Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson

Rated PG-13

            Eager fans buy tickets weeks in advance. Obsessed fans begin to camp out in front of movie theaters. Children and adults alike buy any merchandise they can get their hands on. You know what time of year it is! And after months of waiting, audiences across America will finally be able to witness the bewildering spectacle of “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.”

            George Lucas’ popular series of science-fiction films has finally come to a close, and I for one have found his final installment (or 3^rd, depending on how you look at it) to be spectacular, and easily the darkest of all the “Star Wars” films (with “The Empire Strikes Back” being a close second.)

            Hayden Christensen returns as the troubled Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker, who is tempted to join the Dark Side of the Force after having nightmares about his pregnant wife, Padme (Natalie Portman), dying during childbirth. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) assures Anakin that his fears can be put to rest if he chooses to join the Dark Side.

            Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is fighting the destructive and seemingly unbeatable robot General Grevious, who had previously kidnapped Palpatine. Kenobi also consults with the Jedi Counsel about Anakin’s future as a Jedi, and while Kenobi seems to trust him, Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), Yoda (voice of Frank Oz) and other Jedi Counsel members prefer to use Anakin to spy on Senator Palpatine, who is later discovered to be a Sith Lord the Jedis had been looking for.

            And although the plot holds the viewers interest throughout, the main reason people want to see “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” is to discover how exactly Anakin turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader (but to be fair, Anakin’s transformation doesn’t fully begin until the film’s final 45 minutes.)

            Alas, the audience finally is allowed to hear Vader’s heavy breathing, and to be honest, his voice is a welcome return. Perhaps the reason why the previous two “Stars Wars” films, “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones,” weren’t as popular the as the original trilogy is because they featured almost none of the franchise’s most memorable characters (Han Solo, Chewbacca, Vader, and others.) “Revenge of the Sith” makes up for all of that (although even a young Solo is still absent), and Lucas has ended his space epic with a loud, glorious bang.

            Note: This is the first “Star Wars” film to be rated PG-13, and children should probably be warned that the movie is darker and more violent than what they’ve come to expect from the usually family-friendly franchise.

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