Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith Review Country : USA Year: 2005 Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Format: Cinema Running Time: 146 minutes Distributor: 20th Century-Fox In an age of heroes, a dark shadow is ready to pounce and tear asunder a republic which has stood for a thousand years, and corrupt one hero to an unspeakable fate..... Credits Written and Directed by George Lucas. Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson. The most vexing aspect of George Lucas' task at creating a prequel trilogy to the beloved Star Wars films is that he's essentially telling a tale to which most of the target audience knows the ending. The trick, then, is to populate it with enough new characters (plus younger incarnations of known ones), worlds and storytelling bells and whistles to make it a worthwhile journey nonetheless. 1999's The Phantom Menace and 2002's Attack Of The Clones, the first two installments, each achieve these goals to a degree, though both (particularly the former) garnered wide criticism for pacing problems and unconvincing performances. Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith may not garner any Oscar nods in the acting department--well, except maybe for Ian McDiarmid, but more on that later--but Lucas has honed his storytelling lightsabre to the sublime and crafted a briskly-paced and fabulously imagined visual feast that doesn't skimp on the drama. From the opening prologue crawl which begins with the exclamatory "War!" and details the abduction of Chancellor Palpatine and the ensuing rescue mission by two Jedi, it's clear that we're done with the trade disputes and seperatist posturing that seemed so incongruous in Menace and Clones. That those red herring plot points all manage to neatly figure into the bigger picture here is only one of Sith's narrative pluses. Once the camera does the obligatory pan-down, the viewer is treated to an eye-popping space battle sequence wherein Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker streak above Coruscant in their Jedi fighter planes for a fateful rendezvous with villains Count Dooku and General Grievous, plus their valuable hostage. After this heroic and arresting setpiece, the story shifts back to Coruscant, where relations between the Jedi council and the rescued Chancellor are increasingly strained. The Jedi are savvy to the existence of mysterious Sith lord Darth Sidious, but with much of their number spread throughout the galaxy to stomp out the remaining grassfires of the Clone Wars, a full investigation into the identity of this "phantom menace" is not in order. Meanwhile, Senator Padme Amidala, secretly wed to Anakin, informs him upon his return that she is with child. The stage is now set for a series of careful manipulations designed to put control of the Republic into the hands of Sidious with Anakin as his apprentice, plus the extermination of the Jedi Order and the rise of the tyrannical Galactic Empire. Given the somewhat lighter and more kid-friendly tone of the previous two films, Sith smacks of a remarkably mature and definitively dark flavor. Even the moments of comic relief (most of which revolve around perrenial droid companion Artoo-Detoo) possess a dignity that starkly contrasts the bumbling pratfalls of Jar Jar Binks or the foppish bitching of See-Threepio in the Geonosian droid foundry. Some surprisingly above-expectation performances grace the film as well. Both Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman manage to sell Anakin and Padme, despite some pedestrian dialogue. While Christensen is the red-hot flint driven to his shatterpoint, Portman is allowed to take a break from pistol-whipping and emote with a graceful efficacy. Ewan McGregor not only channels his inner Alec as Obi-Wan, he hoists a mighty fine mug of Guinness when called upon to deliver heartfelt exclamations. And yes, that was a beer reference. Christopher Lee has lost none of his charisma as Dooku, although this time he is relegated to almost a cameo, and Frank Oz' vocal turn as Yoda makes one forget that the character is a digital creation. Samuel L. Jackson, who was essentially wallpaper the first two times around, shines here as Jedi master Mace Windu, particularly during his confrontation with the Sith adversary. And Peter Mayhew has a fun, if brief, appearance as Chewbacca during the Kashyyyk sequences. It is Ian McDiarmid, though, who oh-so-nonchalantly steals the show as Palpatine. In a performance that is at once seductive, schizophrenic, measured and horrific, he blends melancholy with mayhem playing both calculating politician and cackling fiend. A particular dramatic highlight is an intimate scene between him and Anakin while watching an elaborate performance art piece in a Coruscant theatre, whereby Palpatine plays on the lad's fears and trust issues while casually insinuating that the "dark side" of the Force may not be so dark after all. By now it's ridiculous to deem it a spoiler to mention Palpatine's true identity as Darth Sidious. Once he's in full Emperor mode, complete with latex make-up consistent with his look in Return Of The Jedi, McDiarmid is much more at home with the character than he was in 1983, a truly repugnant and murderous malefactor rather than merely a lightning-shooting knock-off of Mr. Burns from "The Simpsons." The dramatic arc of the film, it is almost redundant to assert, is Anakin's fall to the dark side and his turning upon mentor Obi-Wan during a (literally) heated lightsabre encounter on the volcanic planet Mustafar. Even this is nearly upstaged by a climactic confrontation between Yoda and Palpatine in the empty senatorial chamber on Coruscant, definitely a highlight in the film. Other expected plot progressions (the birth of twins Luke and Leia, the Jedi purge and exile of the surviving knights, Palpatine's coronation as Emperor) happen in due manner during the final act, and because of their significance to the later episodes, they're fascinating despite the foreknowledge of their outcomes. Visually the film is utterly stunning. But so were Menace and Clones. What sets Sith apart in this department is a more lived-in and earthy tone, even in high-tech locations. For instance, Coruscant brims with organic life and hues not seen before, when it appeared more sterile, stale and....well, CGI. The digital backdrops are such a monumental improvement that the term "CGI" is almost respectable again. There are impressive creatures such as the Boga bird-lizard which Obi-Wan rides during the Utapau segment, as well as cyborg baddie General Grievous, whose tubercolic cough hints at the nasty alien creature residing in all that droid armor. And there are even brief forays on familiar worlds Tatooine and Alderaan. A word of warning to those who've read the book and/or who've listened to the soundtrack. Matthew Stover's novel contains some dandy content (most noteworthy is a wonderful exchange between Count Dooku and Darth Sidious at the beginning) which aren't in the movie. The story is essentially the same, but it's paced much more frenetically than the tome. And on a similar note, "Duel Of The Fates" is not reprised on the album. It's in the movie, though, and used in a very relevant sequence, though probably not the one you're thinking about. And other cues on John Williams' disc are misrepresentative of how they're used in the movie, particularly in one bit of misdirection during the opening title. Forget you read the book or heard the CD if you want to maximize your enjoyment when you watch the film. The other nifty thing Revenge Of The Sith does is to place all surviving characters where they need to be for Episode IV: A New Hope, which happens about nineteen years later in the timeline and which actually came out in 1977 under the deceptively simple title Star Wars. A winner from start to finish, Episode III is marvelous entertainment. As the T-shirt says, "Sith Happens." Make sure it happens on your movie-going agenda. OFFICIAL SITE Review by Petch Lucas, for Pitofhorror.com