After three long years of relentless fighting, the Clone Wars are nearly at an end. The Jedi Council dispatches Obi-Wan Kenobi to bring General Grievous, the deadly leader of the Separatist droid army, to justice. Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine has grown in power. His sweeping political changes transform the war-weary Republic into the mighty Galactic Empire. To his closest ally, Anakin Skywalker, he reveals the true nature of power and the promised secrets of the Force in an attempt to lure him to the dark side. (from MovieWeb.com)

Being that I was born in the same year the first Star Wars sequel, Empire Strikes Back, was released, it may be needless to say that I've grown up with the Star Wars films. I can fondly remember popping A New Hope into the VCR on a day home sick from school. As I got older, the films were more nostalgic than anything, and I lost appreciation for them. When Lucas revived the series in 1999 with Episode I: The Phantom Menace, I returned to the original trilogy and fell in love once again with the somewhat campy heroics of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and company as they battled the evil Empire lead by the Emperor and his righthand man, Darth Vader. The new adventures in Episodes I and II were created to provide a history and backstory to the ways of the "Force" and good and evil, showing fans particularly Darth Vader's origin. While those films were fun and a great treat for the fans, they failed on several levels, including acting, dialog, and... Jar Jar Binks. But with Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, Lucas has one more chance to bring the films to the fun and exciting world that was created with the original trilogy almost thirty years ago. It's Lucas's swan song. Does it succeed? I can't say "yes" emphatically enough.

Revenge begins as the Clone Wars are winding down and the Jedi are struggling to bring an end to the war, while trying to find out who the mysterious Dark Lord of the Sith is. What unfolds is Anakin's emotional struggle with deciding which path to follow -- good or evil. And while we all know which path he infamously decides to take, we don't know how or why, and Lucas does a fine job exploring this. Revenge takes on a much, much more serious tone than Episodes I and II, following an even darker route than Episode V had taken. Lucas does manage to include some classic Star Wars humor, however, which mostly involved R2D2's antics and Yoda just being himself. And much needed this humor is. The film's dark overtones are often emotionally heavy and truly heartbreaking. But this is to be expected, considering the evil Empire is in rule during Episode IV: A New Hope, so naturally, all comes crashing down devastatingly in its final prequel, Revenge Of The Sith.

Revenge Of The Sith is officially the first and only Star Wars film to ever get any rating higher than PG. This PG-13 rated film earns every bit of its higher rating. Death runs amuck in the film and violence is in abundance. Whether some characters are being dismembered, impaled, or literally burned alive, it's a brutal film. It's unfortunate for the younger Star Wars fans that it has to be like this, but I have to admit, I can understand Lucas's choice to go in this direction. It's not a comedy this time around, but a true tragedy. We see a hero fall, and peace and good come with him. We know in the original trilogy that Anakin will wear the Vader suit -- and it's not just for looks. Lucas spares little detail in showing the audience why Anakin must wear the suit and mask. And for this gruesome fact, the film truly earns its rating. Revenge is a film for long-time Star Wars fans, indeed -- and, sadly, not for children.

Episode III, for the most part, corrects the biggest problems that plagued Episodes I and II. The dialog, while not perfect (as notable in a few of the more romantic scenes), has improved notably, as has the acting -- particularly McGregor's as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Some of the exchanges between Anakin and Padme, and Anakin and Obi-Wan are truly heartbreaking. There's just enough emotion fueling the scenes to really get the impact the film needed. While I'm still trying to get used to the idea of the boy from Episodes I, II, and the start of III being who terrorizes the galaxy in Episodes IV, V, and VI, Hayden Christensen did a much finer job portraying his struggle with which fate to accept, and it worked well. I couldn't help but wish it didn't end up the way it did. The brotherhood Obi-Wan and Anakin share, as shown better in the opening sequences, made it extra hard to watch things crumble between them. However, you just know what's inevitable.

