*Official* 3NS ROTS Reviews (Ebert's review, spoiler-free inside!)

Another bigtime review is up...Variety...VERY positive..."best since Empire"


By TODD MCCARTHY
The Force returns with most of its original power regained in "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith." Concluding entry in George Lucas' second three-pack of space epics teems with action, drama and spectacle, and even supplies the odd surge of emotion, as young Anakin Skywalker goes over to the Dark Side and the stage is set for the generation of stories launched by the original "Star Wars" 28 years ago. Whatever one thought of the previous two installments, this dynamic picture irons out most of the problems, and emerges as the best in the overall series since "The Empire Strikes Back." Stratospheric B.O. is a given.

Indeed, "Sith" looks likely to follow the commercial pattern of the initial trilogy, wherein the second edition, "Empire," dipped considerably from the first, only to see the third, "Return of the Jedi," bounce back closer to the level of "Star Wars." In the case of the most recent set, "The Phantom Menace" grossed $921 million worldwide (slightly more coming from foreign territories than from the U.S.), while "Attack of the Clones" slipped to a $647 million worldwide cume. There's little doubt "Sith" will significantly improve on the latter figure.

Everyone who has followed the "Star Wars" saga over the years will come to this film knowing that it all has to pay off here: the transformation from Anakin into Darth Vader, the face-off between Anakin/Vader and his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, the morphing of the Republic into the Empire, the exile of Yoda and the birth of the twins Luke and Leia to Padme, siblings who become the central figures in episodes 4-6.

Given the general awareness of what's going to happen, it's up to Lucas to make it exciting. Despite fans' varying degrees of loss of faith that set in with "Menace" and "Clones," most will be inspired enough to believe again.

As if deliberately setting out to reassert his mastery over his iconic creation, Lucas opens with (EDITED).

In fact, the initial 23 minutes virtually constitute one eye-popping action sequence, as (EDITED).

When things settle down (EDITED). But it's a minor problem here, as the dynamic of onrushing events soon becomes all-enveloping, as several interconnected conflicts are brought to a head.

As was not always the case the last two times out, Lucas' storytelling sense is admirable as he lays out the growing schism between the Jedi council -- which supports the Republic -- and the Chancellor, who has been granted exceptional powers in the current crisis.

Caught in the middle is Anakin, trained all his life by Obi-Wan to be an exemplary Jedi, but suddenly (EDITED).

(EDITED).

Picture's final hour is steeped in apocalyptic imagery, tragic pop mythology and effective cross-cutting, as (EDITED).

Resolution of the latter is significantly gorier than anything previously seen in the "Star Wars" sextet, thereby earning the series' first PG-13 rating. It also results in the transfixing (EDITED).

Entertaining from start to finish and even enthralling at times, "Sith" has some acting worth writing home about, specifically McDiarmid's dominant turn as the mastermind of the evil empire. McGregor remains a steady presence, and both Portman and Christensen have loosened up since "Clones" to acceptable, if hardly inspired, levels. Expressiveness of the digitally animated Yoda, voiced as always by Frank Oz, is amazing.

The technical achievement here is on such a high level that one is lulled into taking it for granted. Neither of the digitally shot recent episodes has looked consistently great, but this one does.

Perhaps this is the moment to remember it was the original "Star Wars," modest budget and all, that forever raised the bar and set the standard for the new generation of special and visual effects (a taste of "Star Wars" decor is provided by a reproduction of the gleaming white interior of the escaping Jedis' spacecraft). Composer John Williams also seems to have put extra effort into his virtually

 

Wow. These reviews are unbelievable. I guess I really had lost hope in George. I expected that he would produce another decent film, but one that would be generally mocked by the public as flawed and immature. But it seems that like Anakin himself, he saved his finest moment for the end. Good for George! Of course the opinion could shift on a dime at any moment, but the momentum really seems to be building.

 

thank you, dolemite, and good job editing.

storm - I'm sorry you read the TFN review, I had to step out for a few hours, and in the back of my mind, I was wondering how spoilerific the TFN reviews would be. It's a SHAME they are too lazy to make spoiler hounds highlight. But TFN has been going downhill for a long time, so....

Well, storm, that review actually spoiled ME, if you can believe it, so maybe that helps.

Anyway, for you patient souls who had the stamina to wait, here's the edited version of the first (of 3?) TFN reviews (actually from comingsoon.net):

You know what pisses me off - at comingsoon.net, where the full review is posted, they have a warning that the review contains heavy spoilers. Gimme a break, TFN.

MASSIVE SPOILERS, DO NOT READ ACTUAL REVIEW!!!

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Reviewed by: Scott Chitwood
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary:
Revenge of the Sith is probably the best of the prequels. With strong performances by Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, and Yoda, it delivers much of the action and darkness that fans have been looking for. The final connection with the Classic Trilogy ultimately makes it a satisfying conclusion to the Saga.

EDITED - the Story bit, at this point, you either know the first 1/4 of the movie or you don't.

What Worked:
I should start out by saying that I'm a little biased when it comes to Star Wars. I'm a lifelong fan of the movies and I helped start TheForce.Net, so take my opinion of the movie with that in mind. I should also say that this review is unique in that I'm reviewing it with two different hats. I'll be giving my opinion as a card-carrying member of the Star Wars Fan Club and also as a parent with a young child begging to see this extremely intense film. I'll also say that I spoiled myself silly by following spoilers since Episode II and reading the novelization. With that out of the way, let's dive into the film itself.

