***Official STAR WARS Episode III: REVENGE OF THE SITH Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Joe Cortez]

...And Then There Was "Sith"

"[Cinema] is a fantasy..."

28 years ago in a place called Hollywood, George Lucas set out to re-tell the myths of old for a new generation in a way that had never been accomplished before. Now, with the release of the final chapter in his "Star Wars" saga, "Revenge of the Sith," he returns to that galaxy far, far away one last time to complete a story inspired by a melange of Campbell, Kurosawa and Crabbe. It is only fitting then that as the curtain closes on his life's work, his little space opera has taken on a mythic quality all its own, thus becoming the definitive generational epic of contemporary storytelling.

To review a "Star Wars" film at this stage is to critique a phenomenon that has captured the zeitgeist of the populous like few other works of fiction ever have before it. Perhaps nowhere is the word "baggage" more appropriately used than in describing the personal feelings that each individual carries with him or her to a screening of each one of these films. While the first three released films, "A New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi," are held in high regard, the last two entries, "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones," were condemned for their "wooden acting" and "klunky dialogue," of all which are rendered moot by the consideration of Lucas' films as works of pure cinema.

More than anyother filmmaker in mainstream cinema, Lucas promotes the idea of pure cinema through his works in way that establishes themes, introduces complex ideas and thrills audiences. While "Revenge of the Sith" resolves the character of Anakin Skywalker and the nature of his descent towards the dark side, it also resolves the visual storytelling nature of the entire "Star Wars" saga, so much so that to complain about dysfunctional discourse and dialectical character development (or lack thereof) is to miss the point, and indeed the focus, of the "Star Wars" films as works of pure cinema in action.

While "Revenge of the Sith" lacks the pure joy and fun of "The Phantom Menace" and "A New Hope," it more than makes up for it in craft and skill, and what craft and skill indeed. Not only is "Revenge of the Sith" Lucas' finest work as a theatrical filmmaker, it may aslo be the most complex and consistently engaging film to be made within the confines of the Hollywood blockbuster, a cinematic classification that Lucas, along with Steven Spielberg, helped to usher in three decades ago. However, much of this depth is lost when the film is placed in the context of traditional film and filmmaking. Lucas carries out his ideas through compositions, juxtapositions and the use of sound (not dialogue). For those that complain about the lack of "Vader" development in the film: notice the number of scenes puntucated by celestial and mechanical allusions to the now infamous sound of Darth Vader's life support system in action, particularly during the fallout of the fierce duel between Chancellor Palpatine and Jedi Master Mace Windu and the birth of the Skywalker offspring.

I was also surprised to see a number of scenes involving Chancellor Palpatine that were composed in such a way that they are balanced evenly, providing visual harmony or peace, if you will. We know, though, that this peace and harmony are false as he is, infact, the evil Sith lord Darth Sidious.

Even the nature of a Sith Lord, Darth Vader in particular, is revealed through purely visual means. In "Menace," Lucas gave us Darth Maul, a menacing figure whose visage resembled that of a demonic heel. "Clones" brought us Count Dooku, a Jedi Master-turned-Sith Lord, thus instilling the notion of a Jedi turning from the path. "Sith" shows us the fiendish droid general, Grievous; a four-armed robotic fury trained in the Jedi arts. Although it is never stated explicitly, a close-up shot of his eyes during a tense stand-off with Obi-Wan Kenobi reveals that he is a living organism trapped within a metal shell, providing further visual development for the technological terror the boy from Tatooine will become.

While all of these techniques provide a great outlet for film or English majors to work out their frustrations with the general movie going public's analyitcal apathy towards the prequels, they are all of little consequence when compared to "Sth's" ability to enthrall an audience with its superior visual stimulus; the film is just a wonder to behold. From the openning space battle to the climactic final duel between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi, "Sith" is a pure, kinetic journey to a place beyond. Lucas' direction never rests on the action, but is constantly cutting to yet another exciting moment of discovery; a trait which may be a result of his interest and trainning as a documentary filmmaker, and it is this training that lends the film's more engaging effects-driven moments a certain level of grounding in more catch-as-catch-can forms of "street filmmaking." The effects shots don't feel like set-ups created digitally on a computer but moments captured organically by a small crew braving the elements all for the sake of celluloid magic; which is precisely what "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," and the entire "Star Wars" saga, is: pure magic.

