Editorial Review:

Description:
The Star Wars saga is now complete on DVD with Episode III REVENGE OF THE SITH. Torn between loyalty to his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the seductive powers of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker ultimately turns his back on the Jedi, thus completing his journey to the dark side and his transformation into Darth Vader. Experience the breathtaking scope of the final chapter in spectacular clarity and relive all the epic battles including the final climactic lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan.

Amazon.com:
Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).

The Star Wars Family Tree (click for larger image)

It's just the latest maneuver in the ongoing Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist forces led by former Jedi turned Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). On another front, Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) leads the Republic's clone troops against a droid attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. All this is in the first half of Episode III, which feels a lot like Episodes I and II. That means spectacular scenery, dazzling dogfights in space, a new fearsome villain (the CGI-created Grievous can't match up to either Darth Maul or the original Darth Vader, though), lightsaber duels, groan-worthy romantic dialogue, goofy humor (but at least it's left to the droids instead of Jar-Jar Binks), and hordes of faceless clone troopers fighting hordes of faceless battle droids.

But then it all changes.

Star Wars Time Line (click for larger image)

After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies, Episode III finally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you've been living under a rock the last 10 years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn't matter. In fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they'll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because Episode III is a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.



Episode III is easily the best of the new trilogy--OK, so that's not saying much, but it might even jockey for third place among the six Star Wars films. It's also the first one to be rated PG-13 for the intense battles and darker plot. It was probably impossible to live up to the decades' worth of pent-up hype George Lucas faced for the Star Wars prequel trilogy (and he tried to lower it with the first two movies), but Episode III makes us once again glad to be 'a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.' --David Horiuchi



DVD features
Say what you will about the new Star Wars films--and plenty has been said already--but the DVDs continue to set the standard for technical excellence. From the opening of the first scene, the Dolby 5.1 EX sound is thrilling, and the picture, transferred directly from the digital source, is fantastic. A commentary track is again provided by a combination of people, including George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett. Lucas admits that the film is political and that he was influenced by Vietnam, but makes no mention of the Bush administration, as is widely speculated.

The main documentary on the second disc is probably the most granular DVD feature ever. 'Within a Minute: The Making of Episode III' takes 67 minutes to deconstruct one minute of the film, an excerpt of the duel on Mustafar. The idea is to cover all the aspects that go into creating that minute, from writing to set construction to accounting. Fortunately, many of the concepts such as costumes apply to the movie as a whole, but having producer Rick McCallum tell us the importance of food seems a bit overkill. Two other featurettes are 'It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III,' an 11-minute discussion focusing mainly on the lightsaber duels, and 'The Chosen One,' a 14-minute examination of Darth Vader's evolution over the six films.

The six deleted scenes were no great loss from the film but are all worth watching. Natalie Portman in particular gets some much-needed screen time as one of the co-plotters of an anti-Palpatine movement, and an early action scene ties in to the Clone Wars animated series. There's also a 15-part series of 5 to 7 minute Web documentaries on topics such as the creation of General Grievous and Ewan McGregor, and an Xbox sampler of Battlefront II (if you're lucky, you can play as Obi-Wan Kenobi cutting through an army of droids) among other supplements. --David Horiuchi

The Complete Star Wars Saga

Episodes 4-6 Trilogy (widescreen)	Episode I: The Phantom Menace	Episde II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 1	Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 2	The Star Wars Store

Stills from Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (click for larger images)

Anakin turning to the dark side	When Wookiees attack
Yoda, Jedi master	Mr. and Mrs. Vader
Saber training with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen	The cast

