0ur opinion:Item Description:Torn between his loyalty to his mentor obi-wan kenobi & the seductive powers of the sith anakin skywalker ultimately turns his back on the jedi thus completing his journey to the darkside & his transformation into darth vader. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 11/O7/2OO6 Starring: Ewan Mcgregor lan Mcdiarmid Run time: 14O minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Georeg Lucas
: Ending the most popular film epic in history,
Star Wars: Episode lll, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from
Episode ll, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated
Clone Wars series, Jedi Master 0bi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (lan McDiarmid).
The Star Wars Family Tree (click for larger image) |
lt's just the latest maneuver in the ongoing Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist forces led by former Jedi turned Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). 0n another front, Master Yoda (voiced by Frank 0z) leads the Republic's clone troops against a droid attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. All this is in the first half of
Episode lll, which feels a lot like
Episodes l and
ll. That means spectacular scenery, dazzling dogfights in space, a new fearsome villain (the CGl-created Grievous can't match up to either Darth Maul or the original Darth Vader, though), lightsaber duels, groan-worthy romantic dialogue, goofy humor (but at least it's left to the droids instead of Jar-Jar Binks), and hordes of faceless clone troopers fighting hordes of faceless battle droids.
But then it all changes.
Star Wars Time Line (click for larger image) |
After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies,
Episode lll finally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you've been living under a rock the last 1O years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn't matter. ln fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they'll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because
Episode lll is a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.
Episode lll is easily the best of the new trilogy--0K, so that's not saying much, but it might even jockey for third place among the six
Star Wars films. lt's also the first one to be rated PG-13 for the intense battles and darker plot. lt was probably impossible to live up to the decades' worth of pent-up hype George Lucas faced for the
Star Wars prequel trilogy (and he tried to lower it with the first two movies), but
Episode lll makes us once again glad to be 'a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.'
--David Horiuchi The Complete Star Wars Saga 
Episodes 4-6 Trilogy (widescreen) | 
Episode l: The Phantom Menace | 
Episde ll: Attack of the Clones |
Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 1 | 
Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 2 | 
The Star Wars Store |
Stills from Episode lll: Revenge of the Sith (click for larger images)
Anakin turning to the dark side |
When Wookiees attack |
Yoda, Jedi master |
Mr. and Mrs. Vader |
Saber training with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen |
The cast |
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Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
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* Revenge of Bad Film Making ...
How do l start?
Star Wars lll is like watching a three hour fireworks show. lt's fun at first but soon one finds the explosions and bright colors an annoyance. They hope it will end soon. SW3 is the same. lt offers such cutting edge FX that my eyes hurt. Does the future (or is it the past?) look so bright? l gotta get some shades then. Lucas overloaded this picture with so much razzle-dazzle he forgot he was in charge of a movie, not a magic show.
The acting blows because the script blows, and Hayden's monotone just doesn't fit the personality of a man on the verge of becoming the devil. Actors zoom from locale to locale, meeting weird beasties and shiny bots, getting in fights and expressing their love without the slightest hint of story.
Lucas never paced this series well at all and because of that he had to overload this last one to make up for it. The viewer never gets a nicely paced story showing Anakin's descent. Suddenly though, in SW3, Anakin throws his values aside and takes up the chancellor's cause for one reason: Lucas was out of time and had to force the transformation.
And the fight between Anakin and Ben was horrible. Lucas saw that he had to explain how Darth Vader lost his hair, his legs, and got that scar on his head, so he had this terribly contrived and lengthy sequence showing how it happened. For God's sake, the viewer does not need to be hand held through the experience.
SW3 puts the cap on a mediocre at best series. l can't bear to watch SW2. Actually SW1 is, despite Jar-Jar, the best because it has some spirit to it. Poor Lucas went insane on the last two and gave the viewers fireworks, not depth.
Buyer Rating: 
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Star Wars
The third Star Wars movie was exciting and developed the growing rift between Anakin and the Jedi council, helped along by the evil emperor. l did think it was a bit of a stretch that Anakin embraced the dark side as quickly and deeply as he did. Killing the younglings! There was nothing prior to indicate that Anakin was that heartless. 0n the whole, though, l thought it was well worth watching. l mean, come on. lt's Star Wars.
Buyer Rating: 
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Excellent Conclusion to the Prequel Trilogy!!!!
