And now some closure for us all. This is important. How often do we get to properly say our goodbyes? This is our second shot at saying farewell to the galaxy far faraway. It hardly feels that way does it? With all of the re-mastering and re-releasing of the original Star Wars trilogy, it seems as if a whole new saga has taken shape. Indeed it has. George Lucas has had the time (and money) to fully realize the epic he wanted to tell. Revenge of the Sith is where both halves of the saga meet, and we all know what happens on the other side.
The action doesn’t skip a beat from the end of Attack of the Clones. We are immediately thrust right into the thick of the Clone War. The Clone Army under the command of the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) fights against the Separatist movement lead by the slippery Count Dooku (Chrisitopher Lee). Our Jedi Knights lead the clones into battles against new enemies such as the demonic and temperamental droid General Grievous. Anakin (Hayden Christensen) makes a triumphant return to his new bride, Padme (Natalie Portman). The Republic stands, but it is in great peril. Masters Yoda (Frank Oz), Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), and Kenobi (Ewan McGregorr) sense the looming of the dark side of the force. From here on is a twisting and gut-wrenching journey through betrayal, hate, and loss. Enemies manipulate friends and friends betray each other. Love hangs in the balance as the powers of light and dark fight for supremacy.
These are the big themes that George Lucas isn’t afraid of grappling with. The greed and lust for power of a few can enslave billions. These, of course, are not issues we are seeing for the first time in Star Wars. Episodes four through six have a way of making the good and the bad clear cut, the underdog must win. The Revenge of the Sith puts the powers of light and dark on much more equal footing. Both look attractive. It isn’t hard to confuse one with the other,
If you don’t know what is going to happen when you’re going into the film, you probably shouldn’t be there. Revenge is the birth of Darth Vader. It’s coming, don’t worry. Lucas does a good job of fleshing out Anakin’s struggle with the temptations of the dark side. The story becomes much more circuitous and you can’t quite remember which way is the right way…for a while. Let me explain…Lucas had another big task ahead of him. Darth Vader has to live up to all the hype he gained underneath the mask. Anakin has to earn some of that street credit in ...