The strength of the story, the little details and loose ends that are tied up so nicely, and the exciting plot developments are what really carry Revenge Of the Sith. From the exciting introduction of new character General Grievous, to the shocking demise of some key characters, there is a lot that takes place in Episode III -- to overwhelming proportions, even. I'm a bit reluctant to jump to the conclusion so soon after seeing the film, but Episode III may be the best of the series since Empire Strikes Back.

With that said, it's hard to recommend the film due to its heavy and devastatingly dark theme, but it's definitely a must-see for the diehard Star Wars fans. Please exercise extreme caution when contemplating taking the young ones. I personally advise against it. But to the fellow Star Wars enthusiasts... rest assured Lucas has not disappointed, and be sure to leave time to watch A New Hope directly after this climactic galactic tearjerker.

To celebrate 20 years of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, Disney has re-released the 2005 film back in theaters.

So much has happened with Star Wars in the past 20 years. Not only has George Lucas's much-criticized prequels found new appreciation among the younger generation, but the franchise was purchased by Disney 7 years after Revenge of the Sith released, and three brand new Episodes in the now-dubbed "Skywalker Saga" were produced by the Mouse House. Several side story movies have also since been produced (and even more announced), as well as over half-a-dozen television series (even more if you count the animated series). Star Wars not only has continued to expand its universe, but it looks nowhere near slowing down at this point either.


It's tough to pass up the classic Star Wars movies returning to the big screen, and with it being two decades now since the prequels wrapped up, and Lucas no longer being in charge of this beast, those movies now kind of feel classic, too, to a degree. I revisited 1999's The Phantom Menace and 2002's Attack of the Clones before hitting my local AMC to see Revenge of the Sith on the big screen again, and I'm glad I did. Revisiting the setup for this story really helps supercharge it emotionally. Revenge Of The Sith hits much, much different on a big screen inside a movie theater than it does on your TV at home.

As I mentioned before, I grew up with the original trilogy movies as a kid, and then saw the prequel movies as they came out in my late teens/early 20's. Now as an adult, and even a father to a teenager - who came with me to see Revenge back in theaters (his first time seeing it on the big screen), it's a whole new experience. Rewatching Phantom and Attack... it's hard to overlook how bad the writing is, how wooden the acting is, how silly some of the action can be, how corny some of the humor is, and how boring the trade federation political drama really is. But then again, we're treated to Ewan McGregor's young Obi-Wan Kenobi, Natalie Portman's Padme Amidala, and Liam Neeson's all-too-short-lived Qui-Gon. We're also introduced to some cool new, also short-lived, villains, like Darth Maul and General Grievous. And even though some of the action is silly (go ahead, try to find the logic in all the "dancing" and twirling during the Phantom Menace lightsaber fights), some of it is also pretty awesome. The last act of Attack of the Clones is pretty exciting, and that overlong podracing sequence in Phantom Menace gave birth to a pretty sweet video game.

And all of it paves the way to Revenge of the Sith - the payoff to knowing Anakin will become Darth Vader, and Obi-Wan and Yoda will become exiled. How did Phantom Menace lead up to A New Hope? This is the next big puzzle piece. Some of the acting is still pretty dodgy - especially the dialog (like the cringy exchanges between Anakin and Padme), but Palpatine's Dark Side temptations for Anakin are still excellently creepy, and as over-the-top as it can be, the duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan is purely epic. While the story broods for long stretches, it also gives way to some great action sequences. And John Williams turns in one of his best Star Wars scores, injecting Lucas's scenes with more emotion than the director could ever do on his own.

If you're wondering if anything is different with the movie being back in theaters, there is only a brief introduction from Hayden Christensen before the movie begins -- which keeps its 20th Century Fox fanfare intact, and surprisingly no additional Disney logo tacked on.

If you're a Star Wars fan, especially one partial to the prequels, you're not going to want to miss catching Revenge of the Sith on the big screen again. So much of Star Wars over the past 20 years seems to have centered around many of these characters - especially the long-running Clone Wars cartoon show - and getting to see it back in cinemas, alongside other fans, is a real delight.