It is done!

Review by Vives Anunciacion
May 18, 2005 Inquirer Libre

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Written and Directed by George Lucas
Starring Hayden Christensen, Ewan Mc Gregor, Ian McDiarmid
General Patronage/ 140 minutes
Twentieth Century Fox/ Lucas Films
Opens May 19

Forget the disasters that were Episodes I and II. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith reinstalls the space saga George Lucas began nearly thirty years ago, and this one is worthy of the hype.

A long time ago
Star Wars was the first movie I saw as a kid, as far as my memory can recall. I remember sitting on my father’s shoulders in the standing-room only theater in Ali Mall. I recall being awed, struck by lightning as John Williams’ music thundered and the titles of Episode IV: A New Hope crawled. The magic is back with Episode III.

The Force is strong on the dark side
As all Star Wars movies open, Revenge of the Sith begins in space with two starfighters speeding towards a huge battle above Coruscant, capital of the crumbling Republic. The entire galaxy is in the midst of the Clone Wars. General Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are tasked by the Jedi Council to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) who has been kidnapped by the Separatist Alliance led by the half-droid, half-alien General Grievous.

Grievous manages to escape the Jedi despite the successful rescue. The rescued Chancellor proposes tighter measures to subdue the insurgency, while tightening his grip on the increasingly powerless Senate. Anakin is made to attend the Jedi Council on behalf of the Chancellor, to which the Jedi suspiciously accedes. The Council then instructs Anakin to spy on the Chancellor, which he resents, primarily because he is deprived of the title Master.

(spoiler warning – unless you already know what the previous Episodes imply, skip this section)
Meanwhile, Anakin is having nightmarish visions about his secretly pregnant wife, Padmè Amidala (Natalie Portman). Fearing the loss of his wife and the rebuke of the Jedi, Anakin is further tempted into the dark side of the Force by the opportunistic Chancellor.

As Anakin spirals down to the dark side, the Chancellor accuses the Jedi of secretly plotting to overthrow the Republic and outlaws them. The Jedi are assassinated at large. Master Yoda fails to thwart Palpatine (who has declared himself emperor of the galaxy), forcing the surviving Jedi to flee Coruscant and hide.

Help us Obi-Wan, you’re our only hope
Throughout Episode III, Obi-Wan propels the story to its fateful climax, from the beginning space battle, to the pursuit and defeat of Grievous, to the final confrontation between him and the dark Anakin - master and padawan. McGregor makes a great impression of Alec Guinness, the original Obi-Wan, unlike his lame impressions in Episodes I and II.

It is also Ewan McGregor’s performance that balances Ian McDiarmid’s skillfully malevolent Palpatine/ Emperor, whose role is only too crucial to Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into the sith Darth Vader. Natalie Portman, talented actress, is demoted to a whimpering bit actor.

Alas, it is childish dialogue and campy acting that hounds the prequel Episodes, including this one. What marvel and endeavor Lucas poured over his battle sequences and effects he simply gave up on cheesy dialogue.

The circle is now complete
Such a sprawling narrative to be squeezed into little more than two hours, and great editing manages to give time for the mysteries to unravel without sacrificing pace or emotion. What separates this Episode from the rest is John Williams’ glorious score. How unfortunate that Duel of the Fates is played in Episode I and not in this one.

Episode III manages to pull together the entire series, deftly hammering down most plot points that make the series whole. But it is not without some few unanswered ones still (what Leia’s role really is about, why the Force seems to favor Luke and not her; why Vader didn’t recognize Leia but recognized Luke; most of all, and most frustrating, is what the Sith and their revenge is truly about). Lucas’ disposition to let Star Wars books and animations explain its mythos further is un-cinematic at the least, shrewdly Fortune at the most.

But Episode III is galaxies better than the campy Episode I (Phantom Menace) and the cheesy Episode II (Attack of the Clones). Thankfully Episode III restores the cinematic bravura that was Episode IV: A New Hope and the classic Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Episode III belongs to the first trilogy and not with the prequels.

All told, Star Wars is a monumental (if at times flawed) achievement, a cinematic monolith spanning six movies and three decades that is one for the history books.

The force is with us, always. The balance is now restored.