Review of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) by Jazzmin M — 25 Jul 2016

This is the first Star Wars film I have ever watched, and it was just recently, too. I've heard a lot of stuff about this film being better than the other prequels, The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, and since I haven't seen any other Star Wars movie, I can only judge it by itself without comparing it to the other films.

What do I think? Honestly, I think it's actually pretty passable. Yeah, I didn't find it that horrendous. I mean, I didn't find it great or even good, but I was actually entertained by it.

Let's talk about what I liked. The opening was fun, the musical score by John Williams is well done. The film is visually appealing and atmospheric, the action is fun, especially the fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan on Mustafar, and even certain bits of acting are actually quite effective.

Speaking of acting, let's talk about Hayden Christensen. I actually thought casting him as Anakin was a decent one. His performance wasn't good, but at the same time, I didn't think it was terrible, at least in this film.

A lot of the line delivery wasn't very good or emotional. However, I could tell he was at least trying with what he was given. The same can be said for Natalie Portman. The romantic dialogue between them is really forced.

I haven't seen Hayden Christensen in anything else, and feel pretty bad for him. It's like his portrayal as Anakin ruined his career. He even won Golden Raspberry Award for his performance in this movie.

Trust me, I've seen worse. I don't think he really deserved it. His performance was bad, but not horrendously bad. From what I've read, he's a good actor. What people need to realize is that it's not always the actor or actress's fault that his or her performance was bad.

Actors have the put a lot of trust in their directors, and the director is responsible, obviously, for directing the actors. So if the director is unfocused, than most likely he's going to mislead the actors, especially since George Lucas is one of those directors who controls every aspect and wants his actors to follow directions precisely.

Remember Mark Wahlberg from The Happening with "What? No"? I mean, think about it. If a director has a problem with the way a line was said, don't you think he'd try to fix it? Since the bad line delivery in the film stayed, obviously George Lucas thought it was good.

So no, it's not Hayden's fault that his performance was crappy, and with some of the dialogue that Lucas wrote, can you blame him? On top of that, Hayden definitely looked the part. Like I said though, there are a couple scenes in which the acting and dialogue are done well, particularly the opera house scene and the scene in which Padme tells Anakin that she's pregnant.

I thought they were great. Another great scene is one in which Padme and Anakin are separated, and both are contemplating what will happen to themselves and each other. I think Hayden's good acting ability shows more when he doesn't have to say any bad dialogue and just has to act with his facial expressions.

He can really demand a strong presence and can come off as pretty intimidating. I also like the way the film visually tells its story. Ewan McGreggor as young Obi-Wan Kenobi is decent enough. I think he gave a fine performance in the movie and he manages to make a lot of the dialogue less painful.

Ian McDiarmid is entertaining as Palpatine, and he does have enjoyably silly moments. Samuel L. Jackson's performance is kind of forgettable and his line delivery is pretty weak, too. As for the characters themselves, I liked them.

I liked Anakin. I liked Obi-Wan. I liked Palpatine. I didn't want Anakin to turn to the Dark Side of the Force, and I was so angry at Palpatine for enticing him. Curse you Palpatine! Yoda is pretty cool and likeable.

I guess the only characters I didn't care much for was Padme and Mace. Yeah, I just didn't find them really interesting, but I did feel kind of bad when Padme died. The biggest problem I have with the movie is the story.

Not the actual narrative itself, but the pacing. It felt a little rushed to me. They spend a lot of time focusing on Anakin's struggles with the Jedi Council and trying to find a way to save Padme, and I think it's good, but I felt that it could've been focused on more.

The most rushed part of the story is when Anakin finally gives in, turns to the Dark Side, and is dubbed Darth Vader. It happens in damn millisecond. I would've liked it better if they just slowed down and took their time to show the internal struggle that Anakin is going through.

It's there, but it's too rapidly slapped together and it doesn't really sink in. In one scene he's trying to convince Mace not to kill Palpatine and eight minutes later he's killing innocent children off-screen.

I mean, come on. Darth Vader is one of the best villains in cinema, and seeing how he turned to the Dark Side sounds extremely interesting. They could've done something so good with this. It could've been dark, it could've been deep, it could've been thought-provoking and philosophical.

It could've been very emotional, heartbreaking and tragic, but no. It's just too fast and rushed. I also didn't find the relationship between him and Padme very strong, but I liked the relationship between him and Obi-Wan.

The scene where Vader yells "no" bothered me as well. It just felt so silly for what should have been a really emotional moment. I would've liked it better if he dropped to his knees and everything crumbled all around him or just something more effective.

I guess my final verdict is that Revenge of the Sith is bad, but there's enough good things, heck, really good things, in it that makes it worth watching, and I think people don't give it enough credit.

There are many things I enjoyed, and some things I didn't enjoy. I like it overall. For my first ever Star Wars film, it was fun. I'm not a huge fan of Star Wars and I'm just starting to get into it, but this was a good start.

Not sure if I can recommend it, but for me, it was a nice experience.