Revenge of the Sith Review
Part 1: CGI Masterpiece
The opening starfighter segment with Anakin and Obi-Wan was really visually impressive. I understand that people had mixed feelings about it being all CGI as opposed to miniatures from the original trilogy, but I think that we tend to undermine the impressive nature of well-done CGI pieces because they “aren’t real”. The scene overall makes enough sense and does more neat world building. It establishes more of the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan, where you see both characters acting much like they did in the previous movie, but with an added level of familiarity with working with each other. The ships are cool, the shots are impressive and creative, and it all adds to this sense of tremendous scale of these space battles, unlike what we had in any previous Star Wars movie.
However, I have two minor gripes in this scene:
Why did Obi-Wan have the two clone pilots follow them, only to enter a volley of vulture droids head-on? I understand the purpose of the scene is to show that clones are seen as disposable (evidenced by Obi-Wan’s line about them doing their job), but it is still reckless, even for Obi-Wan.
It’s an awfully convenient design flaw that the shield generator for the ship can be easily shot and destroyed, allowing direct access to the landing bay. Why would they design it like this?
Moving on, the part where they are on the ship is a great parallel to the beginning of The Phantom Menace, where Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are on the Separatist ship being pursued by battle droids. Another great parallel is the entrance to the room where Palpatine is being held. He is on the far end of the room in a chair greatly resembling his throne from the end of Return of the Jedi. The difference here is that rather than being at the top of stairs, he is below them. I wonder if this was supposed to symbolize his lower level of power, not yet being supreme overlord, or perhaps it’s to show him being a victim and prisoner rather than victor and captor. Interesting stuff!
Something that I think the prequels (especially ROTS) don’t get enough credit for is being very dense in meaning and in visuals. I think you can see a lot of motive and passion behind what ends up being a strange execution. Something I’ve been thinking a lot about is how George Lucas said that he finds directing so exhausting because no matter how much effort he puts in, he’s never truly satisfied with the way it turns out. He has a vision that never seems to meet reality.
For example, in the lightsaber battle between Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Count Dooku, it’s hard to catch all the nuance of the moves and styles of battle you see. This movie shows just how much Anakin has been striving to learn, grow, and sharpen his skills in combat. The loss to Dooku must have absolutely devastated him. He lost something very tangible over it and it changed him forever. This explains the anger with which he went into the fight with Dooku. It’s honestly remarkable that his training improved his skill to the point of legitimately defeating Dooku.
I always enjoy the shock in Dooku’s face, especially once Palpatine (uncharacteristically) says “DEWIT”. Dooku realizes he has been betrayed and replaced in one fell swoop. This scene shows the level to which Anakin trusts and has attached to Palpatine, choosing his instruction over the rules of the Jedi Order. It’s kinda lame how the existence of The Clone Wars contradicts the lines in this movie that imply Anakin and Grievous meeting for the first time, as well as Anakin’s skill having doubled since his last fight with Dooku.
Part 2: Diverging Fates
It’s interesting how Anakin is portrayed as someone who is so powerful yet simultaneously so weak. Strong in power, weak in will. He requires guidance but is so blind. Anakin is influenced soooo heavily by fear, and compelled by those he allows close to him. He mistakes power and might for wisdom and experience. It’s a frustrating reality, especially for someone like him who has always felt under someone else’s thumb. The irony of this is that he would still find himself under someone’s thumb until his dying moments.
Man, the scene where Anakin and Obi-Wan say their goodbyes before Obi-Wan leaves for Utapau is so hard to watch. It’s the most wholesome, genuine, heartfelt moment the two of them have in these movies. It shows how much they are like brothers forced into a father-son dynamic. It’s unfair to Obi-Wan tbh. Qui-Gon should have been there to train him. I wonder if this haunts Obi-Wan, causing him to feel as if his failure to save his master from Maul resulted in the failure of the council to properly give Anakin the structure he needed. Poor guy.
