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Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Widescreen Edition) (2005) 
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Added: 08/19/2005
Rating: 4.50 (25 votes) Rate This Product
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Description: Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid has kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). It's just the latest maneuver in the ongoing Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist forces led by former Jedi turned Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). On another front, Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) leads the Republic's clone troops against a droid attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. All this is in the first half of Episode III, which feels a lot like Episodes I and II. That means spectacular scenery, dazzling dogfights in space, a new fearsome villain (the CGI-created Grievous can't match up to either Darth Maul or the original Darth Vader, though), lightsaber duels, groan-worthy romantic dialogue, goofy humor (but at least it's left to the droids instead of Jar-Jar Binks), and hordes of faceless clone troopers fighting hordes of faceless battle droids.
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Review By kostik.lv@gmail.com, 08/19/2005
George Lucas created a world "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...", which was released in 1977. Initially, this venture was called Star Wars, which later became known as Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Millions of viewers were amazed by this tale where good fought against evil. Together with strange aliens and powerful characters both good and evil were all united under one power, the Force. Lucas creatively invented a whole galaxy with its own mythology, history, economics, and politics. The success was given, as Lucas and other filmmakers released the sequel Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back three years later, as the adventures of the Luke Skywalker came to a conclusion in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Years later, Lucas decided to tell the tale of Darth Vader's origin and how the war between good and evil came about in the galaxy far, far away. The first film in this prequel trilogy is Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), which builds the background of how Obi-Wan Kenobi and the child Anakin Skywalker unite amidst the fight against evil. The second part came as Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), which introduces Anakin to love, and eventually passion. Passion is a crucial element in the mythology of Force, as it could lead people astray into the Dark Side, organized under Sith. To better understand the Sith, one should know the Sith Code by which the Dark Side abides by, which states:
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion I gain strength.
Through strength I gain power.
Through power I gain victory.
Through victory my chains are broken.
The Force shall set me free."
In Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith the audience is thrown into the film, and if the audience lacks the information from the two previous film from 1999 and 2002 it might be a little hard to follow. Nonetheless, after the crawling customary launch text that explains the beginning, the film brings the viewers to the opening scene. This scene displays a peaceful light of a star radiating over an impressive spaceship. Soon after this hopeful, yet misleading scene two tiny one-manned spacecrafts with Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) fly around the ship to dive into an amazing space battle. This battle must be one of the most detailed and largest space wars in cinema history, as the audience can see space crafts and droids, i.e., robots, shooting lasers and using other innovative weapons while trying to exterminate each other as far as the eye can reach.
Obi-wan and Anakin's mission during this immense battle is to find and stop Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and his friends-at-arms, the monstrous droid leader, General Grievious, who has kidnapped the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from the Republic Senate. Their task to find and free the Chancellor turns into a flashy and humming light saber spectacle, as the two Jedi easily overpower the feeble droids. However, General Grievious evades while Count Dooku puts up a tough battle of the Force before facing a different destiny. This light saber battle ends with the beginning of what all devoted Star Wars fans know: Anakin's turn to the Dark Side as he later will become Darth Vader, who the audience has seen in the three films that were made in the 70s and the 80s.
After the battle, which ends victorious, the story moves into a debriefing mode that informs about a number of subplots. This part suffers from too many quick jumps, which could have been saved with an additional five minutes, but the film regains it strength after this and does not look back. The debriefing brings some of what happened in the previous film, Attack of the Clones, where Anakin fell in love with Padmé (Natalie Portman) and now their love for each other continues to grow. To complicate things Padmé is pregnant, and Jedi are not allowed to form eternal bonds, as it could cloud the judgment of a Jedi. To further explain this notion there is a Jedi Code, which is not mentioned directly in the film but it states:
"There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no death; there is the Force."
Yet, Anakin defies the Jedi Council and the laws of a Jedi by following his emotions. Other side plots exist such as the Chancellor's interest in Anakin, which overtly could help the audience deduce the true identity of the Chancellor, and the Jedi Council's caution to allow Anakin to become a Master Jedi due to his passionate ambition. All of this is set on a known course, as the previous five films indulge the viewer about what will happen. For example, Darth Vader in the films from the 80s was heavily scarred and he was Luke's father, as he said "I am your father" in The Empire Strikes Back. In the end, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith ties up all of the loose ends in a neat manner in order to continue to the original film from 1977.
Most of the film shows much better cinematography than Episode I and Episode II, in fact some parts are brilliant. For example, the opening sequence with the star shining on the spaceship, as previously mentioned, displays the strength in the camerawork, even though it is composed of computer generated images. There are also several other scenes where the camerawork is exceptional, and this truly elevates the cinematic experience. The special effects also help, as the film is packed with cool CGI and fun stunts. One should not forget to mention the cast, which is excellent in this film. The cold presence of Anakin is well performed by Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor provides a look that resembles the original Obi-wan Kenobi, Alec Guinness. Also, Ian McDiarmid provides a stellar performance as the deceptive Chancellor where he presents an excellent ambiguous character. All facets of the making of this film conclude with a cinematic experience that competes with the fifth episode, The Empire Strikes Back.
Ultimately, Lucas takes the audience on a thrilling adventure, even though the end will not reveal any great surprises, as he finally brings Star Wars in a full circle. Besides being a science fiction adventure Lucas also offers several interesting notions to ponder. One of these ideas that he considered is the complexity of the human psyche. In this process Lucas provides an interesting and easily understood thesis that suggests one of the possible origins of evil. Lucas even gives it a face through Anakin who eventually will turn into one of the centuries most iconic faces for evil - Darth Vader.
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