Review of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) by Jt F — 08 Jan 2016

Much like its two predecessors, Revenge of the Sith has enough mindless, wall-to-wall CGI and flashy glow-stick fencing so as to be wholly intangible and even headache-inducing. On the acting side of things, Ewan McGregor, Ian McDiarmid, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, and (later) Jimmy Smits hold the film together as best as they can given the schlocky screenwriting, and you can tell Hayden Christensen really is trying (by the way, that was him in the Vader suit at the end, so props).

ROTS truly stands out among the prequels, however, in its triumphant (but still inescapably uneven and ridiculous) final act of Shakespearean tragedy and sometimes poignant melodrama. Vader's rise towards the end, and the way he force-crushes the surgical room in his anguish, makes up for nearly every hilariously misguided Anakin character beat Lucas couldn't help but go through with.

Revenge ultimately accomplishes the goal it sets for itself: tying the prequels and the originals together. By that standard alone, the film is a success.