Also it’s kinda dumb how Obi-Wan rides a very loud and obnoxious sounding animal into the bad guy HQ to spy on them. Also kind of foolish for him to slice the head off of a Magna Guard, considering that when he did that earlier in the movie, it proved to not deactivate them. Obi-Wan’s attack stance looks so stupid with the little peace sign. I like the parallel to the fight with Maul, where Obi-Wan is hanging off a ledge and his opponent has the upper hand, but Obi-Wan still overcomes.
Anakin is dumb for not killing Palpatine, but the council is even dumber for not figuring that out themselves. The cloud of darkness cast by Palpatine around the Jedi is a lame excuse for it too. It’s tough to say whether or not it was a foolish decision of the Jedi to Windu rejecting Anakin’s help with capturing Palpatine. He could have betrayed them, or they could have galvanized him against Palpatine’s influence.
Regardless, Palpatine jumping around like a madman is kinda cool, but the “elite masters” dying in seconds is pretty weak. Also, Palpatine saying “Don’t let him kill me! I can’t hold on any longer! I’m too weak!” when he is being zapped by HIS OWN FORCE LIGHTNING THAT WINDU REFLECTS BACK TO HIM FOR LIKE A SOLID MINUTE is the same logic as a criminal pointing a gun at a cop and saying “don’t shoot me! Don’t let him shoot me!” So idiotic.
I appreciate the irony of Anakin telling Windu that it’s not the Jedi way to kill Palpatine, when Anakin made the same decision Windu did under Palpatine’s order with Dooku. Who is the real hypocrite? I’m also glad that Anakin recognizes that the real reason he told Windu to stop is that he “needs” Palpatine. I wonder why Palpatine’s force lightning is what revealed his “Sith eyes”. That doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.
Part 3: Descent Into Madness
Watching Order 66 after seeing The Clone Wars really gives it a lot more impact. Suddenly, it’s no longer random Jedi aliens in unseen planets, it’s actual characters in recognizable spaces. Which makes me think, I wonder how the clones knew not to attack Anakin? Palpatine didn’t give any specification, just to execute Order 66.
I like how Palpatine has a Senate session just to say “hi guys im emperor now c:<”. Why didn’t Yoda and Obi-Wan stick together to fight Palpatine, and also to fight Anakin? Seems like a decision made for emotional impact rather than logic and me no likey. The fight between Yoda and Palpatine should have been much closer.
One sad aspect of the fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan is that Obi-Wan is clearly and quite understandably not ready to kill Anakin, but Anakin is more than willing to kill Obi-Wan. The lines exchanged between the two of them after the battle are truly tragic. The performance put in by Ewan McGregor is brilliant. The most realistic emotion of the entire prequels. He really sells how heartbreaking this is. The guilt and burden this man carries is so clearly expressed after this fight.Worse yet, Anakin’s nightmares come true. His efforts are for nothing because he cannot even have, let alone save Padme. He loses everything and gets nothing of value for it. It goes to show what happens when you make a deal with the devil.
It’s kind of weird, Anakin screams while they operate on him, giving him cyborg limbs, but his mouth remains shut the entire time. You’d think they’d fix that in post by now, but what do I know? I also wonder why the Darth Vader suit was just… ready? It’s kind of sad to me how much Natalie Portman takes a back seat in this movie. It doesn’t leave much for her to do, or much acting for Natalie. Why would they send Luke to Tatooine? Wouldn’t Vader want to check there first? Wouldn’t he go there personally to find his children? Remnants of Padme? That way he didn’t lose EVERYTHING?
It’s honestly insane, the way they show how much work Palpatine has been doing behind the scenes. I’m really not sure how to feel about this…
Final Thoughts
This movie is good. I was hoping that this rewatch would give me a fresh start of excitement about it, but I don’t know, it just didn’t. I think I feel a little let down to be honest. I’m going to give myself some time before giving it a number rating.
EDIT: After letting this review marinate in my mind for a week, I give this movie a hesitant 7/10. I was expecting to like it more than I did, but it kind of had the opposite effect of The Phantom Menace, which I liked more than I thought I would. Thanks for not reading.
