10 Greatest Prequel Movies Of All-Time

Pitchforks at the ready, people, because here's a statement that is sure to irritate a lot of people: Revenge Of The Sith is a better film than Return Of The Jedi.

Seriously! While Return Of The Jedi was a rehash of similar plot events from previous films (the Death Star II? C'mon!) and a cynical toy commercial to boot, Revenge Of The Sith is - at the very least - original. It's also hugely entertaining, genuinely emotional, and the CGI - as was not the case with its predecessor, Attack Of The Clones - doesn't look like it's been imported from a low-rent video game.

Of all three prequel flicks, it was Revenge Of The Sith that had the most pressure to succeed in the wake of two ill-judged attempts: it was the film tasked with bridging the gap between the old and the new, and for the most part George Lucas delivers something that feels weighty, exciting and a whole lot less political than previous Episodes (also: very little Jar Jar).

Once again, John Williams' outdoes himself in the musical department, Ewan McGregor plays Obi-Wan to perfection, and the final lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan is one of the saga's finest. It also has the greatest "pre-cut to credits" shot in the history of the franchise. There are flaws, yes, like Vader shouting "No!" and the use of the word "younglings," but they're easily forgiven.

Had the other two Star Wars prequels been as fun as this one, we might have ended up referring to Episodes I-III with some genuine affection. Imagine!