Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) ***1/2

 Revenge of the Sith is the last lap of the muddy track known as the Star wars prequels. The previous two installments had left so much to be desired that the bar was set very low when this film premiered over a decade ago. Ironically, this is the film that we knew most of the plot going in if you had seen the original Star Wars films. Would the film mimic what our minds had teased us with for the decades after the original trilogy ended? That was the biggest mystery of Episode III.

The film is set five years after Attack of the Clones with Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan MacGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christansen) are heroes of the Republic in their fight against the Separatists led by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and General Grievous. The film opens with them heroically saving Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) in an epic space battle that really does mesmerize as an opening scene, especially compared to the previous two films. The film  then follows Anakin’s fall from grace as he needs to protect his secret pregnant wife Padme (Natalie Portman) from the death he sees in his dreams.

As with the previous two films, Revenge of the Sith falls victim to Lucas not being able to connect the dots of his story. Where this film differs from them is that the dots are bigger and fill a larger spectrum of the narrative, making it more tolerable to enjoy. There are still cringe worthy moments of acting that either pain you or make you chuckle inside, but there have been improvements. Sadly, this comes during the final piece of the saga that is in Lucas’ hands. It’s an action packed story with a dual finish that sets up everything that comes after it (while leaving plot holes that makes us wonder if George has even watched any of the original films since their release). It is a better film than the first two, but is it the equivalent to the original three? No, not really. It’s more a nostalgia piece for those films as it bridges this vision to the original films three decades ago.

Of course one has to wonder whether this film is better because we had such low expectations after getting burned the last two times. It’s like a kid who is a straight D student scoring a B and being excited by it. Progress! Maybe there is hope, but this was the final film and we will never know if George Lucas found his way again. Of course this film is filled with CGI and it does distract from the story, but the audience has learned to block that out by now. The prequel trilogy does end on a high note… for the prequel trilogy. Revenge of the Sith serves as the bridge that brings everything together. It’s not the sturdiest structure, but it does the job and keeps the audience enthralled during most of the film. An improvement, but far below what the audience would have expected in 1999. In 2005 the audiences is pleasantly surprised by the film, in a good way. A decent film, but not a good Star wars film.