2. And The Order 66 Sequence Is Operatic
Backed by one of composer John William's best stretches of music, Order 66, which sees Darth Sidious implement his annihilating plan for the eradication of all the Jedi, is a haunting, melancholy montage, operatic in its execution and devastating (there's that word again) in its consequences. Obi-Wan is nearly blown to bits by the Clone commander he two minutes earlier was joking with; Ki-Adi-Mundi is slaughtered in the snow; countless other Jedi are turned upon by the Clone Army; Padmé watches the Jedi temple burn from afar, while, inside, her husband is committing the darkest sin in all of Star Wars, murdering the younglings, the children Jedi who cower in his presence. And then there's Yoda, who senses the greatest disturbance in the Force, clutching his heart as he realises that his protectors of the Galaxy are being butchered in a genocidal massacre. Poignant and stunning, Order 66 is a masterful sequence of film.