Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith (Part Two) (2005): A

“If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.”; Obi-Wan Kenobi, “A New Hope”

The above quote is not only my favorite of any in the “Star Wars” lexicon- as I’ve had many instances where I’ve had to remind myself of the idea it embodies- but also is a good description of George Lucas, who- after taking harsh critical and fan beatings for “Episode I,” “Episode II,” and his controversial “Special Editions” of the original trilogy (I no longer have hope we’ll see the original version of the trilogy on DVD)- comes back with a visionary powerhouse that stands just below the series’ best films, Lucas’ own “A New Hope” and Irvin Kershner’s “The Empire Strikes Back” (which is indeed the series’ best, but “A New Hope’s” a better example of pure popcorn fodder). Some early reviews have hinted that “Menace” and “Clones” were unnecessary- I disagree. Seeing where Anakin came from, seeing his relationship with Padme develop, watching Obi-Wan grow into the powerful Jedi Knight we expect of him through the guidence of Qui-Gon Jin (Liam Neeson from “Episode I”) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz), seeing the surprising origins of both R2-D2 and C-3PO, the start of the Clone Wars, seeing the gradual fall of the Republic, even Jar Jar Binks (who appears in the corners in “Sith,” but says nothing after being given the most critical plot point of “Clones”), is essential. All of this backstory just couldn’t be condensed well enough into a prologue to “Sith” to be satisfying to fans. That’s not to say all of this couldn’t have been skillfully condensed into one film- leaving the middle part of the prequel trilogy to the material covered in the animated “Clone Wars”- but that’s not how Lucas chose to tell the story. And to know the whole story, you must slog through everything wrong with “Menace” and “Clones”- namely, Jake Lloyd as kid Anakin, the almost “coincidental” victory against the Trade Federation in “Menace” (for more on this, hear the Yahoo’s “Menace” commentary on the film), Lucas’ tin-eared dialogue (especially bad in “Menace,” though some of the love story dialogue in “Clones” is equally wretched), John Williams’ butchered score the last 45 minutes of “Clones”- no matter how unbearable it might be (just MSTie your way through the bad parts like I do). It is how it is- deal with it. As a critic, I can bitch and moan about “Sith’s” flaws, including some of the overly bland dialogue (which is mostly serviceable, but hardly as memorable as the original trilogy’s), the bad makeup job on Chancellor Palpatine when he truly becomes Darth Sideous, and Darth Vader’s last word in the movie, (which I’ll spare you, except to say the scene- which is really good up to that point, and should have been rewritten instead of carried out the way it is- has been done to death as parody on “The Simpsons” over the years). As a fan, though, the story- as it was in “Menace” and “Clones”- is just too damn fascinating to let the criticisms dull my excitement over “Sith.”

“Revenge of the Sith”- featuring (as all the “Star Wars” films do) the finest visual and audio artistry and visionary imagination of the folks at Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound (special props to “Wars” sound designer Ben Burtt, visual effects supervisor for the prequels John Knoll, and all-time visual effects extraordinaire Dennis Muren)- did make me realize one big problem with both “Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones,” however, that cannot be ignored by “Star Wars” geeks. In the original trilogy myself and many like me grew up with, “A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away…” meant something. You felt as though you were watching something epic and mythic take place, with characters taking part in larger destinies and going through adventures, experiences, and emotions that would change them- and the Galaxy- forever. Watching “Menace” and “Clones,” and then as I was watching “Sith” for the first time, it occured to me that in the first two movies of Lucas’ prequel trilogy, that mythic sense of destiny you felt in the earlier films was all but gone, save for a few moments here or there (Anakin and Padme’s kiss before being taken into the arena of “Clones,” Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s duel with Darth Maul in “Menace,” Anakin’s come-from-behind victory at the Podrace in “Menace,” the beginning of the Clone Wars at the end of “Clones,” and the images of Qui-Gon’s funeral in “Menace” and Anakin and Padme’s marriage in “Clones” all mustered that sense of the epic for me).

