Is "Revenge of the Sith"...Bad?

Spoilers for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Am I going to bother you by saying the majority of the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy is pretty bad compared to the majority of the original trilogy? No. You've had fifteen years to hear about that. 

Instead, let's talk about the last live-action film of the franchise until later on in December. The fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Sith. When Sam Jackson lost a hand, robots had hearts, and they really pushed R2 into the limelight of comedy. 

I recently took to watching the film. No, not in preparation for "The Force Awakens," but merely just because I wanted to watch it again. And I was pleasantly surprised by it. 

It was actually pretty darn good. Is it full of most of the boring garbage that the prequels have? Well, yes, but, there are elements of the film that more than make up for it. It doesn't make up for the other two films but does provide a sound conclusion to all of it. It leaves few plot threads hanging and the only continuity flubs it has are with the following trilogy. 

So why does it receive so much hate? Well, it's probably because of those glaring issues that are around from the other two movies. The dry acting, boring romance subplot, and the Clone Wars in general weren't the most exciting bits. There was always more mystery and mysticism when there was talk of the Sith anyway, something even "Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones" did well. It wasn't great, but there was always build up that something was coming. That a big threat was coming, that it would end up destroying the Jedi. 

We, as the audience, knew since "Attack of the Clones" that it was Palpatine, that he was the Emperor of the Galactic Empire. Our characters didn't, and "Revenge of the Sith" executes well both how the Jedi react and also just how calculated this plan by Palpatine was. It almost makes it feel as if he doesn't even need Anakin, more that he's just taking him from the Jedi to add salt to the wound. 

One problem I have with the Order 66 moment is that Anakin is never directly shown killing any other Jedi Masters or Knights. We only see him bust into the Council Chambers to kill the Younglings. Sure, in Star Wars: Battlefront II he takes them out, but that doesn't really count. Imagine how awesome it would have been to see Anakin throwing down with one of the remaining Jedi Masters, or just like waves of Jedi Knights. We're always told that Anakin is this incredibly powerful Jedi, but really, how many fights is he a part of? Well, he handles Count Dooku one-on-one pretty well. Then he fights Obi-Wan on Mustafar, who is indeed a Jedi Master. But, prior to that, we saw him a few years ago as a Padawan who could barely stand up to Dooku. We needed to see more of Anakin as a warrior rather than as a torn soul. 

Though, again, that is done well in this film. I get where people come from when they say Anakin's quest into the Dark Side is incredibly rushed. I believe there's only two or three quick scenes between when he is holding Palpatine up, ready to kill him and when he bows the knee to him. It's clear that Lucas was going for Anakin being so desperate and bonkers that he just listens to whatever Palpatine has to say and that there may be some coercion on the part of Palpatine, but, yeah. It is foreshadowed well enough in the film that Anakin's turn will come, but it's just not the best executed. 

The scenes proceeding it? 

The opera-house scene was, at first for me as a kid, pretty dull. Okay, sure, Palpatine talked about some Darth Plagueis guy, whoopdie-do. Oh, and it's totally hinted, like in your face, that he's evil. Whatever, right? 

No. That scene is all atmosphere. It's one of the best pieces of acting in the entire prequel trilogy, the first of three truly great acting moments (see guys, Hayden Christensen is a good actor!). The music is heavy, very low, but it underscores all of it. It levels the characters, it draws Anakin closer to Palpatine as he either lies completely or tells a wild truth to Anakin. The thing that makes it so good? We'll never really know. Okay, in the EU we do know that Plagueis achieved this power, but that's no longer canon. And in the context of just the films, we do never know if Plagueis even existed. Palpatine only mentions him twice, once in passing and once here. 

This scene, though, shows Palpatine at his finest. He is so cunning that he lulls Anakin into his own fantasy without having to use any hokey religious tricks on him. He charms his way through the conversation to keep Anakin intrigued, as well as the audience. And he believes the story so much that he tells it with great fervor to the point that you almost have to believe him. It's such a private moment that Anakin is in a great daze. 

And let's not forget that final haunting moment: 

"Is it possible to learn this power?"

"...Not from a Jedi." 

Mmmm. 

Another scene that builds to Anakin's turn is the best scene with no dialogue in it. Again, it is all atmosphere, and it has to rely on pitch-perfect acting, which it does. Both Christensen and Natalie Portman convey two starcrossed lovers torn in a pivotal moment of their lives. Padme simply wants to understand what's happening while Anakin distances her from him so that he can save her from something he fears. Is he making the wrong choice? Yes. But, again, that scene with Palpatine results in this moment. He wants so desperately to believe that there is a cure for death, but, what if he's wrong? What if he has to go again his Masters, what if the Jedi turn against him? What if he can't save Padme? 

All of these questions are raised, and, nothing is said. You can feel all of it just through their acting and through the ambiance that surrounds the scene. They want nothing but to be together and while they are looking right at each other, they can't see each other. Their worlds are simply too apart when they couldn't be closer apart. That stupid line delivered earlier by Padme, "So love has blinded you?" does come true. And yeah, it's dumb but at least it's clever, right? 

And while the big showdown between the Emperor and Mace Windu is undermined by, well...

It's still a pretty awesome fight. 

Speaking of which, this film does have the best overall fights of the franchise. Sure, nothing can quite top Darth Maul vs. the two Jedi, but Anakin vs. Count Dooku, Mace vs. Palpatine, and of course, Anakin vs. Obi-Wan are all decent fights (Obi-Wan vs. Greivous was stupid and Yoda vs. Palpatine was cool in theory but the execution between the two strongest beings in the galaxy was a little anti-climactic). 

Which leads us to the final bit of the best acting parts, the climactic battle. Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen put on their boots here, building up this humongous fight that is to come and it really, really pays off. People point out how choreographed it is, and while I agree, it isn't like it's without purpose. 

Think about it; Obi-Wan taught Anakin almost everything he knows. Anakin has learned to fight from Obi-Wan, and Anakin is just as powerful as Obi-Wan in terms of how to use the Force. Therefore, their fight is going to be so clean because they know how each other fight. And, honestly, it makes the fight that much better. I'd rather it look crisp and well-thought out rather than just a slug-fest--not to take anything away from when Luke fights Vader, but, I'm just saying. 

It's more toward the end, when the fight is winding down, that their acting shines. Anakin is just so filled with rage and yet you can still see Obi-Wan desperate for something, anything, that can help rescue Anakin until he finally realizes that, no, there is nothing. When he says, "I have failed you Anakin," that's it. He knows there's nothing left he can do to save his friend. Sure he didn't make much of an argument prior to that, little persuasion was made prior to the fight when Anakin almost killed Padme, but throughout the fight it's evident he's looking for something and that he does not want to fight Anakin. He's on his heels for much of the battle, and his leap onto the hill--that would eventually destroy Anakin--was him peacefully ending the fight. Anakin could have just kept going down the lava river, Obi-Wan wasn't going to stop him. 

Though, there are still tons of goofy moments and pointless plot elements, such as General Grievous and how Anakin just sort of sits around for much of the movie while people whisper sweet-nothings into his ear. The opening of the film is so strong until it kind of grinds to a halt (well, we get the bombshell reveal that Padme is pregnant, but that's about it) and we have to deal with Grievous, arguably the worst of the three secondary villains. At least Maul was cool to watch, and Dooku was played by Christopher Lee. 

But I can't in good conscience call this film bad by any means. It has bad elements, but is not an overall bad movie. It's easily the best of the original trilogy and has parts that are even better than the original trilogy, if you can believe it. I recommend you give it a second viewing, and decide for yourself if it's really that bad, or if it's good at all. 

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