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Rating: - * Star Wars - Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is abought Darth Sidious tricking Anakin in to becoming Darth Vader. Darth Vader had destroid Mace Windoo to protect Darth Sidious. It was Darth Vader vs. Obe-won Konobe. And another battle was Yoda vs. Darth Sidious. Darth Vader fell in hot lava and got his cool costume! Rating: - * Sorry, but these new Star Wars movies are loaded down with not so special effects, lame acting, and weak characters. I hate you George! Rating: - * I cannot believe how impressed I was with this film, how well the writers wrapped up the whole Star Wars saga and put all the pieces together. This was an excellent film, the best of the entire series. It inspired me to buy the latest DVD set which had the first three movies released and then reacquire the Clones film to complete my DVD collection of it. Now, I suppose I'll buy the Blu-Ray versions, if-and-when they ever come out. The special effects were, of course, top-notch. When you go back and see those early Star Wars films you really see how far Hollywood has advanced in this area. I cannot imagine how many hours of work it took the put these storyboards and computer artwork in this film, there is so much detail. It's mind-boggling. I know a lot of fans of this series feared the writers would mess up the final but their fears were not realized: this was a super ending to a memorable saga that endured for almost 30 years amazing. Rating: - * I am a huge Star Wars fan. The original trilogy films were great, and the first two prequels were decent, but not the same hype as the others. I saw Attack of the Clones in theaters with my aunt when I was ten. And now, the saga is complete. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) has grown into an accomplished Jedi Knight. When he and his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) rescue Chancelor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from General Grevious (voice of Matthew Wood), Palpatine pressured Anakin into killing Count Dooku (a.k.a. Darth Tyrranus, played by Christopher Lee) in cold blood, assuring he was to dangerous to be kept alive. After the rescue, Anakin was facing the prospect of breaking the news to everyone else of his secret marriage to Padmè (Natalie Portman) now that she became pregnant, and with the vision of her dying in childbirth weigh heavy in his mind. He tries to prevent this from happening, but turns to the Dark Side of the Force and completes his transformation into Darth Vader (body by Hayden Christensen, voice by James Earl Jones). This entry was awesome, but nothing compaired to A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. There were a few oddities, though. For example, Christopher Lee was given supporting billing, but Count Dooku only made a cameo in the beginning. It once again used CGI, but not as much, which would explain a lower budget than its predecesors. It had a darker and grittier storyline than the rest, and even beat The Empire Strikes Back for the darkest and most emotional in the series. This is also the only one to be rated PG-13. All the others were rated PG. This also ended the prequel trilogy on a high emotional note. The acting and dialogue improved, and John Williams returned to compose a more tense score for this one. It had the best lightsaber battles in the series, as well. If you are a fan, like me, then please see this tragic conclusion to the Star Wars prequels. You will not be dissapointed! Rating: - * This is a horrible movie. I just watched it (afraid to before now) and really thought it was horrible. I will just hit a few notes. (1) Humor: Why are the first three movies so totally lacking in humor. C3po and R2D2 are still around. No comic foil there. What balances the drama in the first three movies are the funny jokes. Nothing like that here. In fact, the movies are way too dark... (why is everything happening at night?) no doubt a way to cover needless special effects. (2) Betrayal to the 4,5,6 stories: Man if you can't even remember the Leia told Luke that her real mom was sad and most importantly living, then you need to get to the nursing home right now. So much just doesn't make sense here -- many have commented the Obi Wan talked about not taking Anakin to Yoda. No dovetailing with the first three movies at all. These are massive plot holes. (3) Horrible unsympathetic characters. Some have faulted the dialog but it seems to me no one knows who their characters are or has any sense or what would make them special. Padme is so useless at points and then she is running around in battle gear. Make up your mind! Is she is awesome girl or smoopie long haired romantic type. Why is Anakin in love with Padme or vice versa, we just can't see it here. I am sure the actors didn't know. (4) too much coming at you at each scene. There is such a thing as too much. The final fight scene between Anakin and Ben should be 100% about them. Instead you can't see them in the river of lava. Man talk about a background ruining a scene. Sometimes you can't even find Anakin and Ben without their light sabers. Too much CGI is a bad thing. Bottom line there is no way a franchise like this should be ruined because whomever just wasn't into them anymore. Fox should be currently scouting for fans of the series to "reimagine" these movies and do them right. I am sure Lucas has the rights but he sure doesn't want to do it anymore so I am sure someone could talk him into allowing fans to redo them. I already think Wentworth Miller would make a good Anakin. The entire plot of these movies should be ignored and a storyline that is closer to what the 4,5, and 6 movies suggested should be used.