Hi guys! So we just finished the third in our review and discussion of the Star Wars films with our look at Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. This is definitely the strongest of the prequels and we had a great time talking about it.
PLOT-
Episode 3 starts out with war between the Republic and the Separatists. Obi-won and Anakin lead a rescue of Chancellor Palpatine from General Grevious. They confront Count Dooku who Anakin kills at Palpatine’s urging. Later on Coruscant Padme announces to Anakin that she is pregnant. Anakin is happy over the news but also worried because of the rules against Jedi loving. Anakin also becomes worried when he has dreams of Padme dying while giving birth.
Anakin is angry when the Jedi Council decide against making him a Jedi Master. Palpatine feels he will be able to manipulate Anakin and he goads his ego and tells him about the power of the dark side to possibly overcome death. He then tells Anakin that he is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Anakin tells Mace Windu this who then confronts Palpatine. The two fight and Palpatine is nearly defeated but Anakin decides he needs to know how to save Padme so he stops Windu who then Palpatine kills. After this Anakin pledges with the dark side and is named Darth Vader.
Obi-won kills Grevious. Then Palpatine changes the orders of the Clone army using order 66 to kill the Jedis and Anakin is sent to the Jedi Temple and he oversee’s all Jedi’s even children in training are killed. The only survivors are Obi-wan and Yoda. Vader then kills the Separatist leaders on the volcanic planet Mustafar while Palpatine convinces the Senate to change from a Republic to a Galactic Empire. Padme hears of Anakin’s betrayal and goes with Obi-wan to Mustafar. Vader feels Padme has betrayed him by continuing to associate with Obi-wan and he force chokes her and she collapses. Obi-won and Vader have a light saber battle over the lava. Obi-wan severs Vader’s limbs and he is burned in the lava.
Meanwhile, Yoda battles Palpatine with the light saber and other methods but ends up escaping. Padme has twins Luke and Leia before dying. Palpatine creates a body and respiratory mask for Vader so that he can go on living creating the iconic Darth Vader we know. Obi-wan and Yoda hide the twins, Leia with Senator Organa in Alderaan and Luke with his uncle Owen in Tatooine.
THOUGHTS-
As I say in the video, my main response to Revenge of the Sith was ‘meh’. It’s not terrible but I didn’t love it either. It was ok but that’s a big improvement over 1 and 2.
There are a couple of reasons this one works better than the other 2. First of all, there is actually a story with a climax that matters and villains that are menacing. Everything in this film is leading up to the creation of Darth Vader so it gives it some momentum and excitement we didn’t get in the others. Second, there is way less dialogue in Revenge of the Sith than the other prequels, which is a good thing because George Lucas isn’t great at writing dialogue. Finally, the special effects are better and more convincing than previous endeavors.
I felt like they tried to remove a lot of the stuff people hated in episode 2. We get way less awkward romantic dialogue. We get way less political talk and we even lose the villain of Episode 2 right away, which really surprised me. Ian McDiarmid also gets to shine as Emperor Palpatine as he becomes the Emperor we know in the original trilogy.
I did think Anakin’s transformation to Darth Vader was somewhat sudden but I didn’t hate it either. I was annoyed by Padme becoming basically a Bella Swan type waiting and adoring needy woman and kind of giving up in the end.
I also found the plot to be very confusing and didn’t like General Grevious as a character. I wish they had just kept Count Dooku who I think was much better than Grevious.
The Order 66 and the change of the Clones to kill the Jedi was very sad and compelling especially having watched Star Wars Rebels and seeing some of that aftermath.
There’s lots of light saber battles in this film and I enjoyed most of them even if they are a little bit cheesy special effects-wise. I’m still not a fan of Yoda using a light saber and that whole section but the Vader/Obi-wan battle lava aside looks pretty cool.
The final creation of Darth Vader is good but I didn’t like the No at the end especially because Lucas put it in Return of the Jedi at the end.
Overall, I still had problems with Revenge of the Sith in acting, a confusing plot and some character jumps that don’t quite make sense. That said, I was entertained and found it much more entertaining than Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones.
I am very excited to get to Episode 4: New Hope which is my personal favorite Star Wars film even though I admit Empire Strikes Back is the better made film. It’s going to be fun to discuss the 3 original trilogy and then Force Awakens!
What do you think about Revenge of the Sith? Put your comments down below. Thanks!
