up by good acting. For example, when Padme confronts Anakin on Mustafar, the emotion she shows makes up for such lines as “Anakin, you’re breaking my heart!” Another example: when Anakin and Padme talk at their apartment, the first night upon returning to Coruscant, their delivery transforms the speech from awkward to playful banter. Some great lines from the film: “So uncivilized.” – Obi-wan Kenobi, upon killing Grievous with a blaster; “You must learn to let go that which you fear to lose.” – Yoda to Anakin; “So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause.” – Padme to Senator Bail Organa at the Senate chamber, upon Palpatine declaring himself Emperor.
CHARACTERS
Character development was good, in my opinion. But that may depend on who your favorite characters are, or who you felt needed to be in the limelight. The fact of the matter is, the prequels have created a large ensemble of characters, and it would be impossible to give sufficient screen time to all. The film focused on a few major characters and only briefly referenced others. I think that was a good thing, so much needed to be explained about Anakin, Obi-wan and Palpatine.
Take Bail Organa, for example. His part in the movie was well done, but the feeling is there wasn’t enough of him. His character was a victim of the film’s purpose. Sith was about the fall of Anakin, not about the formation of the Rebel Alliance. Certainly clues are shown to us: we see Organa secretly aiding the Jedi, we see him mourning the death of democracy with Padme, and we even see him early on assuring Anakin he’ll do everything in he can in the Senate to end the war (the intent being to end Palpatine’s overextended term, as well as laying down his emergency executive powers). Personally I would have liked to see more of Bail Organa, but I can see why his character was limited.
Jar Jar has a very, very small part. And this too is a good thing.
For those who haven’t watched the Clone Wars animated series, like me, General Grievous comes out of nowhere. Essentially he’s a cyborg, part flesh and blood, part machine. He’s a secondary bad guy, the latest out of the prequel villain revolving door. But it works. He doesn’t dominate the story line, and is an effective enough bad guy. His purpose is to be the leader of the Separatists after Dooku, who is defeated by Anakin early in the film. Also, his presence demonstrates the technology that will be needed to keep Anakin alive as Darth Vader. The man-machine concept of Grievous foreshadows Vader’s.
The main character development of
Sith is Anakin and his relationships, both with Obi-wan Kenobi and Chancellor Palpatine (Darth Sideous). In
Clones, Obi-wan was more of a father figure to Anakin; in
Sith, they are like brothers. They work well together, and clearly there is mutual respect and friendship in the first half of the film. Palpatine is the fatherly one to Anakin this time, and clearly he’s tugging at Anakin’s strings the entire time, setting him up to be his next apprentice. He’s very clever, very duplicitous. When he was finally revealed, however, he took on a new personage. He was drunk with power, monstrous, he had an animalistic quality. Using the dark side was like a narcotic to him. Anakin’s turn was believable as well. He was doing the wrong things for the right reasons. He was so intent on saving Padme that he was willing to do whatever it took to acquire that power. Once the Jedi were purged and she was dead, he had nothing left but newfound power and his own personal take on politics, which was closely aligned with the Emperor’s.
STORY
The conversion of Anakin Skywalker to the dark side is told convincingly in
Sith. Most of the scenes are efficient; they have a purpose and tell part of the story. The opening act, the rescue of Chancellor Palpatine from the clutches of General Grievous, serves not only to show the relationship of Anakin with his mentor, but especially to reveal how much Anakin has improved his skills. He has surpassed Obi-wan, and even Dooku.
There is a definite wartime motif in the film. From the opening crawl and throughout, I was reminded of World War II, for some reason. The world was at war. Young men had to grow up very fast and face the harsh realities of life. They had to make hard decisions and carried great responsibilities for their age. The war had forever skewed their view of the world. Anakin certainly fit that mold. When he ran to Padme on Coruscant after saving Palpatine, I was reminded of young soldiers reuniting with their loved ones upon returning home. Anakin had great ability, tremendous power, but he was still learning how to master it. It was easy to see how impressionable he was, how his life was still taking shape, still molding. Where the Jedi failed, Palpatine succeeded in shaping Anakin.
One of my many observations: in the opera scene, Palpatine shares with Anakin the Sith legend of Darth Plagueus the Wise. This was a very interesting and thought provoking moment. He says Darth Plagueus had become very powerful. So powerful, that he could keep the ones he loved from dying. He used the allure of this power to tempt Anakin, who was worried about Padme. He later referred to this as the power to cheat death. After some thought, I concluded this power was the ability of foresight. Not scary dreams that come true, but clear detailed foresight that only Palpatine seemed to possess (not even Yoda could clearly see the future). If you can foresee the future, you could protect those you love, to some extent. Of course, such power can also be abused, as Palpatine evidenced throughout his reign as Emperor. If the power to cheat death was indeed foresight, then there was absolutely no way Palpatine would ever teach Anakin this ability. He would keep him ignorant for his own benefit. Not that it mattered as much to Anakin after Padme’s death.
Stay tuned for Part II ...
Trilogist Dissects Sith
