Aaron's Review of Episode III

Warning, spoilers ahead. So, if you want to be completely pure to see "Sith," read no further. So, I have seen Episode III. Twice. And I'll see it at least once more in the next two days. What is my verdict? I give it a resounding 4 out of 4 stars. It is not as good as Empire or A New Hope, but it overtakes Return of the Jedi. In all honesty, I have not been so moved or emotionally drained at a film since I saw The Passion of the Christ last year. I teared up at the end, when Obi-Wan tells the burning Anakin that he loved him. Really, I got chills all over my body. I got chilled at a couple of moments, among them the aforementioned scene, the betrayal of the Jedi by the clones, and the scene where Anakin was suited up as Darth Vader. Although the special effects were freaking spectacular in the movie, the part that really elevated it was the human aspect. I really liked how they developed the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan. They were just so chummy. You could tell instantly that these were best friends, and that they both cared about each other. The fact that Anakin ends the movie screaming "I hate you!" at his mentor shows just how radical the shift is. What also worked well was, Anakin came off as a likable character. I really liked Anakin. I didn't want him to turn, because he was a really nice, albeit confused, guy. That made his turn poignant as well. I really appreciated all the cues to the original trilogy, like the Tantive IV, Anakin telling Padme they can rule the galaxy together, and especially, the final shot. The final shot of the film is of Uncle Owen holding baby Luke on Tatooine, and looking into the setting twin suns. In the original Star Wars, A New Hope, that exact same pose is struck by Luke in the exact scene as he contemplates his destiny. The two scenes even had the same music. Another scene I really liked was the juxtaposition of Anakin's charred body being operated upon and put in the Darth Vader armor, and Padme giving birth to Luke and Leia. It was really chilling and disturbing, I thought. One is giving birth to light, and the other is being reborn in darkness. Overall, I was just so pleased with this film. And considering how much I hyped it to myself in the months beforehand, that's saying something. Ask anyone at Luther college, especially my roommate, and I sort of went a little overboard when it came to being excited about Star Wars. But hey, we all need a hobby. Back to the film. I'll admit, I had some misgivings about how the acting and script might turn out. However, even the scenes with Anakin and Padme were at least decent. And there was actually some memorable dialogue. I think the whole saga makes more sense now. Now mind you, I like the first two prequels, Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. But I can see why people didn't like them. However, with Revenge, the first two movies make a lot more sense. And in the original trilogy, Darth Vader is in a completely different light. He's not so much evil now, as he is controlled. He's controlled by Palpatine, and just sort of pathetic in that manner. But he's still a BMF, if you dig that. When I finally get down to marathon all 6 films, I think the point where he saves Luke in Return of the Jedi will just be so much more emotional. It won't be so much that he saved Luke, but that Anakin returned to the light, and fulfilled his destiny to destroy the Sith. As a devoted Star Wars geek, I loved this film, and was moved by it. I highly recommend it to the people who are mature enough to handle the subject matter and the grisly images (Anakin gets MESSED UP). The saga is truly complete now, and overall, it is a masterpiece, I think.