Lucas's Redemption

Revenge of the Sith was a pleasant surprise. To be honest, I have lost faith in the Star Wars series after seeing The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones – both were horrendous and badly written. But yesterday, Tim, Chesney, Mac (and his date), A.J. and I went to see the movie. Boy was I surprised. It was actually a pretty good film. Here are some of things I enjoyed about it:

- George Lucas put his faith on Hayden Christensen’s acting skills to carry the film and to be his inevitable Darth Vader – and it worked. This is a good lesson on how an average actor can excel in a movie if given a good script to work with.
- The special effects have always been consistently good throughout the series. This one was no different. Although, I still can’t over Yoda flying all over the place. It’s like watching a frog on speed.
- The story was indeed compelling. Lucas went back to his roots and focused more on creating a good story and character development than emphasizing on “eye candy” (special effects). He made a movie about real people and real politics and real human problems. It became an intergalactic soap opera. I loved it.
- The light saber duels were sweet!
- The tragedy – we knew that at some point, Lucas would have to deal with Anakin’s transformation to the Dark Side as well as Padme’s death. He hit a home run in my opinion. It brought the whole series in to full circle – a well thought-out conclusion with such great drama.
- Jar Jar was barely in the film. Thank God!
- Obi Wan has got to be the most caring Jedi in the galaxy. He’s not the best, nor the wisest, but he was my favorite throughout the whole series of the prequels. Ewan McGregor, kudos to you!
- “Anakin, you’re breaking my heart.” That scene was so heart-breaking and so fitting. Will that be the one movie line that everyone will remember forever from these prequels?
- George Lucas’s Sith Lord has become one of the most evil characters in American cinema. The guy’s just freaky and flowing with evil. He’s also such a deceiver and a manipulator. Eat your heart out, Freddy Kruger!
- And finally, the ending of the film was beautiful. It was a notch below Return of the King, but it was still very well-done. It may be the best ending of the whole Star Wars series. The drama, the betrayal, the deaths, the births, the new hope – just perfect.

Just like A.J. said, it was an imperfect movie. But, this must rank high in the all-time best sci-fi movies of all time. I still think Empire Strikes Back is still the best of all the movies because of its raw quality and the story’s revelations. In any event, George Lucas truly redeemed himself with flying colors. Now we can finally put Star Wars to rest.
Grade: A