Star Wars: Episode Three Return of the Sith
George Lucas
Reviewer: Anastasia
Reviewing Star Wars: Return of the Sith has been a challenge for me especially given the fact I am not the eternal fan of Star Wars, believe the series is over rated and too much has been expected of an action science fiction movie. Yes, the plot is weak in areas. Yes, there are inconsistencies. However, I believe the moral issues addressed by the film are excellent although these issues have been simplified or over looked. "Sith" is the culmination of the two previous prequels and ties directly into past events.
Anakin’s transition to the dark side solely was not for love, because as a friend pointed out true love brings out the best of us. Although Anakin truly loved his wife, his love for her did not drive him. He allowed fear and his emotions over shadow his love for her. If we have not experienced this personally, we have witnessed the relationship gone bad due to possessiveness instead of allowing the individuals in the relationship to grow as the relationship grew. Often this occurs among the highly intelligent or artistic (as Anakin was), because their intellectual or artistic growth took precedence over emotional growth. Anakin was highly intelligent, gifted with the ‘Force’ and missed out on the early childhood training most gifted with the ‘Jedi’ ability. When our unfettered emotions rule our lives serious problems develop and this is what happened to Anakin. If we look back over his life, we see a history fraught with the inability to control his emotions. He becomes lost in his emotions instead of garnering control of them. Granted, as a young boy, he lost his mother the first time when he left Tatooine and then the final time to death after which he struck out in rage killing heedlessly - a prelude to future events. This rage or rather the inability to control himself arises repeatedly through his life. Battle seems to energize him through out the prequels instead of following the Jedi code that the purpose of battle was to protect the innocent. I believe the opening battle scenes are extremely important, because he did not abide by Jedi standards by killing Count Dooku who was unarmed at the time. Obviously, time and age did not mature Anakin. When the Jedi Counsel denied him the rank of Master, although he was allowed on the Counsel, Anakin became angry - another indication of his insecurity, fear and inability to control his emotions - instead of accepting the honor of being on the Counsel. The not so subtle prodding of Palpatine that his great gifts were not being accepted flows through out this movie. Pride and desire for recognition become issues and I believe feed into insecurity grounded in his childhood and the loss of his mother, which seem to feed his impulsiveness. His fears and compulsiveness seem to be rooted in an inability to put the past behind him and grow up emotionally. Anakin’s desire to do good is obvious and his struggle is evident, but his insecurity drives his conversion. This film definitely makes the ending of Star Wars Episode VI plausible. Yes, the plot is sheer and difficult at times - this is an action movie after all – and the technical aspects of the movie are outstanding. I believe the USCCB review sums up my wordy review well:
When watched chronologically with the other films, "Sith" can be seen as the pivotal chapter of a story in which Anakin/Vader is the protagonist. His character arc parallels the fall and redemption of man. Anakin/Vader starts out innocent, but is seduced, like Adam, with "forbidden knowledge" that will give him mastery over life and death. All that's missing is the apple.
© 2005 Anastasia