A Good Movie Revenge Of The Sith Was

On Saturday night, Auntee and I went to see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. She took me to see Episode I and Episode II so it's fitting that I end up seeing what may be the last Star Wars film with her. This film has had a lot of hype (and made a lot of money so far) so I will sum it up in one sentence: Star Wars Episode III is the best film of this trilogy. Is it the best of all the Star Wars films? Probably not. However, it is actually a pretty good movie.

I've always felt that Star Wars fans had unrealistic expectations for the movies of the prequel trilogy. I think a lot of people look at the Star Wars films through either rose-colored glasses (the original three) or black-tinted ones (the prequels). I have never thought that the Star Wars movies were as great as everyone said they were. I liked the movies, to be sure, but I always felt they were a little overrated.

That being said, I did enjoy Episode III. Everything (except the dialogue) was a little bit better than Episode II. The acting in the Star Wars movies has always been bad (Lucas cannot direct acting, plain and simple) but the performances were better this time around. The best performances really belong to Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine, and Frank Oz as the voice of Yoda. The special effects are great all around and the movie is wonderful to look at. The detail is amazing and the action sequences (especially Obi-Wan and Anakin's lightsaber duel) are great. The story is pretty good this time around and easy to follow. Anakin's transition to the dark side wasn't as smooth as it could've been. I kind of felt that the movie needed more time to really develop Anakin's descent to the dark side. One transition I was really glad about was that of Yoda. He felt like a real flesh-and-blood character in this film as opposed to a CG abomination or a puppet. A lot of it probably had to do with Frank Oz's vocal performance but the effects people at ILM should commend themselves for the job they did with Yoda.

Overall, I think Revenge Of The Sith was a good way to end the Star Wars saga. Yes,it could have been darker and a little more complex, but the Star Wars movies, despite their scale, have never really aspired to be complex, science-fiction masterpieces. The Star Wars films are glorious popcorn fluff filled with great story, great action, bad acting, and bad dialogue. It's amazing that they have become such a part of our popular culture as much as they have.