A movie that’s all about going to the dark side ought to say something about going to the dark side. Star Wars Episode III doesn’t. Oh, sure, you can pluck some stuff out of there if you try real hard. But there’s nothing real, nothing sound, nothing convincing. Episode II set up the conflict really well. Anakin is vicious and power hungry – a likely candidate to fall away. But while Episode III follows up on that character, it doesn’t follow through.

***Spoilers***

There is a certain degree to which Anakin (Hayden Christensen) is seeking power in Episode III, but Lucas tries to tell us that Anakin’s desire for power is altruistic – he wants to save his loved ones. Anakin’s fall, then, is initiated by love. But his downward spiral is clearly fueled by a lack of love for anyone, including his wife. At what point does Anakin go from loving, with a bit of foolhardiness, to a state of complete spite for all?

I like the fact that his change is as gradual as it is. But I think Lucas is trying to fool us into believing it’s even more gradual than it appears. Anakin, because of his good nature, loves his wife and trusts Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). It is because of this trust that he is slowly deceived. But Darth Vader is not a good guy who is simply misguided. Darth Vader is evil. And there must be a point where Anakin goes from deceived to evil. This is arguably the most important aspect of the change, but it’s one we never see. If it is there, in some form, it is so subtle as to virtually worthless in its narrative effectiveness.

Thus, most of Episode III feels like a contrivance – a way to make the back story work. The original Star Wars films, particularly the first, brimmed with mythic undertones and archetypal characters. Episode III has no function beyond its plot. No purpose but to tell us how the original Star Wars came about. That’s bad storytelling. And then, after limiting itself to one purpose, it fails to successfully accomplish that one purpose. That’s terrible storytelling.

And yet, despite its massive narrative problems, Episode III succeeds because it does what Star Wars does best. It rocks. Special effects are at their best and the action never ceases. Episode III captures the wars in the stars exactly the way you would imagine Star Wars ought.

Revenge of the Sith just might be the perfect ending for the Star Wars saga. Lucas keeps alive his tradition of (unintentional/intentional?) campy dialogue and drives an already weak story off recklessly, but the magic that is the light saber battles amid a fantastic future world is depicted with unabashed energy, enthusiasm and excitement.

Year: