Star Wars: Episode III—
Revenge of the Sith

The Star Wars saga comes full circle as Anakin Skywalker loses his soul—and a few body parts—to the Dark Side

	Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith
	Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid and Natalie Portman
	Written and directed by George Lucas
	Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
	Rated PG-13
	MSRP: $29.98

By Melissa Perenson

nakin Skywalker's destiny as Darth Vader was never a secret. What no one ever knew was exactly what precipitated the so-called Chosen One's fall from grace. That longstanding question is finally answered in Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, and watching Anakin's progression toward the Dark Side is perhaps the most satisfying part of this, the final installment produced in the six-part Star Wars saga.

With the weight of the Star Wars legacy on its shoulders, Revenge of the Sith was creator/director/writer George Lucas' last chance at redemption with this contemporary trilogy. And Lucas largely delivers: Episode III doesn't get mired in multithreaded plotlines and complex political mumbo, as its predecessors did. Instead, Episode III keeps itself squarely focused on exploring how Anakin was lured to the Dark Side and became evil incarnate, 28 years after audiences first met Darth Vader in Episode IV—A New Hope.

In spite of its splashy, effects-laden opening battle scene (and yes, apparently everything including the kitchen sink really is in that sequence, if you look for it), the first third of the film feels slower than one would expect. It's clear the point of this portion of the film is to establish where the story is at since we last saw our heroes in Episode II: We're now three years into the brutal and vicious Clone Wars, and as Palpatine (McDiarmid) continues to commandeer more power, the Jedi are beginning to suspect something is amiss with Palpatine's power plays. Meanwhile, Padme (Portman) and Anakin (Christensen) have gone against the rules and secretly married.

Pacing is still a problem in this installment; so too is Lucas' penchant for stilted dialogue. And some characters—particularly the pregnant Padme, who has little to do in this film and exits with a whimper—feel as if they've been sacrificed for the greater good of telling Anakin's story.

Even so, the story ends up feeling rich and layered with meaning—especially in the context of Episodes IV through VI. Multiple shots, and various subtle plot tidbits, echo ahead (or is it back?) to the first trilogy, produced so many years ago. McDiarmid ends up with the most comprehensive character arc, in view of the entire trilogy; and his startling performance here showcases his dramatic chops. McGregor finally feels as if he's settled into his role as the younger Obi-Wan. Anakin's pivotal moment, in which he turns to the Dark Side, seems slightly less tortured than one might have hoped, and it isn't until the end of the film that Christensen seems truly at one with his character.

Nonetheless, as the final, much-anticipated showdown between Anakin and mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) plays out on the lava planet of Mustafar, Episode III solidifies its status as the best of the contemporary trilogy. And in the end, you're left with a mostly satisfying and entertaining final journey in the Star Wars universe.

Startling secrets from the set

Once you get past the at-times overly busy menu navigation, you'll find this two-disc set is packed with a slew of fascinating extras. (While Lucasfilm gets props for its animated and themed menuing, as found on previous DVD installments, the main navigation screen of the second disc—a design that cleverly incorporates General Grievous' ship—is so busy with animated battle that the six menu options get lost in the shuffle. By contrast, the animated Senate chamber-themed icons of the Documentary section are downright sedate in comparison.)

The centerpiece of disc two's extras: An original one-hour-18-minute documentary narrated by producer Rick McCallum. This outstanding documentary, titled "Within a Minute," dissects the making of the Mustafar duel, scene 158 (a barely minute-long sequence with 26 shots and 1,185 frames). "Within a Minute" is cleverly spliced together, a veritable tour de force of filmmaking that delves into the 70,441 man-hours and countless departments required to bring that particular scene to life. It's a highly educational documentary from a filmmaking perspective, not to mention an elegant way to acknowledge all of the people involved in the making of this film. Literally every department's role is explained, from accounting and catering to pre-visualization, art, script, production design, props, editing, rotoscoping and digital environments and matte painting. We learn the roles of digital modeling vs. practical modeling in the Mustafar scenes (the film uses actual footage from Italy's Mount Etna explosion, but the physical modelers also came up with their own lava). The biggest criticism of "Within a Minute" is its seeming disorganization; the segments lack a sequential cohesiveness, and while many of these departments worked in parallel, it still would have been nicer to have a better sense of progression to the documentary.

Although "Within a Minute" steals all the attention, the more bluntly fascinating documentary—15-minute featurette, really—is actually one of the two shorter ones in this section. In "The Chosen One," Lucas takes us on a fascinating walk through history, reflecting on Anakin's path to the Dark Side and how the current trilogy impacts Darth Vader as we knew him in episodes I through VI.

The third featurette, "It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III," runs just 11 minutes and provides footage with swordmaster and stunt coordinator Nick Gillard as he preps the actors for their scenes.

Beyond the documentaries, the other content highlights are the marathon audio commentary (paired with the movie on disc one), featuring Lucas, McCallum and various other members of the production team, and the deleted scenes found on disc two. Although Lucas plies us with only six fresh scenes, each, surprisingly, adds something to the film, and each is introduced by either Lucas or McCallum. Among the gems here are a trio of clips showing Senators Bail Organa, Padme Amidala and Mon Mothma discussing the crumbling state of the Senate and planting the seeds of rebellion. It's a shame these scenes were lost in the film; they really add something to the story's depth, not to mention giving Padme more purpose than she otherwise has in Episode III. A fourth clip with Yoda, Obi-Wan and Mace Windu shows that the Jedi weren't so blind as they thus far appeared to the events going on around them. The fifth is a simple establishing shot, but one that brings Yoda full circle, and shows him arriving on Dagobah.

The remaining extra content is mostly standard fare. All 15 Web documentaries (shorts running anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes) are on disc two, as are the various trailers and TV spots, one-sheet posters and production photos and a video-game trailer for Star Wars: Empire at War. The only other extraordinary aspect is disc two's ability to play in an Xbox game console, supplying two full levels of gameplay from the new Star Wars: Battlefront II game.

Episode III is eminently better than its predecessors, and the only installment in the contemporary trilogy that I can see myself rewatching as time wears on—and continuing to enjoy after the first impressions wear off. In many ways, Episode III really does achieve a satisfying closure to this defining saga in modern science fiction—as well subtly improve the later installments in the series filmed so long ago, in a galaxy far, far away. —Melissa

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