"YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!" Those words, said to Anakin after Obi-Wan has mutilated him on the fiery planet of Mustafar, echo over the last passage of Revenge of the Sith like a sorrowful lament. Anakin is burning to death. Obi-Wan is stood over him, on that higher ground, the one which assured him victory at the end of the longest lightsaber duel in the franchise. The molten lava is spitting and spewing; the ground has turned to ash. And there those words are, lingering in the sulfuric ether, ringing around the planet as a regretful mantra. The Chosen One, the one to bring balance to the Force, lying there, limbless, his master damn-near crying as he looks at his butchered friend slowly slipping into the fire. It's a fraught ending to a fraught film, and the emotional heft Obi-Wan lends to the scene, coupled with the fact that it's finally time for Anakin to become Darth Vader proper (surely one of the most anticipated moments in film history) elevate it to greatness, with both a sense of loss and a sense of history pervading the drama, which is perfectly placed on Mustafar's unforgiving, hellish terrain. Soon after, Anakin is suited up as Vader, his first breath - in that oh so recognisable breathing style - a shiver-inducing moment in the history of popular culture. Lucas spoils it slightly by having Vader scream "NOOO!", but that's no matter, what has passed before is enough to save it. What can't be saved is Anakin, though, and, as the film draws to a close, we are left with a sense of sad disquiet, of the light going out, and the darkness winning.
