| Episode III Review - LT Katherine Cantor Flyer
"Only a Sith deals in absolutes.. I will do what I must.."
"You will try.."
Who would have thought that the lightsaber battle between
Obi-Wan Kenobi and
Anakin Skywalker, known as the Battle of Heroes to some and
simply as The
Duel to most, would measure up to more than 20 years of
hype and
anticipation? Much like the rest of Episode III: The
Revenge of the Sith,
The Duel manages to not only meet but exceed the great
weight expectations
put on it by fans.
The film starts with a bang and never really lets up,
opening with a
breathless ride through a maze of blaster bolts and
starships as Anakin and
Obi-Wan fight their way to the flagship of Count Dooku, the
villain of
Attack of the Clones. From that wild, delightful ride, the
tone of the film
progressively darkens as Anakin falls further and further
toward the Dark
Side. On the way, spectacular fights will be fought on
Kashyyk, home of the
Wookies, the volcano planet Mustafar and others. When
Anakins fall is
completed, the issuing of Order 66 is heartbreaking.
That fall is one of the highlights of the film. It is made
clear that the
fall to the Dark Side is no abrupt thing, but rather a
slippery slope that
drags a once-idealistic young man deeper and deeper into a
darkness that he
will not emerge from for another 25 years. The audience
can't help but feel
compassion for Anakin during his fall, as Hayden
Christensen turns in a
solid performance as the young jedi.
But it's Ian McDiarmid and Ewan McGregor who steal the show
as the nefarious
Emperor Palpatine and Obi-Wan Kenobi. McDiarmid pulls
every 'evil' trick in
the book just short of twirling a mustache, likely foiled
only by not having
one. McGregor turns in his best performance as the young
Obi-Wan Kenobi,
lending The Duel a true emotional weight as he battles his
former protege
across fiery Mustafar. It is heartbreaking to hear
McGregor scream, "You
were like a brother to me.. And I loved you as a brother!"
That is not to say that RotS is perfect. The film is
hampered by a
still-weak (though slightly more believable) love story,
and a surprisingly
lackluster performance from Natalie Portman. The second
act drags a bit as
Christensen and Portman mouth some awful 'romantic'
dialogue and Anakin is
steadily dragged down to the dark side. But the film picks
up again when
Obi-Wan bids his goodbyes to Anakin and travels to Utapu to
dispatch the
separatist General Grievous. By the time Anakin begins his
rampage, the
audience can hardly catch its breath.
Perhaps the best thing that can be said about RotS is that
it serves as an
effective bridge between the prequel trilogy and the
adventures of Luke
Skywalker in the original trilogy. From the appearance of
Bail Organa's
trusty Tantive IV (the Corellian Corvette featured in A New
Hope) to the
twin sunset in Tatooine, the film furiously sells the
connection between the
two trilogies and makes it clear that this is a saga. By
the time Vader's
mask descends on a terrified looking Anakin, the audience
is sold.
Star Wars fans will debate Revenge of the Sith's place in
the Star Wars saga
for years to come. Whether it outstrips the classic A New
Hope and the
fantastic Empire Strike Back remains to be seen.
For now, it has my vote.
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