Star Wars review

[carl]

I've been waiting nearly 23 years for this moment to arrive! 23 years spent sitting in front of a TV screen enthralled by the ominous character of Darth Vader and wondering how anybody could possibly get that damn cool. Needless to say that when George Lucas finally got around to doing his prequel trilogy I for one was impressed. The Phantom Menace for me (and often I can feel alone in this) was a thoroughly satisfying fantasy adventure film that kept me just as entertained as the originals, whilst still setting up the pieces for a much darker game. Sadly Attack Of The Clones came as a disappointment. It's not that I didn't enjoy it (far from it) but when you've been waiting 20 years to see a character's origin story you do want something a little better than an awkward chat up line involving a girls face and a planet full of sand!!!

Needless to say it left me with decidedly lower expectations for Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, but they were low expectations that the films opening shot completely obliterated. A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...War! What a way to start the epilogue. The text then rolls down the screen explaining how Chancellor Palpatine has been captured by Count Dooku and 2 Jedi knights have been dispatched to rescue him. Suddenly we find ourselves face to face with that droid ship in a pan out shot that sets up the awe inspiring threat just as well as the famous opening to Episode IV: A New Hope. From this point on it's action all the way as Anakin and Obi-Wan crash a couple of fighters into the hanger of this ship, literally flying out of their cockpits and completely obliterating all of the droid guards in a blink of the eye. The 2 of them then make their way to the bridge where they get to do battle with the evil Count Dooku; a fight that gives the captive senator a chance to begin his mind games on Anakin, and, well you know where it goes from there.

I think that what pleased me the most about this film was that from this point on Anakin's internal struggle wasn't portrayed as the shallow good to evil twist you may be expecting. Quite the contrary, the reasons given for the choice are many, some made more obvious than others, but nevertheless those reasons were believable enough for me to be able to continue relating with Anakin even down to his darkest hour. One of the largest reasons for this really came down to the work of one man, Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor palpatine. The way that this actor so deliciously brings out the characters cunning throughout the film makes his manipulation of Anakin completely believable, giving an all new light to old villains and making exchanges between the 2 into some of the most chilling scenes in Star Wars History. Still I also feel that credit should go to Hayden Christensen who really shines here. Forgetting the sheer horror that was his last performance he goes on to give Anakin's confusion and fear the credit they deserve to elicit the audiences sympathy, and he absolutely revels in the characters hatred in the films later stages.

This does mean that the film is one of, if not the, most emotional Star Wars film to date. It's just that bearing witness to these things, seeing what Anakin sees, finding out why he does what he does, and then seeing the reactions of his closest friends who lack this knowledge will really tug at the heart strings. Even the awkward moments between Anakin and Padme become emotional in the new context, and, well a friend recently asked me how I could shrug off Titanic and cry at Star Wars but I challenge you to see the final exchange between Obi-Wan and Anakin and not feel the need for some tissues.

Of course if all this melo drama doesn't sound like your thing then I must also mention the fact that Episode III is jam packed full of action. A number of these scenes are, in the spirit of the film, darker and more emotional than the usual highly choreographed action of a Star Wars film. In fact when the final duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan came along it got really close in for a much more aggressive light sabre duel that elicited just as much emotion as the concluding battle to Return Of The Jedi.

That's not to say that the film is completely void of a sense of fun though. In fact some of the films bigger action scenes do exist purely for the audience to have fun, including a fight between Obi-Wan and General Grievous (a sort of prototype Darth Vader from the clone wars cartoon, and yes his coughing is explained there), and both R2-D2 and Yoda getting to kick some serious booty. In fact both characters managed to light up the screen whenever they appeared thanks to a series of action scenes that were clever enough to be funny for adults and children alike. It's exactly what you need to lighten the tone of an otherwise terminally bleak tale, purely because Star Wars has always been about having fun. However it must be noted that the restraint placed on C3-P0 and the complete muting of Jar-Jar ensures that this fun can be achieved without annoying the hell out of adults.

There's no doubt still going to be justified complaints about the film from other critics. I'll be honest and admit that the acting is mostly wooden, with most of the important actors lacking chemistry and relying on the script to provide most of the emotion. Also a lot of the dialogue, particularly romantic dialogue, can get very stilted throughout. However this is nothing new to the Star Wars universe as every film in the saga has these same faults, and as science fiction serials they never bothered me before either. With it's amazing special effects throughout, a return for John Williams greatest musical score, a darker story tempered with a little harmless fun, and good choreography, Episode III remains a fantastic entry into the genre. It easily surpasses the other prequels, and if people accept it for what it is will be remembered alongside The Empire Strikes Back as one of the most emotional and exciting fantasy serials ever made.


4.5/5