Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

At last we get some semblance of the original trilogy with this action adventure iteration that is much darker and character-driven. Hayden Christensen's "Anakin" is coming to realise what really will turn him into the ultimate evil "Darth Vader" under the guise of his new mentor "Palpatine" (a magnificently, if theatrical, Ian McDiarmid). It's end to end action; the cast have thrown off their romantic notions from "Attack of the Clones" and we are setting the scene, properly, for "A New Hope" at the same time ridding ourselves of the baggage that weighed down the first two in this triplet. Curiously enough, the effects don't work so well in this, but George Lucas, David Tattersall and John Williams deliver a much, much better fantasy drama with some great galactic swashbuckling at the end...

MORE REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/ Rewatching before OBI-WAN KENOBI. When it comes to film sagas with massive fandoms, you'll find fans of literally all installments. STAR WARS has 11 movies and surely all are someone's #1. That said, REVENGE OF THE SITH proves to be an improvement in pretty much every single aspect compared to the first two prequels. The narrative and its character arcs receive a much more interesting treatment - we finally get to witness Anakin's turn to the dark side and the rise of the Galactic Empire. Lightsaber fights are more captivating, visuals still hold up rather well, and even the performances are more convincing - dialogue remains pretty bad, especially within the love relationship between Anakin and Padmé, but Christensen surpasses his previous performance. The score continues to be as memorable as ever. It may be far from my personal favorites, but it's, without a doubt, a film that deserves the positive evolution it has received as well as its fans. Clearly, the prequel that George Lucas always wanted to make, with no shifts in focus, irrelevant characters, or low-impact subplots. Rating: B-

I had lost hope in the Prequels when they first came out - disappointing isnt a strong enough word to explain it, but its the best I can do. So I came into this film with low expectations... I knew it wouldnt be great and I knew what it had to do to link up with the original Star Wars. And then, this one surprised me (and still does). The plot is taut, because it has to be (it has a lot of ground to cover). The universe that was made in Ep 1 has to change dramatically to become Ep 4. And the dialogue is mildly better (but still has its moments). The opening action scene wowed at the time (and still does). And some of the duels are excellent - ObiWan vs Grievous was fun and (of course) ObiWan vs Anakin was superb - they had weight and impact and the swings actually "landed" (which is more than can be said for the other ones which just seemed to be dances). And the acting is actually improved a bit - for a moment Christensen actually showed some talent (and he has shown this in other movies, just not in these). He lets himself have an instant of regret after one of his killing sprees before refocusing back to his "angry state." It makes me wonder about how much emotion could have been put into this movie with a different director. McGregor is the best actor here. Portman shines, but is underused. Jackson is wooden in this. And McDiarmid over acts and loses his sinisterness - he is better in the shadows in this role, either sitting or standing still. When he does something more (even walking starts to get too much), he loses all believability (which is a shame as he is a fine actor in other roles). The score still remains typically 'Star Wars' - great. The costumes have evolved again (it has been great watching the costumes change through these movies). And the CGI is great in this - every background has something moving in it. There are flaws with this film - many of them that I have not already touched on, but others have so I wont. But, overall this movie is fun, and a good way to spend over 2 hours. And by the time the helmet comes on at the end, you are there in the moment, holding your breath, waiting for that epic scuba sound to start.