Review of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) by Dion D — 13 May 2017

We come to the conclusion of the Star Wars prequel trilogy with Revenge of the Sith, a film which was regarded at the time as a bit of a return to form. And in the moment, Sith not only is very enjoyable in turns but also contains scenes with great gravitas and power.

Unfortunately, the whole is less than the sum of its parts, and this is the film that reveals the entire prequel trilogy enterprise to be nothing but sound and fury, signifying nothing. Rather than being a great tragedy exploring moral uncertainty, we're given a story where Darth Vader is revealed to be a petulant psychopath without any redeeming qualities, and Padme is reduced to a blubbering mess who is deluded enough to believe that Anakin was once a good man.

Like The Phantom Menace, Revenge of the Sith can be fun if you totally forget that this is ostensibly the same universe as The Empire Strikes Back, but as an addition to the saga, it's largely a failure, and it represents the final nail in the coffin for the prequel trilogy as a whole.