But watching “Sith,” every significant event, every battle, every little moment that ties together the saga has that weight the original trilogy carried, despite our already knowing the outcome ahead of time if you’ve watched the original three. (You better have- I’m assuming as much in this review, and also that you watched “Menace” and “Clones” as well.) The opening space battle where Obi-Wan and Anakin are rescuing the Chancellor has the heroic excitement of the dogfights in “A New Hope” and “Return of the Jedi.” The revelation by Padme to Anakin that she’s pregnant doesn’t go as far as Darth Vader’s revelation of parentage to Luke in “Empire,” but it still presents an uneasy reality to Anakin that’s palpable. Palpatine’s discussions of the Dark Side to Anakin, the best being at an opera house that reveals hints of Anakin’s true origins, and the way Palpatine seduces Anakin to the Dark Side by playing on his fears, emotions, and confusion about everything from the Jedi Council (who want Anakin to spy on Palpatine) to Padme (Anakin dreams of her dying in childbirth). Obi-Wan’s battle with General Grievous, which was a disappointment given what we saw of Grievous in “Clone Wars” (his multi-light-sabers are here, but where’s him using his feet in battle as well as his arms?), but still exciting in a way some battles in the earlier prequels weren’t (plus, it has a greatly-satisfying conclusion). A great silent scene between Anakin and Padme, hinting at a deeper emotional connection better than any other scene in the prequels, as the two lovers seem to look at each other across the skies of Coruscant, and Anakin seals his destiny. The Jedi Council- led by Master Mace Windu (the great Samuel L. Jackson- who indeed does not go out like a punk- never has felt unchained as Yoda’s right hand man, but his perpetual cool has come through in “Clones” and “Sith”)- going to arrest Palpatine when it is discovered he is a Sith Lord…and losing more than just the ensuing light-saber battle. The execution of Order 66 (some of Lucas’ finest directing ever in its’ quiet devastation), Anakin’s part in it (he marches- with Clone Trooper backup- on the Jedi Temple), the assassination attempts on Yoda (who escapes with the help of an old friend from the original trilogy) and Obi-Wan, and Padme’s reaction to the Temple in flames. Anakin’s discussion with Padme when he returns from the Temple, telling the truth but keeping the real truth from her. Yoda and Obi-Wan at the Jedi Temple, and all that happens after (which I’ll go further into below). It’s harder- though not impossible- to think of a scene in “Sith” that doesn’t feel epic than one that is, because so many do.

“You were the Chosen One!”; Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Revenge of the Sith”

In “The Phantom Menace,” the Jedi speak of a prophecy that tells of one that will bring Balance to the Force. It is assumed that Anakin- who has the highest concentration of midichlorians (biological lifeforms that work in symbiance with the Force) of any Jedi- is “The Chosen One,” the one who will destroy the Sith and bring Balance.

But as Yoda says, “A prophecy that misread might have been.” The more one thinks of the prophecy (which is not unlike one in the show “Angel,” which has a vampire with a soul playing a major role in the apocalypse, but which side he’s on is unclear), the more one thinks of the nature of the Force. To be put into Balance, it must be out of Balance to begin with. There are many different ways of looking at it. In the prequels, it seems as though the Good Side of the Force has the upper hand, with the Sith and the Dark Side all but extinct. If you look at it this way, that would mean the power of the Dark Side would have to grow- as it does in “Sith”- in order to bring Balance, and that by turning to the Dark Side, Anakin is restoring Balance to the Force and fulfilling the prophecy, just not in the way the Jedi think, implying that the prophecy was indeed misread.

But there’s a catch to that theory, and that is the destruction of the Jedi that we see in “Sith.” The Dark Side takes over, and wants to eliminate the Good Side forever, and almost succeed (by film’s end, only Yoda and Obi-Wan are left). But if you think about it, the Dark Side already tipped the scales when Palpatine became Supreme Chancellor, because in “Clones,” the Dark Side was clouding the abilities of the Jedi, and by turning to the Dark Side, Anakin has tipped the scale further. But in the grand scheme of the “Star Wars” saga, we realize we already saw fullfillment of the Jedi’s prophecy back in 1983 in “Jedi,” when Anakin is redeemed by Luke and overthrows the Emperor. This is where a deeper exploration of the story in Lucas’ epic is necessary to understand it fully. Now doesn’t it all make sense? (No funny comments to the contrary you fanboy wiseasses out there.)