28 years.

Six Films.

Thanks George.

 

[Dharmesh C]

Having seen it twice, I can now say with authority that Sith is not a great film but a decent entry in the Star Wars saga.

The Prequels suffer from poorly written stories and I include Sith.
The problem Sith has is that Lucas is trying to tell it rather than show it. The film is forcing itself to be interlinked with Episode 4.
There are moments of greatness but the film is so damn uneven.

I put it on par with Jedi but well below Empire; Empire was restricted in terms of special effects technology; it forced the writers and directors to concentrate on the characters. The main problem with Sith is that Lucas wants to do everything because he can.

As I said, the film has great moments including the awesome opening and anything involving Darth Sidious. Ian Mcdiarmid reads the lines with relish; he chews up the scenery. Obi-Wan is much better here. Hayden and Natalie run hot and cold.

General Grevious should have been introduced in Ep2, the pay-off would've been better in Ep3.


There's so much more I want to say but I'll leave it to others.

The Phantom Menace 2/5
Attack of the Clones 3/5
Revenge of the Sith 3/5
A New Hope 4/5
Empire Strikes Back 5/5
Return of the Jedi 3/5

 

[Chris_T]

I'll make this short and sweet. Just got back from seeing ROTS and it was everything I was hoping for. To me it was the third best entry in the saga slightly below A New Hope.

The acting and story great. The visual effects the best I've ever seen. You can tell they went all out on this movie. Most of reviews here have pretty much covered the areas people may have problems with. But for me it was culmination of a 28 year journey and I loved every bit of it. I am sorry to see it end.

The Phantom Menace - 3/5 stars
Attack of the Clones - 3.5/5 stars
Revenge of the Sith - 4.5/5 stars
A New Hope - 4.75/5 stars
The Empire Strikes Back - 5/5 stars
Return of the Jedi - 4/5 stars

 

[dannyCraigs]

I got a great suprise watching this, I actually found it to be great entertainment that flowed nicely from scene to scene. I was no fan of the prequels thus far, the first two were dull and filled with poor dialogue IMO. I'd go as far as to say that ROTS is better than ROTJ. What it doesn't do is make TPM or AOTC, suck any less. Some nice humour surrounding R2. I wasn't overly keen on the grievous character, but he didn't wreck the movie. Much better acting from Hayden as Anakin (no more annoying whining from him) & Ewan as Obi-Wan. Hayden's wooden performance in AOTC was more the fault of the people making the movie rather than his own, IMO. McDiarmid also does a fine job as Sidious. Even samuel was convincing as the leader of the jedi (windu), in this one. Maybe Anakin's sudden turn to the dark side was a little to fast. But in the end, Lucas has redeemed himself.

Empire Strikes back 4.5/5
A new Hope 4/5
Revenge of the Sith 3.5/5
Return of the Jedi 3/5
Attack of the Clones 0.5/5
The Phantom Menace 0/5

