A Space Opera Finale
I’m back from watching Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and was totally blown away.
Unlike Episodes I and II, this one had a cohesive story from start to end. Well, we all know what the end is, but the movie actually progresses the plot nicely - focussing on Anakin Skywalker’s seduction by the Dark Side. This episode abandons the eye candy and cute aliens that detracted so much from the earlier episodes. It narrates a sombre story of ambition and pride that led to the fall of a promising young Jedi. But yet, not everything ends in despair because the groundwork provides a renewed hope for good in Episode IV.
Part of the positive experience stemmed from how George Lucas melded elements of the first Star Wars movie into this one. The spaceship models were clearly designed to be plausible “early” versions of the ones we see in Star Wars; he introduced characters that had a future role; we see how Darth Vader ends up in his suit and how his lightsabre is kept by Obi-wan for his son. There are lots of little links everywhere that prod our memory and remind us of how we had enjoyed so much the original Star Wars story.
Now, the Star Was saga can rest with its reputation intact.