“Battle of the Heroes”; Title of “Sith’s” main musical theme, written by John Williams

“Revenge of the Sith” does many things that turns the entire “Star Wars” Saga on its’ ear, not the least of which is that it confirms simply what George Lucas has been saying since at least the 1995 final release of the original versions of the original trilogy, in that the saga is about Anakin’s rise, fall, and redemption. I would also argue that it not only shifts the focus of what the saga is about, but also who its’ main heroes and villains are. “Sith” makes clear that Anakin- though the focus of the story- is a pawn for both the Jedi and the Sith to play with to get what each of them want- the Jedi want him to spy on Palpatine to uncover the mysteries around him, and Palpatine wants him to spy on the Jedi, all the while filling his head with ideas that will eventually prove to be the Jedi’s undoing.

The villain of the “Star Wars” Saga- as we contemplate the entire sextet- is clearly Palpatine- he’s manipulated the story from “Episode I” and is the supreme ruler of the galaxy through the original trilogy when he dissolves the senate in “Episode IV” and manipulates the final attack by the rebels in “Episode VI.” Though Darth Vader is clearly the heavy in “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back,” we see in “Sith”- and later in “Return of the Jedi”- that he is only the second in command of the empire to the Emperor. And though he believes that he is more powerful than Palpatine in “Sith”- when he tries to persuade Padme to join him in ruling the galaxy (as he does with Luke in “Empire”)- his confidence is lost when Obi-Wan makes him limbless at the end of their duel, and leaves him for the lava of Mustafar (hence the freaking breathing suit). He is not all-powerful. His arrogance in his abilities put himself in the place of lacky to Palpatine. Only in his last moments in “Jedi”- with the Emperor killing his son- does he truly have the strength to overthrow Palpatine. So in one moment, he goes from second-in-command of evil to his proper place on the side of good.

But “Sith” also does something else, I think, in that it establishes the heroes for the series as Obi-Wan and Yoda. It sounds odd, but think about it. In “Menace” and “Clones” we’ve seen both iconic figures do heroic acts as the galaxy’s democracy has gone into decay- Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul in “Menace,” Yoda leading the Clones in “Episode II”- and, though Obi-Wan has progressed from Padawan to Jedi Knight before our eyes, it is clear he is one of the leading generals of the army against the Separatists in the Clone Wars. And though it is against the better judgement of the Council, he is put in charge of Anakin’s training, and though you feel a sense of guilt on his part, as if he failed Anakin in the original trilogy, we can see it was Palpatine’s feeding of Anakin’s hubris- and the bureacratic Council’s inherent distrust in his abilities- that lead to his downfall, not any lacking in Obi-Wan’s teachings.

The “Clone Wars” cartoon series confirms that as we see the bond form between the two, which makes their long-awaited battle on Mustafar all the more difficult to watch. Friends pitted each other by destiny and disloyalty- on both sides- and Williams’ “Battle of the Heroes”- which plays during the scene- cuts right to the heart of that conflict as Obi-Wan and Yoda- the only other remaining Jedi- battle Anakin and Palpatine in a last attempt to eliminate Palpatine once and for all. But during the scene, was I the only one who felt it was always more of a symbolic fight than anything? I mean, if you’ve seen the original trilogy, you know they don’t win, but what engages you more- I think- is just the fact that they fight anyway. It’s an inspiring imagine that makes the outcome tough to take, but a necessary one to see that there is still hope for the galaxy. I mean, do you sense Yoda realizes their battles will be futile, and that it is just one last defiant swing before they go to fight another day? Maybe this comes just from the knowledge that yes, in the end, good will triumph, and in their teaching of Luke, Obi-Wan and Yoda will achieve ultimate victory in their struggle, but it’s certainly one thing that popped into my head thinking about the movie.

Continued in Part Three.

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