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The final hour of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith may rightfully go down as one of the finest examples of filmmaking ever. It represents George Lucas in top, almost effortless form. He achieves the amazing without ever stopping to admire what he has achieved, because there is so much more amazing left for him to get to. It is a staggering collision of story, character, and spectacle that comes together almost exactly as it should.
The first hour of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith may rightfully go down as one of the most unmemorable in filmmaking history. It represents George Lucas at his sloppiest, rustiest form. It begins with such blinding fury that the result is largely incomprehensible, and pauses only for dialog that makes Godzilla dubs sound like Shakespeare. There are moments of promise to be sure — that first epic shot that goes on and on and on, the way that Palpatine’s serpent tongue meticulously leads Anakin astray, and the final parting of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. But they are awash in a sea of such mediocrity that a greater effort is required to invest myself in the proceedings than at any other point in the entire saga. The first two episodes each have deep and fundamental flaws, but even where they’re failing I still feel compelled and engaged, as I’m carried through the rough patches by the sheer energy of the tide they are awash in. Despite all the daring-do, the first epic action set piece utterly fails to rouse me, and the remainder of the first half takes a long time to recover from its stalled momentum. In fact, I’m just starting to think it may salvage itself as an acceptable movie when the rug is pulled right out from under me.
Because what many fans waited through Phantom Menace and Clones for happens in one blazing moment. Anakin is given a clear choice between the Jedi and the Sith, much like his son at the end of Return of the Jedi. And he chooses the other path. The great leader of the Jedi plummets to his death and Anakin Skywalker prostrates himself before the soon-to-be Emperor. This sounds perhaps lame on paper but in the space of a minute it is both shocking and electrifying. Much of the power of the final act comes from the ruthless — even brutal — efficiency with which Lucas sets the stage for the original Star Wars.
But not all of it. There are moments of profound beauty and joy too, the final shot of the film first and foremost among them. And there are several others: Yoda’s final moment on Kashyyyk has surprising poignance as he is carried away with a stirring rendition of the Force them, our only shot from the surface of Alderaan shows that one couple’s tragedy will allow for another couple’s greatest joy. These are small touches of humanity that challenge any critics’ decree that Lucas was never good at telling human stories. They further the mystery of why the first half is so lacking, all while helping the film transcend that first half into something really sort of wonderful.
Then there is the acting. Even as a generally big fan of the prequels I couldn’t find one cringe-worthy performance this time around, even when the words they were speaking were less than stellar. The only thing in the film that made me cringe at all was the droid humour, which seemed out of place compared to what the prior films showed us about the limitations of their abilities — particularly R2D2. The rest of the distasteful parts were able enough to be merely boring, which is perhaps a greater sin than outright terrible in the world of film.
Finally there is the melancholy. Critics like Roger Ebert insist that either Lucas or his company will go back to the well at least a couple more times before letting the franchise finally rest in peace. The film itself serves as a fundamentally clear rebuttal of that theory to me. By the time the blue Lucas credit pops on the screen, the entire saga has been completed. It feels complete, one seamless entity with a clearly defined beginning and end. Any other stories that are told in this universe will need to be peripheral. Coming out of the theatre on May 19th with my father just like Return of the Jedi years earlier, I felt I’d seen it all. And that is a very bittersweet thing. (:star: :star: :star: 1/2 / :star: :star: :star: :star: )

 

[Andy Boenau]

I finally saw SITH this weekend. I may see it a 2nd time next weekend, so the force may alter my feelings some with more exposure.

:star: :star: :star: :star: .5 out of :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

Right now, I rank SITH just after EMPIRE. That may never change, because I LOVE Han Solo so much. Here's a brief rundown of what I love about SITH...

1. The urge to scream at Anakin to not interfere with Mace. Sure, we all know he turns, but GL was good about keeping the tension. I cared about Skywalker, and what he did as Vader in the temple will only make me more terrified of him while watching the OT.

2. All the connections to the OT: the ROTJ-like duel, "rule as husband and wife," communing w/dead Jedi, Obi-Wan leaving with Anakin's light saber, Capt. Antilles, the duel sunset, etc.

3. The relationship btw Emporer and Vader. It's based on fear and anger as it should be - the dark side. I was pleased to see that GL didn't portray them as buddies. ESPECIALLY when Vader asked what happened to Padme!

As several others have said, this installment was the perfect bridge for between original and prequel stories. My wife and I have already begun watching the OT again!

 

[Ron-P]

My wife and I saw it last night, for free, about all this movie is worth paying the price for. This is the first Star Wars movie I sat and checked my watch several times.

