Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Tribute poster or cheese loaf?

Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy Action Adventure

Starring: Ewan McGregor (Big Fish; The Pillow Book), Natalie Portman (V For Vendetta; Garden State),

Directed By: George Lucas (THX 1138; American Grafitti)

Overview: Episode Three, the prequel to Star Wars, where Anakin Skywalker succumbs (looks towards?) to the dark side of the Force to achieve his goals.

Acting: The acting is decent. Nothing grandiose to be expected here, no Oscar winning moments, but the dark side? Really damn dark, sir, yes indeed. I was actually quite impressed with General Grievous's voice acting, he was quite the decent character. Samuel though, I really didn't see any inner peace exuding from the old Jules Winnfield...
Rating: 7

Cinematography: Did you expect anything less that "Holy cool?" Me neither. With such high expectations, one often finds themselves disappointed. You won't here though, the fights and the scenes are all grand displays of awesome CGI.
Rating: 9

Script: The evil that is Anakin in the end with the fighting and the disillusionment was a bit of a let down, but Lucas was never good at scripts now was he? This is fine, but it really could have pulled more heart strings. High expectations, yes, and still nothing as memorable as the Star Wars' "Wonky Chewbaka" line (Brave Chewbacca in Hutt), or any of the wiseass comments of Han Solo to Leah.
Rating: 7

Plot: The thing about the plot is the memorabilia, the R2-D2, the Emperor, the good times had by all and the lead up to the end. They draw it out boy, I can tell you. I really think another writer could have done better in writing a shift to the dark side without making it seem so... forced and presumed that it would happen. Those moments where the torment should be crushing to Anakin, not really that effective. That ending though, wow! That major subplot is real smart too.
Rating: 7

Mood: The score at the end, that BOM-BOM-BOM that everyone knows represents Darth Vader and The Empire of the Sith. It's hard not to have that weigh heavily on the overall score here. The ending... It's one of the best tie-ins to any sequel even made (though Batman did a great job too). As for the whole universe created by Lucas, following the Jedis, the darkness overwhelming a man driven, my God! It's this good. What a world, what a place, what an adventure!
Rating: 9

"What eyes? These eyes? Oh THESE old things, no no it's uh... a .. genetic condition, ya ya, no I get that all the time."

Overall Rating: 78% (A Treasure for Fans, a Good Stand Alone Film for the Rest)

Aftertaste: Funny that Hayden was reported as not being interested in acting anymore. I mean he played Darth Vader for God's Sake. At the same time though, where do you go from there? Hamlet? Moses? I walked into this thinking the same as I did with Lord of the Rings, with The Matrix, "I have to watch the end of it." Well if you've seen Star Wars, then see this. You don't need to see those other two crappy productions. The fights, the story, the bridging of the tale. It's awesome, it's inspiring, and having watched it just before bed I can tell you it took a long time to fall asleep, the sounds of the new Empire's soundtrack bombarding my brain...