Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Introduction Introduction
Release Year: 2005
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Director: George Lucas
Writer: George Lucas
Stars: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor
Guy has it all. Guy gets scared of losing it all. Guy loses it all.
Boom.
It's a tale as old as time, only George Lucas spruces it up with his patented Lucas magic. Instead of a guy for whom "having it all" means a nice job and a loving partner, Anakin's having it all means being a Jedi Knight who can command the power of the Force, has sway with the Jedi Council, is a hot-shot warrior in a war against evil, has a secret princess bride, and has two secret babies on the way.
Oh, yeah, and he can fly fighter jets. In space.
And the "losing it all" part doesn't mean getting fired and getting a divorce. It means turning completely evil, inadvertently getting your bride killed, being ostracized from your Jedi Knight community, becoming the lapdog of an evil emperor, and getting dismembered by your best buddy.
Oh, yeah, and getting rebuilt by robots. Into the cockroach-looking half-droid that is Darth Vader.
Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, the third prequel to the classic Star Wars trilogy, was released in 2005 to mixed critical acclaim. The fans loved it: it finally depicts the fall of Anakin Skywalker to the dark side and his infamous wheezing helmet. The critics loved to hate it: they claimed that the writing, directing, and acting were all surprisingly subpar for a movie of its caliber. (It cost an estimated $113,000,000 to make.)
So, Revenge of the Sith became a kind of Star Wars fan divining rod for controversy.
Part of the problem the prequels faced was exceedingly high expectations. The original Star Wars series defined the childhoods of an entire generation, and as such, it holds significant nostalgia value. The people who grew up with a jolting, stop-action Tauntaun in The Empire Strikes Back preferred the less-than-perfect special effects and grainy film as long as nothing got too silly (we're looking at you, Ewoks). So, when Episodes I & II were released and the world met Jar Jar Binks & Co., even the meticulous attention to detail and flawless CGI couldn't save Lucasfilm from tons of critical ire.
But, Revenge of the Sith was the best-received prequel of the series, probably because it's so crazy dark. This movie is pitch black. There isn't room for silly antics or new alien characters because this is the film where we get to watch Anakin Skywalker descend into madness and become the iconic Darth Vader.
And, if Anakin becoming Darth Vader isn't reason enough to see this movie, well, we don't know what is.
Except maybe Samuel L. Jackson's purple lightsaber.