Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Review
Twice the pride, double the fall
What Happens in Revenge of the Sith?
Fresh off a massive battle with Count Doku and his army, Obi-Wan and Anakin are tasked with rescuing Senator Palpatine from the Count. During their battle, Obi-Wan gets knocked out and leaves Anakin alone with Count Doku and the Senator. Anakin breaks the Jedi code, and his tumble towards the dark side begins. Obi-Wan recovers, the pair sets out to find General Grievous aboard the same ship, intending to stop the separatist movement once and for all.
Who are the characters in Revenge of the Sith?
Anakin Skywalker is still having nightmares that express his fear of losing those he cares about. Anakin is still trying to follow the Jedi code but a series of decisions begin to lead him down a dark path.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is trying to follow a lead to find General Grievous and he is journeying alone. While he is gone he tries to have faith in his padawan but he knows the doubts of the council and he knows they can’t just be dismissed. Obi-Wan tries to abide by his training to do the right thing.
The Revenge of the Sith Review
By far this is the best film of the prequel trilogy with better pacing, acting and overall just a better film. Right out of the gate it opens with an exciting action scene that incorporates all of the typical Star Wars action types like lightsaber fights and space battles. The fight is also quite long which means you do get a lot of action which is a good thing. Anakin’s conflict is set up right away as well which is good because it is my favourite part of the film. Anakin’s fall to the dark side is what the whole trilogy has built towards and it does not disappoint giving Anakin ( played by Hayden Christensen) a lot of great character moments and development time with a lot of emotional scenes for him and Padme and him and Obi-Wan.
The story of this film isn’t too complicated with it focusing on two storylines; one dealing with Obi-Wan and the war and the other Anakin’s journey and each relates and compliments. The original trilogy sets up a downfall for the Jedi as they are pretty much nonexistent at that point and I like the way it goes down in the film. The action is at its best for the trilogy with many great scenes that have really cool-looking action with good emotional stakes that the original trilogy always had. The characters are also at their best and other than Obi-Wan and Anakin I would also say characters like Yoda, Padme, and Palpatine get many moments to shine throughout the runtime of this film.
The political talk was also lessened in this film which I think helped the overall flow of the story as well. This film easily touches on some of the darkest themes in Star Wars and all the themes of fear, loss, betrayal ,and murder are all treated with respect and given great significance. The whole film builds to an epic climax with one of the best lightsaber fights of the franchise with a great score by John Williams in the background.
The setup for the original trilogy is well done and given just enough importance while not overshadowing the main story. If I had one complaint it would be that the dialogue still was a little awkward at times.
All in all, this is a great end to an okay trilogy that certainly ends Star Wars week on a high note. If you are a first-time viewer or are doing your trilogy re-watch I would highly recommend it. So hop on Disney+ and get transported to a galaxy far far away.
