Revenge of the Sith Review!

Alright! Today I’m reviewing the final film in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy and the sixth film in the franchise overall, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. The culmination of Anakin Skywalker’s arc from naive podracer to hormonal teen to child slaughtering genocidal sith lord, the film is a cheesy sci-fi adventure across the galaxy. 

Why is Anakin shown using force lightning?

The singular best aspect of the film is the sheer amount of memes it provides. This movie has the best meme: runtime ratio of all time. I was able to find nearly 61 iconic memes, which is approximately one meme every two and a half minutes. Even The Bee Movie doesn’t have a count that high. For whatever reason, the Gen-Z internet babies decided every line of dialogue in the film was prime meme material and went for it. 

The meming works in part because of how committed to the sappy melodrama the film is, becoming both its greatest asset and greatest weakness. On one hand, contemporary audiences and critics thought it was overblown, lessening public approval. On the other hand, it makes it toe an iconic line between “so bad it’s good” and “legitimately fantastic.” Sometimes the melodrama works to the fullest extent, creating a level of intensity that feels right given the plot’s stakes. Then you have the entirety of Padme and Anakin’s relationship being given equally melodramatic moments, which feels overly corny. 

Not all of the movie’s greatness is on accident though. A large part of what makes this my favorite Star Wars film is the elaborately choreographed and expansive fight scenes. The opening sequence, where a war in the stars happens, is absolutely fantastic and one of the movie’s best scenes. That fight scene in particular has the over-the-top gravitas, that, combined with John Williams’ amazing score and CGI work, represents the best of the Prequel Trilogy. 

The great fights don’t stop at the movie’s opening. The Prequels contain my favorite lightsaber combats (OT=Fencing, PT=Kendo, ST=Baseball bats) and ROTS has the best duels out the trilogy. Sure, a twenty minute sequence where two guys duke it out with laser swords while lava spews around them can get repetitive, but it’s so thoroughly cool and fun to watch I don’t mind. I also really appreciate how this movie doesn’t end in a giant space battle - I love Star Wars, but the fact that nearly all of the movies end in space battles bores me. It’s a movie that earns the PG-13, brutally showing the effects that these lightsabers and lava can have. 

The actual mechanics of the plot become wonky at times. Even when acknowledging the events of The Clone Wars, Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side is sudden. He goes from peaceful Jedi to child-slaughtering maniac in less than ten minutes. Other questions are raised by the film - how can Leia remember her mother’s face? Can someone die of sadness? However, some of these questions are just “It is what it is” or lend credence to the “so bad it’s good” mentality. 

The technical elements of the film are all perfect. The visual effects, in stark contrast to its predecessors, still hold up and look good to this day. Entirely CG-creations like General Grievous are incredibly textured and miles above the likes of Dexter Jettster. The sound design and mechanical sheen of the space technology are all perfect. Williams’ score is a franchise best, complementarily over-the-top and so full of dramatic pathos that it’s almost more interesting to listen to the film than watch it. 

The acting in the movie is, again, in line with the melodrama. Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid perform their respective roles as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Emperor Palpatine perfectly, aware of the trilogy’s camp nature and leaning into it without going over the top. These two performances anchor what might have otherwise been too much. Hayden Christensen is much, much better than he was in Attack of the Clones, giving a surprisingly powerful performance, albeit one that’s better with the physical aspects of the character than line delivery. 

Natalie Portman, after two movies of being a cool warrior princess, is now pregnant, barefoot, and dead in a sad downgrade for one of Star Wars’ best female protagonists. Samuel L. Jackson continues to play the Jedi Master Mace Windu, giving a performance that’s either strangely impassioned or stubbornly rude. Yoda’s role in the film is fine, even if his final fight against Palpatine is anticlimactic. 

Above all else, the thing that I love about Revenge of the Sith is how unabashedly big and loud and dramatic it can be. It’s serious, but never deadset on the doom and gloom like recent blockbusters (Batman v Superman), and it’s fun but never in a way that refuses to be serious (Guardians Vol. 2). It’s like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, which also toed the line between camp and serious, a formula that apparently results in internet adoration and memage. 

Maybe Revenge of the Sith isn’t the best Star Wars movie. Maybe it’s not even a good movie. But it is undoubtedly a fun one, and one that certainly hits the right cord given correct viewing conditions. When viewed by itself it’s a bit uneven but enjoyable, and when viewed in tandem with The Clone Wars it’s fantastic.

Overall, I give Revenge of the Sith an 8/10. “Campy and cheesy in a way modern blockbusters aren't, Revenge of the Sith is a delicate balance that works more often than it doesn’t.” 

This will make a fine addition to my review collection.