I couldn't review the last two without covering this one as well. It just wouldn't have been fair, and not least because Episode III is by far the best of the prequels. I'd even go so far as to say (and children of the 70s will want my blood for this) it's on the same level as the originals. Yes, that's right, I've just said one of the Star Wars prequels is as good as the originals! What has brought about my turn to the Dark Side? Well, it was... Anakin's turn to the Dark Side.
When looking at the originals, and even the other prequels, "dark" would probably be the last word anyone would use to describe the Star Wars films. They were fun, action-packed, sci-fi adventures. Ominous at times, perhaps, but never really dark. Until now. It was inevitable, knowing we had to make the leap from the Jedi-filled democratic galaxy of Episodes I and II to the tyrannous empire with the Jedi wiped out of Episodes IV-VI, that eventually we would experience the darkest Star Wars film. The one that saw the heroic Jedi eliminated, the Republic dismantled and - the one everyone was waiting for - Anakin Skywalker's transformation to Darth Vader.
The film opens without a sign of this darkness, as Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi lead a battle in space and through the depths of a vast command ship under the control of new villain, part droid/part alien, General Grievous. The opening sequence is full of the usual lively adventure and fun that is to be expected of a Star Wars film, save for a moment of darkness in Anakin's character as he kills the unarmed Count Dooku. After a daring battle and a crash landing, Anakin and Obi-Wan have returned to the city-covered planet of Coruscant, where Anakin is approached by Padmé, now his wife, having married in secret, and she reveals she is pregnant. It is nice to have our first reminder of where this story is going! Even in Anakin's happiness at the news, we can start to feel a little sad here - this reminder of the future is enough to jog the memory (almost forgotten in the excitement of the opening sequence) that the warm, brave, loving young hero before us is doomed to a dark fate before the end credits roll.
As the film goes on, the gradual temptation of Anakin away from the Jedi and towards the Dark Side is played out wonderfully. His frustration as he is appointed to the Jedi Council - on the request of shady Chancellor Palpatine - but not granted the rank of Jedi Master; his distrust of the council as they ask him to spy on Palpatine; and ultimately his fear of Padmé's death in childbirth, which he foresees in a dream, met with Palpatine's tale of a Dark Lord of the Sith who became so powerful he could stop people from dying. Here we start to see why we had to endure Episodes I and II - as bad as they were, they did manage to establish Anakin's character. His constantly emotional nature, his belief in his own supremacy and his love for Padmé all come into play here in creating the ultimate sci-fi Tragedy. And all the while, in the background, Palpatine is pulling each and every string in Anakin's fall to the Dark Side with magnificently sinister precision.
The moment we see Anakin turn his back on the Jedi is truly heartbreaking. Having learnt that Palpatine is Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord the Jedi have been looking for - something the audience realised as early as Episode I - Anakin heads back to the Jedi Temple, where he tells Mace Windu - head of the council, played by the legendary Samuel L Jackson - the Chancellor's true identity. Windu orders Anakin to stay at the temple as a team of Jedi go to capture Palpatine. Alone in the Jedi Temple, Anakin realises that without Palpatine, he may lose all hope of saving Padmé. He needs the Dark Lord's help to master the power of preventing death. There is a beautiful and utterly harrowing sequence where Anakin goes to the window of the council chamber as Padmé goes to the window of her apartment, the sunset's dim golden glow lighting both of them as they look at each other across the vast distance. In this short scene, silent except for John Williams' touching score, we see the conflict in Anakin, his loyalties torn between Padmé and the Jedi, Palpatine and the Council. When he finally leaves, resolved to helping Palpatine, his fate is sealed and the movie just starts getting darker and darker. Palpatine, in conflict with the Jedi, has already killed three Council members and is locked in battle with Mace Windu. Upon his arrival, Anakin is faced with a choice between saving Windu or saving Palpatine. In his desperate need for the power Palpatine has spoken of, Anakin disarms Windu, allowing Palpatine to kill him. Now believing that he needs Palpatine to save Padmé and that the Jedi are attempting to overthrow the Republic, Anakin pledges himself to the Dark Side, under the teaching of Palpatine. Anakin is given the new name of Darth Vader.
The fall to the Dark Side is used to signify the start of the oncoming darkness - Jedi across the galaxy are killed as a secret order is given to their once loyal supporters, the Clone Troopers. We see Jedi after Jedi on far-flung planets and missions, believing they have the support of the clones, being helplessly overpowered and gunned down - another heartbreaking moment, as we witness the fall of the keepers of the peace in the Galaxy and witness a great and fair power crumble. It is even more painful to see Anakin himself not only lead the attack on the Jedi Temple, but to be the one to kill the children training to become Jedi. The deaths of the Jedi are seen not only as brutal, but overpowering - none of them had ever stood a chance, so thorough was the power Palpatine had created to destroy them.
We then come to the climax. The stunning battle on the volcanic planet of Mustafar between Anakin and Obi-Wan. The epic nature of the scene - the biggest and most impressive battle of the whole Star Wars saga - is matched only by the pain of knowing these two characters, now fighting to the death, were as close as brothers at the start of the film. The result of the fight is, of course, inevitable. It is here that Anakin is left for dead, his legs and arm severed by Obi-Wan's lightsaber. His body ignites as it is caught by the lava that fills the planet. One of the biggest emotional impacts of the film comes here, as Obi-Wan tells Anakin "You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you" as Anakin is left screaming in pain and hatred on the volcanic surface.
The rest, we already know, because it has to complete the circle and bring things up to the point they are in at the start of Episode IV. But this foreknowledge does not make the impact any less emotional. Padmé dies in childbirth, telling Obi-Wan "There is still good in him". This final determination makes it so much more heartbreaking as she dies, leaving her twin children - Luke and Leia. Anakin is rebuilt, imprisoned in the black metal of Darth Vader's iconic armour. His first metallic breaths are enough to send a shiver down the spine of any fan, as is hearing Vader's deep robotic voice once again. But it's the final shot of the film that delivers the strongest emotional punch. A lonely Obi-Wan Kenobi has given Luke to his aunt and uncle on Tatooine and set off to begin a life in solitude. As Owen and Beru take the child, they stand atop the small mound outside their home and look out across the desert landscape at the setting twin suns. The shot is, of course, a beautiful mirroring of the iconic shot in Episode IV, where Luke stands in the same spot looking at the same suns setting.
Roll end credits. Cue the biggest struggle not to cry at the end of a film I have ever faced. Episode III was the first Star Wars film I saw in a cinema and when I was sat there, watching the credits roll, knowing it was the end of an era that had spanned mine and my parents' generations, it was one of the most emotional cinematic moments I had ever experienced. The sad - yet happy, with the knowledge of what was to come - ending only added to the impact. So, despite Episodes I and II and the endless and pointless remastering of the originals, with Episode III I feel I really must say thank you, George Lucas for creating the most incredible sci-fi film saga the world has ever known.
10/10 and a place as one of my all-time favourite films.
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