Overall Grade- C
Reblogged this on Smilingldsgirl's Weblog and commented:
Continuing into our Star Wars series Abby, Jeremy and I discuss the 3rd prequel Revenge of the Sith. I think you will really enjoy the video and my written review.
I have always thought this film is very dark, but I remember enjoying it when I was younger! Now I just think it is OK! 🙂
Haven’t seen this one yet, but it’s cool that you consider it the strongest of the prequels.
Your discussion raises some good ideas, like how Anakin submits to Palpatine after the death of Mace Windu because he really has no other options at that point.
I haven’t watched Revenge of the Sith for a few years but I thought it was good fun. The acting and the characters still aren’t mesmerising, but the story has more direction and emotional depth than the previous two films. There are some really great moments – I really liked the bubble show in the theatre, and the silent scene of Anakin and Padme thinking about each other before Anakin goes off to stop Windu. But at the same time, there are ridiculous moments like the infamous “Nooooooooo!” and how quickly the three nameless Jedi knights are killed by Palpatine leaving only Windu to fight him.
My feelings about the big Republic-Separatist war are best summed up by Rifftrax: “The bad news is, I have no idea who’s fighting who and over what. The good news is, I don’t care!”
I’m quite mixed about how Anakin’s turning to the Dark Side is handled. On the one hand, it is a gradual progression across two films with him increasingly going against the Jedi code, and there is some tragedy in how he’s ultimately motivated by love, albeit a rather bland love. But he seems rather thick as well as it’s quite obvious Palpatine is manipulating him and telling him what he wants to hear. One minute he’s all “I have the power to save the one you love!” and then he’s all “Well, technically I don’t actually know how to do it, but I’m sure we can figure it out! Theoretically. Maybe.”
Hi Rachel! I tagged you to do the Disney Era Tag! https://ncdavis2003.wordpress.com/2015/11/10/the-disney-era-tag-golden-era/
Oh no. I think that’s 2 I owe you. I will get right on it
Please don’t feel like you have to do them!! I tagged you for the second one because it was about Disney movies! And I just love your blog! Again, they are optional! 🙂
I was able to do it tonight. I did really enjoy this one. http://54disneyreviews.com/2015/11/10/the-disney-era-tag-golden-era/
I read it, thanks! I hope you enjoyed doing it! 🙂
When I was much younger I used to watch Revenge of the Sith almost as much as the original trilogy and enjoyed it mainly for the action, effects and visual similarities to A New Hope. For a time, I even considered the possibility of starting each Star Wars marathon with Episode III, but that never came to be because I realized all the changes Lucas made to the original trilogy, and replacing Sabastian Shaw as Anakin with Hayden Christensen was crossing the line for me, even making me go off Star Wars for a long, long time.
So while I do get some nostalgic pleasure in watching ‘Revenge of the Sith’ (more than I can say for Phantom Menace or Clones), I pretty much agree fully with these points you raised, it’s still not strong enough on its own merits to qualify as a Star Wars film and simply being better than Phantom Menace and Clones isn’t enough.
Well said. I couldn’t agree more on the changes to Return of the Jedi especially. Stupid George Lucas! We loved it just the way it was!
But yeah Revenge of the Sith may get a bit more credit than it should because it isn’t awful which isn’t exactly the same as being good.
I hope the inevitable success of The Force Awakens will convince Disney and Fox to reach some kind of deal to release the original theatrical versions in a cleaned up format fit for DVD or blu ray. They must know that Star Wars fans will be all to eager to own the untouched trilogy on blu ray, especially me!!
That would be my dream come true. I would bet money that Lucas made keeping his versions as part of the sale because he likes the special editions. Sigh…but we can always hope!
Finally saw this one and like you, I liked it much more than 1 and 2. I actually think it’s either my 3rd or 4th fave of all 7 films (haven’t made up my mind yet).
I actually like the character of Grievous mainly because of his design and voice, lol!
I was kinda disappointed when Christopher Lee just died like 2 minutes after showing up as I was hoping to see more of him, lol!
I’m glad this movie explained a lot of things that led up to the original trilogy, but there are still some things I’m not sure about: Like how/when does Darth Vader know that he didn’t kill his wife and that he has 2 kids? And other things that escape me right now.
Good. I’m glad you got to see it. It does lead a lot of questions about the original trilogy but oh well. There’s definitely some entertainment there to be had.