By Vic Holtreman
Rating: 4 out of 5
Short version: With far more strong points than weak, the curse of Episodes I & II has been lifted at last.
Redemption.
No, not for Anakin Skywalker... for George Lucas.
Although not perfect, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith rises far above the awfulness of Episode I and the mediocrity of Episode II. Time will tell, but for me I think this one will fall right behind The Empire Strikes Back in terms of overall Star Wars excellence. This says a lot considering that I'm in Lucas' "over 25" group that was weaned on the original trilogy and thought I & II were pretty awful.
I'm going to keep spoilers to a minimum.
The film opens with the familiar "crawl" which describes events which have transpired during the Clone Wars cartoon series. That series was definitely worth watching as it gives a lot of backstory to the Clone War, Anakin's personality, the Jedi and General Grievous. Senator Palpatine has been kidnapped and Obi-Wan and Anakin have been sent to rescue him.
Right off the bat we start in the middle of a HUGE space battle with the most dizzying shots seen yet in a Star Wars film. It was like a roller coaster ride and I couldn't help but grin as I saw many cues to Episode IV, the original film, in the designs of the ships. We get a great sense of the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan, much more believable and not forced like it was in Episode II.
Another total and complete grin-inducer is R2D2's role in the opening sequence, where we get a full dose of the pluck that made the character so beloved in the original trilogy. It's just a blast to see the dedication and resourcefulness of the little fellow. :-)
Soon we meet General Grievous, who sounds kind of like Darth Vader with a bad cough. I found the cough annoying, although I suppose it was to highlight the fact he is a cyborg and that it's not a perfect meld of living creature and machine. He is appropriately menacing, especially when close-ups of his face (specifically his eyes) are shown.
I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying the Palpatine is rescued and returned to Coruscant, the home of the Republic. Anakin is reunited with Padme, who reveals she is pregnant (again, that's not giving anything away since we know she is Luke and Leia's mother). Anakin takes the news kind of well, but it's clear that his primary love is Padme and not any forthcoming child.
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