One of my earliest childhood memories is sitting in a dark theater at the age of four, watching the first Death Star explode into a gazillion pieces. Back in those days, people actually applauded when the spirit moved them, so there was a big roar in the theater at the climax of the movie. I don’t remember much else from my first viewing of Episode IV, though my parents tell me that on the ride home, I stood up on the back seat of our 1966 Pontiac Executive (seat belts weren’t exactly in vogue then) and proclaimed, “That was the best movie I ever saw!” Aside from the fact that, at that point, it was the only movie I had ever seen, it was obvious that my first Star Wars experience had forever changed me. Now, twenty-eight years later, the double trilogy is complete. There was a rumor that Star Wars creator George Lucas envisioned a nine part series, but now it’s clear that there are no more Star Wars movies in the pipeline. So it was with a pair of misty eyes that I watched the credits roll on the final installment, “The Revenge of the Sith.” This is the first time in almost three decades that I don’t have a new Star Wars movie to look forward to and I’m not all that happy about it.
Much has been written about the original trilogy. “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back” are widely considered the two best movies of the series. Growing up, “Star Wars” was always my favorite, but with subsequent viewings in recent years, “The Empire Strikes Back” has narrowed the gap. “Star Wars” is upbeat and has a happy ending – all that a kid could ask for. “Empire” is darker and has a downer for an ending, characteristics which are now quite refreshing after seeing much of the formulaic sci-fi dreck that Hollywood has put out in the last two decades. The third film “The Return of the Jedi,” while still entertaining, just doesn’t measure up to the first two chapters. This is mainly due to Lucas’ choice to use the cute and cuddly Ewoks as main characters in the story. As a kid, the Ewoks were entertaining, but as an adult they come off a bit goofy. I realize that I’m handicapped by my own age-induced cynicism, but there is no getting around it – talking teddy bears are flat out goofy.
After a sixteen-year hiatus, Lucas returned with “The Phantom Menace,” which received mixed reviews from critics and (objective) fans alike. In preparation for “Sith,” I recently watched “Menace,” and while it doesn’t measure up to the first three films, it is still entertaining. Since 1995, I can only name a few other sci-fi movies (not counting comic book movies) that are superior – “The Matrix,” “Signs,” “Contact,” “Pitch Black,” and maybe “Terminator 2.” What “Phantom” didn’t do was meet our bloated expectations, and a backlash ensued. Truth be told, there is definitely room for improvement. The indecipherable Jar Jar Binks is an easy target. He is quite unfunny for a character that is supposed to provide comic relief and it is pretty painful to watch him on screen. Had Lucas just made him a normal scoundrel – Lando Calrissian comes to mind – it would have made him more tolerable, if not likeable, and improved the movie immeasurably. Politics also plays a large role in “Menace” and I don’t think the Star Wars fan base was really prepared for it. The original “Star Wars” began after diplomacy failed, and the subject was only touched on briefly throughout the first three movies. People want to see lightsaber battles, not diplomats addressing some crazy intergalactic senate. There were also rumblings about the acting of young Anakin (Jake Lloyd), but I thought his performance, given his age and inexperience, equaled that of Mark Hamill in the original. These complaints aside, there is enough in “Menace” to make it enjoyable: a cool villain in Darth Maul, solid heroes in Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and an exciting lightsaber fight amongst the three. I thought it was smart to kill off Qui-Gon, but Lucas should have found a way to extend Darth Maul’s presence deeper into the prequels.
Next up was “Attack of the Clones,” and while Lucas (may have) listened to his fans and limited Jar Jar’s role, he chose to dedicate a large part of “Clones” to the growing romance between Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. Like politics, romantic love just feels out of place with fans of the series. The relationship in “Star Wars” between Han Solo and Leia Organa worked because of the humorous bickering that went on between the two. The romance grew grudgingly and it was funny, and that’s the way the Star Wars audience likes it. Not only are these characteristics absent from the romantic relationship featured in “Clones,” the scenes between Anakin and Padme contain some of the worst dialogue ever uttered in a Star Wars movie. Lucas should take most of the blame for this, as he did write the screenplay. Politics again play a large role in “Clones,” and it is sometimes confusing who the audience should be rooting for. Other than the increasing role of Darth Sidious, the main villain is Count Dooku, an unimpressive middle-aged human, and “Clones” would have benefited had Lucas continued to use Darth Maul in this role. But once again there is enough about “Clones” to make it entertaining: Jango Fett’s battle with Obi-Wan, the origin of Boba Fett, and the battle at the end of the movie culminating with fan-favorite Yoda showing off his impressive skills with a lightsaber.
There was a good buzz about “Revenge of the Sith,” so I was optimistic about Lucas’ chances of bringing the series to a satisfying conclusion. After seeing the film, I think it is very good, much better than the previous two releases and on par with “Return of the Jedi.” The dialogue between Anakin and Padme is somewhat improved, but the strained humor still leaves a lot to be desired. Fortunately, there are less politics and more action in “Sith” than in the previous two movies, and Lucas does a decent job with the tough task of credibly taking Anakin to the dark side. However, a few things bother me about the story itself. For being the “chosen one,” Anakin sure isn’t very bright. Despite the Jedi Council’s ongoing suspicions, Anakin can’t see Palpatine’s true nature until it is too late. It also never occurs to him that his dreams about Padme’s death during childbirth – which were the root cause of Anankin’s fall from grace – may have been planted in his head by the Sith lord as a means to turn him. The droid doctor at the end of the movie supports this theory when it explains that there isn’t anything physically wrong with Padme, she has just “lost the will to live.” This is presumably due to her disappointment in Anakin’s actions in the second half of the film, and indicates that had he not gone to the dark side, Padme would have survived childbirth. This only serves to make the end result – Darth Vader – seem more dense than evil.
There was much talk throughout the first two prequels that a prophecy foretold that the chosen one would “bring balance” to the Force. It wasn’t clear what this meant until someone (Obi-Wan, I believe) said in “Sith” that the chosen one would actually destroy the Sith completely. It was at this point that I finally realized that Anakin did fulfill the prophecy, just not as soon as everyone thought he would. There is also some debate as to whether or not Darth Sidious staged his battle with Mace Windu for Anakin’s benefit. Windu is a Jedi Master, but it is hard to believe that he would be able to defeat the Sith lord on his own. This seems especially improbable after Sidious easily kills the three Jedi that arrived with Windu. Sidious also seems to play possum once Anakin arrives – again, Anakin doesn’t notice – before unleashing a lightning attack on the overmatched and surprised Windu. Also, it seems a bit farfetched to think that Anakin could fall so hard so fast, immediately heading off to murder all the young Jedi at the request of his new master.
These issues aside, I found “Revenge of the Sith” to be an entertaining and satisfying conclusion to the Star Wars saga. The film answered most of the ongoing questions left unanswered by Episodes IV-VI – how Anakin became Darth Vader, how most of the Jedi were killed during the Clone Wars, and why Yoda exiled himself to Dagobah. It was also quite funny to watch R2-D2 defend himself early on in the movie and it was great to see my favorite character, Chewbacca, appear again on the big screen. Lucas took a lot of criticism for Episodes I and II, and he certainly had some missteps along the way. But without his genius and creativity the Star Wars universe never would have existed, and some other film would have been the “best movie I ever saw.”
