Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is the third installment of The Skywalker Saga and concludes the story of Anakin Skywalkers tragic turn to the dark side as he becomes the greatest villain in cinematic history, Darth Vader.
The film came out in 2005, three years after the release of Episode II – Attack of the Clones which, like its predecessor, was panned at the time by critics and fans alike. With the grand finale of the Prequel Trilogy, long-times fans hoped that this third installment could finally deliver on what the Original Trilogy had set up.
Let’s just say, they finally did it… Let’s take a look at some of the major plot points in Revenge of Sith and see how they hold up in 2022.
The Tradgedy of Anakin and Padmé
In the previous film, Anakin and Padmé’s relationship came off as creepy and overall just completely forced (no pun intended). This go-around their relationship is much more tolerable but also tragic as we get to the end of the film.
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At the beginning of the film, we learn that Padmé is pregnant and that Anakin is of course the father. Anakin is initially pleased to learn of this; however, Padmé is apprehensive because she knows that the council finds out, Anakin will be banished from the Jedi Order.
Later in the film, Anakin begins having dreams of Padmé’s death, similar to the ones that he had in the previous film about his mother. Anakin vows that he will do whatever it takes to prevent Padmé’s death this time around which is eventually what initiates his turn to the dark side.
This ends up being incredibly poetic as Anakin’s turn to the dark side is the very cause of Padmé’s death at the end of the film when she loses the will to live. In an attempt to be Padmé’s savior he ends up being the person that causes the death that he envisioned.
Emperor Palpatine Is An Evil Genuis
Palpatine’s plan finally being uncovered in this film was absolutely beautiful to watch and just goes to show the kind of evil genius that the Emperor was throughout the Prequel Trilogy.
Palpatine decides to appoint Anakin to the Jedi Council knowing that they would be foolish enough to pick him to be the spy, despite the obvious bond between the two. Because of this Palpatine is able to become even closer with Anakin and groom him to the dark side by using Padmé impending doom as bait.
By the time Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he is the sith lord he has already convinced him that the Jedi are evil. When Mace Windu attempts to kill the Emperor, Anakin stops him saying it’s against the Jedi code, despite doing the same to Dooku at the beginning of the film.
After Anakin’s battle with Obi-Wan on Mustafar Palpatine takes him in, giving him the iconic Darth Vader suit. When Vader asks what happened to Padmé the Emperor tells Vader that in his anger he is the one who killed Padmé leaving him with no one else to lean on but the Emperor.
The Emperor was also somehow able to convince the entire galactic senate that after thousands of years of service, the Jedi were the ones who betrayed the Republic. Now that’s impressive.
Revenge of the Sith Has The Best Fight Scene In Star Wars
Not only does Revenge of the Sith offer one of the best scenes in the history of Star Wars, but I would venture to say that the Battle on Mustafar is one of the greatest fight scenes in cinematic history.
Throughout the film, we got to see how Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship developed since Attack of the Clones. Two have become great friends, brothers even, which makes their final battle even more heartbreaking.
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Obi-Wan truly loved Anakin. He had come to love and truly respect the Jedi that he had become. When Obi-Wan sees the security logs of Anakin killing the younglings you can truly see the devastation on his face. When has to eventually to down his former appetence it is heartbreaking to watch Obi-Wan’s speech to Anakin as he is burning alive.
Both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen’s performances in the sequence were absolutely flawless. I highly doubt we will get anything of this caliber in Star Wars ever again. The hype for their reunion in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries is unreal!
For more of our thoughts on Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith continue to page 2:
