HAMSTER RATING

STARRING: Ewan McGreggor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Natalie Portman (Padme Amidala), Ian McDiarmid (Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious), Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Jimmy Smits (Senator Bail Organa), Frank Oz (Yoda), Anthony Daniels (C3PO), Christopher Lee (Count Dooku)

SYNOPSIS: Star Wars is back, and for the first time since 1983, the Force is back with writer/director/executive producer George Lucas. After the baffling mediocrity of the two previous prequel stories, and forced to address some of the most well-known and pivotal plot points of the entire epic, Revenge of the Sith had the potential to go very, very wrong. Consider firstly just how whiny and uninteresting Anakin has appeared in Phantom Menace and Clones. Then there was the completely unconvincing “romance” between Anakin and Padmé, and the hemorrhage-inducing dialogue (“you are my very soul, tormenting me” “I’ve been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life”). Not to mention the weak plots of the first two prequels and all that fluff ‘n stuff about democracy and politics. Aside from dazzling visual effects and rockin’ fight scenes, the first two prequels painted a pretty lousy picture of the pre-Empire days and only widened Episode III’s handicap. Sith, subsequently, not only had to provide the conclusions to the story we all know and expect, but also had to redeem the films that came before it. And while it’s not perfect by any stretch, Sith rises to the occasion admirably, providing Lucas’ epic with a largely satisfying and incredibly fun swansong.

"Okay, one more picture, guys, and R2, stop making faces!"

For starters, everybody knew how this one was going to end: Anakin becomes Darth Vader, the Republic becomes the Empire, the Jedi get slaughtered, and the Clone War comes to an end. With the audience expecting every major twist and loop, all Lucas had to do was make sure the ride was fast and fun. It’s a geek fan’s dream come true, with lightsabers all over the place and one epic duel after another. Another plus of all these fight scenes is that they don’t allow the characters to talk quite as much. Although Anakin and Padmé still can’t salvage their laughable romantic exchanges, the rest of the dialogue in Sith is actually much better than the previous movie’s (a particular treat to listen to Yoda it is, with lines like “a prophecy that misread could have been”), especially for Obi-Wan, who gets to kick butt and make quips like a robed and bearded James Bond. The PG-13 rating means that most of these duels can get decently graphic by the end, finally returning a sharper, darker edge to the universe which has been sorely lacking since 1980’s Empire Strikes Back. The one nit I must pick here is that although the fights are really awesome, they can start to veer towards the cartoony. Obi-Wan and Yoda take turns falling from cliffs, getting pinned under heavy machinery and generally getting their butts kicked, and each time they pick themselves up and go back into the fray like the indomitable Wile-E Coyote. It can get a little ridiculous.

Cinematically, Sith showcases Lucas’ skills behind the camera. In the attempt to get inside the mind of Anakin and others, we get lots of close-ups, unusual camera angles and several moody, atmospheric sequences that add some much-needed introspection and depth to the story. It creates a noticeably different look and feel to this episode of Star Wars that we haven’t seen before. Combined with the rich use of color and visual detail, it’s breathtaking to see, but does feel slightly out of place between the more conventional action-adventure styling. It probably would have worked better had the story been handled with the same skill as the effects.

Much of the hype about this movie was based on the promise that we would finally understand Anakin’s fall to the dark side. True to that promise, Anakin is in almost every shot of the movie and goes fantastically, ham-fistedly bad with the audience open-mouthed every step of the way. Trouble is, I still don’t know why. Anakin’s given reasons for his turn, of course—he wants to prevent Padmé from dying in childbirth and Palpatine/Sidious promises to teach Anakin how he can do that. Though we start to see snatches of Anakin’s dark side in Clones and the opening bits of Sith, Anakin is not evil and his motivation to seek the dark side is completely understandable. But his actual conversion scene is too quickly and clumsily handled, in my opinion, leaving the audience out of Anakin’s head at the most pivotal point.

Jimmy Smits liked to drive himself to work for STAR WARS.

Another gripe I have to get off my chest is that the character of Padmé is sorely misused in this movie. She gets to kick no butt, say nothing of any vital importance and leaves the prequel trilogy with a pathetic whimper. Natalie Portman does what she can with the material she’s given, showing flashes of real dramatic acting here and there, but mostly she’s been reduced to making goo-goo eyes at Anakin and crying.

Otherwise, the film shines. I’m still amazed at how George Lucas can take good actors and turn them into high-school acting amateurs, but Ewan McGreggor fills out Obi-Wan’s robes with relish, leading the character into the sage old man played by Alec Guinness. Ian McDiarmid steals most of his scenes as the seductive Palpatine/Darth Sidious, the one actor who seems comfortable with the stiff dialogue. Hayden Christensen would get the most improved award, turning his creepy, mildly retarded man-child into a convincingly complicated human being. By the same token, R2D2 and Yoda are in top form.

Borrowing heavily from 1940’s and 50’s sci-fi serials, Sith includes such charming little homages as the Clone trooper Commander Cody and General Grievous, who looks great as a kind of decrepit werewolf-cyborg, but who still sounds like a guy in a rubber mask. Transforming into a dark, tragic space opera, the film works a broad range of emotions and ties up all of its loose ends—almost. Purists will probably still be upset about Leia’s continuity in Return of the Jedi. For well-versed fans of the trilogies, the movie is full of familiar situations and the script echoes many lines from the later films. Long on drama, humor and action, and short on Jar Jar Binks, Revenge of the Sith is a redemptive work for George Lucas, the Star Wars saga, and jaded fans everywhere.

Samuel L. Jackson practices his "thoughtful Jedi" look.