WHAT I LIKED: The prequels are interesting because they're not about black and white and good vs evil - they exist in a greyer realm in which bureaucracy and power corrupts and forces the hands of even the most sacred and well-intended individuals. 'Revenge of Sith,' is of course where all of that comes to its head as the sidelined, egotistical and vulnerable Anakin Skywalker is manipulated into Darth Vader - and thankfully that's the definite central focus here. His journey - which truly started in 'Attack of the Clones,' - is a direct result of the benevolence and blindness of his teachers and the Jedi who are wrapped up in the throws war, and it's fascinating to see it reaching its inevitable conclusion. You really do feel for him because his arc and the world around him taps brilliantly into the restraints of reality when attempting to stay true to values, and it's sold not only by how well Lucas builds that surrounding world, but also by Hayden Christensen who I believe does a great job with the material he's given.
This being far more of a character-focused film than its predecessor, Anakin's close relationships are also brought to life well and tested to their breaking points. On the one hand there's his forbidden love and pregnancy with Padmé in which Anakin's conflicting rage and desparation leads to arguments and jealousy. But most of all the breaking of his friendship with Obi-Wan is extremely heart-wrenching, as it's not only brought on by personal conflicts around Anakin's neglect and jealousy, but by ideological ones too. The final lightsaber battle on Mustafar surrounded by lava as all of that boils over is one of the most moving and exciting scenes in all of Star Wars, as it singularly represents the culmination of the prequels (and indeed the brilliant Clone Wars tv series), and Christensen and Ewan McGregor sell it so masterfully.
That stuff is the heart of the film, and what's so great is that the majority of all the other things (which could easily feel like tangents) simply add to the sense of this suffocating world around Anakin which leads to his demise. Jedi plans, Senate hearings, the rescuing of the the chancellor. It all feels relevant and thus consistently engaging.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: With an increasing amount of heavy-lifting to do, Lucas' lacklustre dialogue does really start to strain under its weight. And there is still the odd tangent we could do without...
VERDICT: A dramatic and engaging end to the fascinating but inconsistent prequel series in which good struggles in the face of bureaucracy and arrogance, 'Revenge of the Sith,' focuses its lens on Anakin and plots his tragic demise to a masterfully affecting end.
