Review of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) by Taylor N — 21 Dec 2015

I feel this has aged well. Imaginatively it's spectacular. For example, I like the droid General Grievous...as well as the scenes with the Wookies. I also feel Yoda is deftly portrayed, filled with wisdom, and complete understanding of what is going on. One of my favorite parts is when he tells Palpatine he has too much confidence in his new apprentice, and in the dark side. This comment ultimately turns out to be correct, it just takes a few decades to manifest.

I love how this sets things up for the original trilogy, and it all plays out perfectly because George Lucas had it planned. It's not like these movies were an afterthought, so the result is they fit with the original trilogy extremely well. When Palpatine strengthens the republic, bringing the systems together, that is the formation of the empire! At the end Yoda decides to go into exile, to the swamp planet. You see the decaying of the Jedi, and this makes it resonate when, in Episode IV, Obi-Wan talks about the old Jedi.

The development of Palpatine is terrific, and one of the most horrible parts is when he persuades Anakin to chop off Samuel Jackson's arm. This is the turning point, and from then on Anakin is so twisted-not even evil, but lost, hopelessly confused. He force chokes Padme! I think he still loves her, but he's too twisted; he wants her more as chattel rather than his wife. Also, when you look at Anakin, especially when he's under distress, he looks so much like Mark Hamill, who will be his future son, it's uncanny.

Mostly this movie is about Anakin, and I think it speaks to the importance of Vader's character that there are three movies basically dedicated to him. The most heartbreaking part for me is at the end when he's rebuilt as Vader, and the first thing he asks, the first words out his mouth, are about Padme. He's too confused to know that part of his life, his old identity, is gone. Then the evilness of Palpatine comes through: he quickly lies to him, grinning, pleased with what he has created. At this point Vader is broken down, incredibly strong with the force but lacking a will of his own. It makes sense how he ends up the way he does. It's beautiful to see him side by side with Palpatine observing the construction of the Death Star, which will set off the rest of the movies.