'Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith' Review: 20 Years of Star Wars Greatness

Courtesy of Lucasfilm

This past weekend Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith was rereleased in theaters to celebrate its upcoming 20th anniversary. It was the last movie in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, the last Star Wars movie directed by George Lucas, and the last live-action Star Wars movie before LucasFilm was purchased by Disney in 2012. It was also the first PG-13 Star Wars movie. The movie starred Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, and Christopher Lee. The movie showed how Anakin Skywalker finally became Darth Vader, the fall of the Jedi, the end of the Clone Wars, and the rise of the Galactic Empire.

Originally released on May 19, 2005, Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith was a huge success at the box office, making $850 million and getting positive reviews from critics. It was the second highest-grossing movie from 2005, only behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. After the mixed and disappointing reviews the previous prequel movies got, it seemed the third movie broke through and gave fans what they wanted. For nearly twenty years, Revenge of the Sith has entertained audiences and has only risen in popularity and many fans’ Star Wars rankings. Many fans consider it one of the top three best Star Wars movies of all time, even with more Star Wars movies coming out afterward. What makes Revenge of the Sith one of the best Star Wars movies and a favorite for many fans?

Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith improves on the negatives and mistakes of the previous two movies. The special effects look way better. The special effects hold up well nearly twenty years later and are even better than many movies that have since come out. Most of the dialogue is way better, except for a few cringey lines. The Anakin and Padme relationship is handled way better than in Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones. Hayden Christensen’s acting has improved a lot as well. His facial expressions as Anakin after he officially turns to the dark side perfectly capture his hate, anger, fear, and heartbreak at what he did, even if a few lines weren’t delivered well. In the years since the prequel trilogy, fans went from criticizing Christensen to loving his performance and were happy to see him return as Anakin in future Disney + series like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka. The cinematography is some of the best in any Star Wars movie.

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi delivers the best performance of the movie. His friendship with Anakin is handled a lot better and when he has to fight Anakin, you can tell it pains him to fight his former padawan who became a brother to him. Even though I have seen Revenge of the Sith many times throughout the years, I always get emotional when Obi-Wan tearfully tells Anakin that he was his brother and that he loved him. It reveals that despite Jedi not being allowed to have attachments and love, Obi-Wan in his own way broke the code like Anakin did when he married Padme. It also shows that despite Obi-Wan losing Anakin, as well as his former Master Qui-Gon back in Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace, he never considered joining the dark side and is a true Jedi Master.

The lightsaber fights, while obviously choreographed, are amazing. The Anakin vs Obi-Wan fight on Mustafar remains my favorite lightsaber fight of all time. Some people complain it goes on for too long, but the length adds to the tension, the turmoil, and destruction. During their fight, Yoda faces Darth Sidious as well and that fight was great too. The only lightsaber fight I wasn’t a fan of was Mace Windu vs Darth Sidious, who is still in his Palpatine form. It’s not a bad fight, just not as exciting as the other fights.

What lands with Revenge of the Sith is the emotions. Anakin’s turn is slowly building for the first half of the movie. His dreams of Padme dying fuel it, as well as the Jedi Council not fully trusting him. He pushes back a few times, but Palpatine manages to whisper and manipulate him more. One of my favorite scenes in any Star Wars movie is in the opera house when Anakin and Palpatine talk. Palpatine is slowly manipulating Anakin and when Anakin still believes the Jedi are good, Palpatine decides to tell Anakin the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise and how he used his powers to save others, not only saying his powers were greater than the Jedis, but also playing into Anakin’s fear for Padme’s life.

The scene of Anakin and Padme staring out two different windows far from each other Anakin from the Jedi Council chamber and Padme from her and Anakin’s apartment, right before Anakin makes his big decision in joining Palpatine, is a nice calm before the storm moment with great cinematography, the fear Padme has that something could go wrong, Anakin's fear of losing Padme, is George Lucas’s best work. Order 66, from John Williams’s amazing score to seeing the Clones turn on the Jedi, and Anakin marching to the Jedi Temple with a Clone army ready to slaughter Jedi is intense. Palpatine’s speech about forming the Galactic Empire is epic and shows the galaxy is going in a darker direction. Mustafar, from Padme being heartbroken at seeing how far Anakin has turned to the dark side, the epic fight, and Obi-Wan’s heartbreak is peak Star Wars intensity and drama. Anakin officially becoming Darth Vader with the iconic suit and Luke and Leia’s birth happening at the same time is a brilliant decision by George Lucas.

Overall, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith remains one of the best Star Wars movies to come out and a favorite for many fans, including myself. While not perfect, it remains a timeless classic for fans. The acting, while not always perfect manages to capture the tragedy happening in this story. The action is the best in any Star Wars movie. The transformation of Anakin to Darth Vader is handled well. The vision of George Lucas has aged better than the roller-coaster, inconsistent vision Kathleen Kennedy and Disney had for the sequel trilogy.

For fans who were unsatisfied with Disney Star Wars, many of them see Revenge of the Sith as the last great Star Wars movie to come out. Fans showed up this weekend to show their love for the movie as Revenge of the Sith not only came in second place at the box office behind Ryan Coogler’s critically acclaimed Sinners, but it made $25.2 million after being released in only 2775 locations and has received an additional $42 million globally. For a movie that’s been out and available on many platforms like DVD, Blu-Ray, Disney +, and television for two decades, that is impressive. It is a reminder that fans still love Star Wars but want great Star Wars in theaters again.

My final grade for Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith is an A+. This is my second favorite Star Wars movie after The Empire Strikes Back and to me, one of the most emotional, deep Star Wars movies to ever come out. Have you rewatched Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith in theaters? Let us know in the comments below.