Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Revenge Of The Sith

Yes Revenge of the Sith has its flaws as do all the Star Wars films. First, unlike some I think the acting is subpar in this film, the dialogue is anything but perfect, and at times it seems forced. Why do I give it four stars? Because what it does well makes everything else easily forgiven.

First, the evil Darth Sidius is the best part of this movie. He clearly is the villan that has started the clone war, is manipulating the war from both sides, and (at least for me) perfectly portrays a politician who is hungry for power. Anakin Skywalkers transformation into Vader for some is unbelievable, and I can see why one might have issues with it. However, it is how Darth Sidius manipulates Anakin into believing that he can save his love if he joins the dark side. Further, it is how Sidius manipulates Anakin into believing that he truly is the benevolent one that is probably the most compelling performance of the film.

I found things in this film that can reflect real life which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. First, you have a crooked politician who started the war and is running/leading it from both sides. Second, This same politician (darth sidius) easily manipulates the populace and in the end has them cheering for their own enslavement. Plus I found Darth Sidius very compelling when he stated, "Execute order 66" to have the republic army (who the Jedi were working for) murder the Jedi. He than had Darth Vader kill the Viceroy who were helping Sidius run the droid army on the other side. Just like crule dictators like Stalin or Hitler, Sidius murders those that helped him rise to power. The scene where the lead viceroy of the droid army looks at vader and says, "but Darth Sidius promised us peace" only to have Vader slice him in half with his light saber immediately after makes one think. One has to wonder if Lucus took history as a blue print for this film.

In the end even if you don't like these films you should watch this one. No, the acting is not great, no the dialogue is not fantastic, and the acting is subpar. However, if you understand history this film will make you ask yourself some questions.