About the only redemption this film has are its tiebacks to the original trilogy.

I wanted to like it and tried. Coming off of Attack of the Clones (better then The Phantom Menace, I thought I was in for something even better, sorry, but this one is not much of an improvement over The Phantom Menace.

My final ranking of all 6...

1. A New Hope
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Attack of the Clones
5. Revenge of the Sith
6. The Phantom Menace

This is Star Wars for kids and an entire different generation then mine. It is nothing like, and lacks everything the old trilogy is.

The space battles were a cluster of disaster. Way too much going, they had no drama, no tension, and no engagement. It was hard to tell who was who. Lucas just wanted as much on screen as he good get. Sometimes (as in A New Hope) space battles done simply are the best. Even the surface battles were messy and weak.

All the light saber battles (less Anakin and Obi Wans) were too quick and poorly done. The one with Anakin and Obi Wan, way to drawn out and boring.

The acting, just as bad as the previous two. Nothing there, just cardboard people reading their lines (or phoning them in). No emotion to make me want to care about any of them.

The dialogue, again, just as bad as the others. Between Anakin and Padme, bad, just plain bad. So much wasted time on useless dialogue in this. Lucas could have cut and hour from this film and made it better.

Seeing Vader on screen again was great and about the only thing in this film that was decently done, less the "NOOOOOOOOO" scene. Laughable.

I've seen them all and will re-watch the old trilogy countless times. This new trilogy will sit on the shelf and collect dust.

 

[Carl Johnson]

It would be all but impossible for me to review Episode III without directly comparing it to the rest of the films in the series so I'm going to post a brief opinion about each of the prequels.

Phantom Menace- * out of *****
As a life long Star Wars fan it feels borderline blasphemous to say this but Phantom Menace was not good. I really tried to like this film but the two main characters had some serious issues that I just can't overlook.
Anakin was too young to be building droids, building pod racers and flying starships. On top of all that he was supposed to be a slave. Who ever heard of a slave with such a diverse list of hobbies? That would be the equivalent of an Earth slave who spent his spare time building personal computers and racing sprint cars.
Amidala was supposed to be the democratically elected queen of her planet, but she was too young to elected head of anything more powerful than a Girl Scout Troop.
Even if the rest of the film were perfectly executed Jar Jar was annoying enough to kill the film all by himself, and the kid from Tattoine saving the day by destroying the bad guys ship with one in a million shot storyline has been worn too thin.

Attack of the Clones ***** out of *****
This film is definitely my favorite of the prequels and I'd put it on par with the best of the original trilogy. There's nothing about it that I don't like.

Revenge of the Sith *** out of *****
To paraphrase Yoda this film brings warm feelings to my heart, but I have a laundry list of things about the story that could have been done better.
The first half of the movie felt like a generic combination of space and light saber battles that are fun to watch but don't do much to advance the plot.
Count Dooku, who was established in Episode II as being well worthy of the title 'Lord of the Sith' was completely wasted in this film, and was replaced by General Grievous, who adds nothing to the series. Rather than introducing a new bad guy that we know nothing about it would have been better to eliminate the Grievous character and let Count Dooku get more screen time. It also would have been nice (can't think of a better way to put it) if Palpatine would have done something more specific to betray Count Dooku thus making room for Vader. How about Anakin and Dooku are fighting to a stalemate, but Palpatine uses the force to distract the Count thus tilting the scales in Anakin's favor.
I don't like the that Anakin's motivation for switching from being a keeper of the peace to genocidal dictator is the fact that he had a nightmare about his wife dying in childbirth. It certainly wouldn't be believable to think that Hitler was initially motivated to kill by his desire to save a loved one. Anakin being driven to ask Palpatine for help because he knows that he will be expelled from the Jedi Order as soon as the Jedi find out about Padme's pregnancy would be more realistic. Palpatine tells Anakin that by using the dark side he can both be more powerful than any Jedi and protect his family, and the rest is history.