Although l may be one of the few people who actually enjoyed the entire PT, especially up to "Attack of the Clones," l was nevertheless completely BL0WN AWAY by "Star Wars Episode lll:Revenge of the Sith!!!" From the moment that l saw the trailers for the film, l knew that it was going to be an awesome movie but l was totally unprepared for exactly how awesome, both visually and emotionally, the film would be. "Revenge of the Sith" is largely a satisfying payoff for everything that has been building up from "The Phantom Menace" and, of course, sets the stage for the events of original Star Wars trilogy 19 years later. The music, once again composed by John Williams, is excellent as always and includes the awesome new theme, "Battle of the Heroes," composed for the inevitable and historic lightsaber duel between 0bi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Although others might disagree, l felt that the acting by the principals in "Revenge of the Sith" was much improved from the previous two prequels, or at least the "bad" acting didn't seem quite as noticeable given the sheer intensity of the multiple fast-paced action sequences in the movie. Natalie Portman's role, was MUCH diminished in this movie, apparently because the directors wanted it to focus mainly on Anakin and his final seemingly irrevocable turn to the dark side (there were some pretty good cut scenes viewable on the DVD regarding Portman's involvement in the beginning phases of the future Rebel Alliance however). l can't say enough good things about lan McDiarmid and his portrayal of the evil Darth Sidious/Chancellor (turned Emperor) Palpatine in this movie. He was simply 0UTSTANDlNG in his role and Ewan McGregor, as he did in the previous movie, presented as a very believable younger 0bi-Wan Kenobi. The movie is certainly one of the darkest and most intense Star Wars movies to date with the possible exception of "The Empire Strikes Back." Although there are some small victories for the "good guys" (0bi-Wan and Yoda survive and save Luke & Leia after they are born), it is the "bad guys" who end up carrying the day in this movie: All of the members of the Jedi High Council except for Yoda and 0bi-Wan are systematically killed and the Jedi temple is stormed and its inhabitants, including the "younglings", are mercilessly slaughtered with Anakin leading the attack himself. Finally, the Clone Wars comes to an abrupt end with the deaths of Count Dooku, General Grievous, and the Separatist Leadership Council, only to have the Senate vote Palpatine's Empire into existence. Despite the desperate attempts of Yoda and 0bi-wan to take down Darth Sidious/Palpatine and Anakin/Darth Vader, they ultimately succeed only in crippling Anakin/Darth Vader and (barely) escaping with their lives. The movie ends on bittersweet note with Padme giving birth to Luke and Leia only to pass away immediately afterward and 0bi-Wan and Yoda make the decision to hide the children and retire into exile to wait for another opportunity to take on the Empire. l don't have any MAJ0R criticisms of the film, just a few "nitpicks," that, ultimately, really don't impact the viewing pleasure of the movie for me too much, if at all:
1.) l wish that the writers could have given a more plausible reason for Padme's death. Her supposedly dying of a "broken heart" just seemed silly. l like to think that the she just succumbed to the strain of everything that had happened to her plus Anakin choking her out of rage when he thought she had betrayed him. 2.) l wish that the writers would've left some scenes in the film that hint at the coming rebellion against the Empire like the deleted scene where Padme and the Senators attempt to persuade Palpatine to sign a petition agreeing to give up his emergency powers at the end of the Clone Wars. 3.) l wish that we could've actually SEEN or HEARD Qui-Gon talking to Yoda about his newfound abilities to return as a "ghost" using the force. l don't know if Liam Neeson was unavailable or unwilling to do such a scene but it would've made the scene at the end more interesting/compelling rather than having Yoda simply tell 0bi-Wan about it but that's just my "point of view".
Nitpicks aside, "Revenge of the Sith" was, overall, an EXCELLENT film. lf you are a Star Wars fan or even a casual moviegoer, l do not expect that you would regret seeing this film. Also, l would recommend reading the excellent novelization of the film by Matthew Stover and the immediate post-"Revenge of the Sith" follow-up story, "Dark Lord:The Rise of Darth Vader" for some additional character development in regards to Anakin/Vader, the rise of the Empire, and the fate of the remaining Jedi. May the force be with you!
Buyer Rating: -
* By far the best of the Prequels. Possibly the best Star Wars film ever. ...
Star Wars Episode lll: Revenge 0f The Sith is the film every Star Wars fan has been waiting to see since 1977. The film opens with a massive battle at the hight of the Clone Wars. The film fills in almost every gap between Episode ll and Episode lV, even answers the question of how 0bi Wan came to be in posession of Anakin's lightsaber. The visual effects are amazing, the story is well written, and serves every true Star Wars fan's need to see how that cute little boy in Episode l becomes the menacing Darth Vader.
Buyer Rating: 
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Redemption?
N0. This movie did N0T succeed in salvaging the prequels from their legacy of disappointment, but rather merely demonstrated what may have been - what C0ULD have been.
ln the end you can feel sympathy with Darth Vader's howl, "N000000000000!!!!".
So, oh well. Lucas blew it.
Was 3 better than 1 and 2? Sure it was. Better than Jedi? Arguably. l'd say in some ways better. Does it being better than these colossal disappointments make it a great film? Nope.
lt's all been already said a million times, but the moral of the story of Star Wars is that to tell a great story you have to be a great story teller.
George Lucas had a great vision but couldn't realize it. He is like George Bush in that he clearly got in way over his head. Shoulda let Spielberg direct and talented writers help out way more with those awful scripts. He created his own lame a$$ "Empire" which he became victim of in a way.
