4. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Revenge of the Sith is by far the strongest of the prequel trilogy. It is the darkest the saga has been since The Empire Strikes Back, chronicling Anakin's final fall to the dark side. Many of the problems that exist in Revenge of the Sith involve the poorly judged addition of General Grievous, the atrociously written relationship between Anakin and Padme and the acting of Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor. The opening space battle and subsequent execution of Count Dooku ranks amongst the best sequences in the whole Star Wars series, but the film can't consistently hit the darker notes of the opening quarter. The mythology of the saga is the strongest it's been since Return of the Jedi as Lucas comes full circle, though leaving a two decade gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The daring space raid at the beginning is where the movie truly shines as it bursts onto the screen in a combustion of sound and light, the dazzling special effects being the best the business has to offer. Like much of the saga, there is a lack of logic, but it grips you so hard you ignore it and go along for the ride. The film starts to fall down when the characters start talking. Lucas himself has admitted he is no Aaron Sorkin when it comes to dialogue as many of the important moments in the film are blown by corny and absurd sayings including Padme's infamous line to Anakin in which she says "Hold me, Ani. Hold me, like you did by the lake on Naboo." There are moments in the film, like that, that cause you to inadvertently snigger. The other most notable cases being the birth of Darth Vader and his camp scream of "Noooooo" and the ill-judged tone and dialogue of Anakin's slaughter of the Jedi temple. Lucas' handling of the showdown between Mace Windu and Emperor Palpatine is shoddy as the poor direction, rapid pace and lack of emotional involvement deny the scene any great effect, even though it should be one of the most monumental scenes in the whole saga. There are just enough good bits to overcome those criticisms such as Obi-Wan and Anakin's duel on the fiery planet of Mustafaar and the use of Yoda is excellent as he displays more emotion than any of the human beings starring in the movie. In the end, it is an enjoyable film that never quite lives up to the promise of the opening sequences.