[Review appeared in The Herald-Sun in May 2005.]
"This is where we came in ..."
'Revenge of the Sith' completes the Star Wars saga and reaffirms George Lucas' status as a great filmmaker
By J.P. Trostle
George Lucas owes a great debt of gratitude to Ian McDiarmid.
To be sure, a large number of talented people lend their efforts to Lucas' long-awaited final chapter in the Star Wars saga, which tells how the evil galactic empire arises and Darth Vader becomes Darth Vader, but it is McDiarmid who, in his role as the sly and soft-spoken Chancellor Palpatine, pulls everything together and makes this film -- and by extension the entire series -- work.
It has never been a secret what would happen in "Revenge of the Sith''; in fact, since this movie dovetails into the story begun by Lucas 28 years ago with his first Star Wars movie, it can end in only one way: with the destruction of the Jedi Knights by Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) after he is seduced by the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader.
But it is up to McDiarmid to convincingly lure Christensen over to the evil side of the aisle, and this he does with brilliant, quiet surety.
Of course, this is also a Star Wars movie so there are the requisite epic battles, strange aliens and tons of widgets sure to be on every kid's Christmas wish list, but for once it is the calm, quiet moments that stand out. When the betrayals come, as we know they must, they arrive with a surprisingly effective pathos.
Most of the stiffness that hampered the two previous entries in the series, both in the actors' performances and the digital filming process Lucas uses, have all but disappeared (as has the much-maligned Jar-Jar Binks, who, you will be relieved to hear, has no speaking lines.)
Lucas too seems to have regained his confidence with this picture, and except for a few awkward scenes early on in the movie, has managed to rediscover the great storyteller that gave us American Graffiti (1973) and the original Star Wars (1977).
(From the start of Episode I, Lucas pushed to make the two trilogies "echo" one another, both structurally and in their dialog, and this is a big part of the prequels that hasn't worked -- including here. Like Return of the Jedi, Revenge of the Sith opens with an elaborate rescue scene where the comedy and action often fall flat, but Lucas soon regains his footing and moves in a darker, and more interesting, direction.)
One area where Lucas is more successful -- indeed it is his primary strength as a filmmaker -- is in his allusions to other great movies and creating a resonance between our pop culture past and the cool new visions he presents on the screen.
Lucas has always said he made Star Wars as an homage to the movie matinee cliffhangers he loved watching as a kid, and that he wanted the audience to feel like they had just walked into the middle of one of these Saturday serials.
With the final shot of Star Wars III, Lucas manages to evoke a reaction that has been lost from movie goers for at least a generation: that point when you turn to turn to your companions and say, "This is where we came in."
In that respect, Revenge of the Sith is a grand success.
-30-
[Sidebar]
Keeping your Star Wars straight
When Star Wars was released in 1977, George Lucas said in early interviews he originally envisioned the movie as one chapter of a 12-part series that would hark back to the days of the Saturday matinee serial. Lucas later shortened his proposed total to nine movies -- arranged as three trilogies -- and still later said he would only complete the first six films, telling the story of the fall of the Galactic Republic and the Rebellion against the Evil Empire that took its place.
After announcing in 1994 he was moving ahead with the "prequel trilogy," Lucas renamed and renumbered all the movies ... which can sometimes get a little confusing. Here then is your quick guide to the series.
The Original Trilogy
Star Wars (1977) -- renamed "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" -- in which young Luke Skywalker leaves the farm, rescues the princess and saves the day by blowing up the evil Death Star.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) -- renamed "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" -- in which Princess Leia and Han Solo fall in love while on the run from Darth Vader, and Luke discovers the truth about his daddy.
Return of the Jedi (1983) -- renamed "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi"-- in which the Rebellion defeats the Empire and Luke saves Darth Vader from himself.
The Prequel Trilogy
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) in which we meet a very young Anakin Skywalker.
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) in which war breaks out in the Republic and Anakin falls in love with Amadala
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) in which the Republic falls, Amadala gives birth to Luke and Leia, and Anakin becomes Darth Vader.