Revenge of the Sith is probably the best of the three prequels. It takes everything that was good about Attack of the Clones and reduces everything that was bad about it. You have cool battles, EDITED, more cool bad guys, and no Jar Jar (well, at least no Jar Jar dialogue). That being said, you also still have some bad dialogue, slow scenes between the action sequences, and cheesy romantic moments. Fortunately none of these weak points drags the film down like they did in Attack of the Clones. With everything said and done, I think my favorite Star Wars films from best to worst are The Empire Strikes Back, A New Hope, Revenge of the Sith, Return of the Jedi, Attack of the Clones, and The Phantom Menace. (But ask me again in a year and my ranking will most likely change.)

The acting this time around seems to be better for a prequel. Ian McDiarmid really steals the show as Palpatine. The way he manipulates Anakin's feelings is superbly done. EDITED. McDiarmid also delivers a number of the lines with just the right amount of feeling to really irk you. EDITED.

Also stealing the show again is Yoda. Every scene he is in is great. EDITED. This is also probably the best Obi-Wan performance by Ewan McGregor. He shows so much more emotion this time around that you can't help but notice the difference. McGregor plays him with a lot of humor early on, then with a lot of anger and regret towards the end. Natalie Portman is also pretty good as Padmé. In the first half of the film her performance is not that great because she's stuck only doing romantic dialogue with Anakin. However, as the film gets darker and darker, she's able to do a little bit more...namely crying. And she does it well.

The same pretty much goes for Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. He's in top form when he's in action, brooding for the camera, or raging. In Revenge of the Sith there's a lot of that as you would expect. I should also note that Jimmy Smits gets a lot more to do as Senator Bail Organa this time around. He's kind of the Wedge Antilles on Revenge of the Sith in that he's a se

 

Wow! I can't believe this movie is getting such good reviews. I was sure the media would rip it to shreds!

It's a surprise, but a nice one.

 

AT Rotten tomatoes - DON'T READ THE REVIEWS! but two are up and also positive. Good news thus far guys. Lets hope this goes for awhile.

 

Unfortunately, there's no real standout action scene in this movie like there were in the previous prequels.

That's disapointing. No real standout action sequence? Bah! I know he said he liked the duel between Anakin & Obi-Wan, but how could it not be a standout? Ok, so maybe my expectations are a little high, too. Good to hear such an honest review from a SW fan.

 

While these reviews thus far have been positive - I really hope they MEAN their opinion and not back out of it say 4 months later. It really calls to question the credibility of their reviews. But then again, if this movie gets a high majority of good reviews, most likely they won't change their positive opinion.

Also about Scott's review - I really liked his review. It was an honest as honest gush as you can get. But for those bummed out by some of the negative aspects - sure they may be true - but realize he said he was dirt spoiled for the movie. If you notice a lot of things he mentions as a slight flaw was really more like him saying "I kinda expected more". In a sense the spoiling hurt his experience. The same happened for me with a few movies. While his spoiled nature helped him understand certain things, you'd notice that the other positive reviews don't actually make much qualms about the movie being confusing. The most I read was that it gets a little overwhelming in the middle but its not so bad. In a sense the spoiling hurt his experience. The same happened for me with a few movies.

 

Well, TF.N review is pretty disappointing. First off, I don't understand how he says none of the action really stands out. From the little footage I have seen, this is hard to believe. He didn't seem that impressed by any facet of it. An 8/10 isn't bad, but I expected him to be blown away. Perhaps I had my expectations set to high.

 

Thanks to Garth and Dolemite for this. Even stripped down to the bare basics, you can catch the excitement.

EDITED!!!!

I don't know if you added in the exclamation points, but if so, nice work.

Of the ROTS action scenes, I had a few favorites. First up, I liked EDITED. The combination of action, effects, and cool worlds made it memorable. As previously mentioned, the battle between EDITED was spectacular. It's an epic battle EDITED. I really enjoyed it. Finally, there's the big duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin. It was very cool, but my expectations were pretty high. EDITED.

For some reason, I find this edited paragraph really funny. It reminds me of Buster's censored letter from the Army on Arrested Development: "Sergeant Blank is treating me very blank, and it looks like I?ll be shipping off to blank in about a blank. I blank you, Mother. Buster."

Unfortunately, there's no real standout action scene in this movie like there were in the previous prequels.

Now this part is confusing. Considering who fights who in this movie, and all the battles and whatnot, none of them were standout? At first I assumed he meant in the sense that it was like choosing a favorite from a bunch of great ones, but it doesn't look like it from the next paragraphs.

I was also disappointed that General Grievous didn't have a bigger role.

This is actually a really good comment, I think. Not because I don't like Grievous (from everything I've seen and read, he looks like a very fun villain), but because if it leaves people wanting more, that's a sign he was done well and didn't overstay his welcome.

 

By the way, the Todd McCarthy review posted by Dolemite a couple pages ago is from VARIETY, so that's a super good sign.

More reviews:

From mixedreviews.net:

While it's safe to say that STAR WARS, EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH will not be in competition for the Best Film Oscar next year, the story might be different if there were a category for Most Improved. For surely under that criteria, it would win in a walk. Its two predecessors in the Star Wars canon -- the dreary and dour Phantom Menace and the incoherent Attack of the Clones -- not only disappointed fans and confused casual audiences, but also sullied memories of the original 1970's trilogy, diluting the saga of the Skywalker clan and their imaginative universe. For many, the newest efforts by George Lucas can still be summed up in one phrase: Jar Jar Binks.

Which will make the experience of the final film in the series, REVENGE OF THE SITH, an unexpectedly sweet pleasure. A dark and gripping slice of space opera, it successfully avoids the pitfalls of its predecessors with a dense but cohesive narrative, strong character development, and a grand, epic struggle between the forces of good and evil. The Star Wars-ian mythology is expanded in careful detail, with new additions to the legends as it comes to its conclusion.

Perhaps most importantly, director/screenwriter Lucas finds surprising and satisfying ways to connect this generation's characters (Anakin, Padme, et al) to the next (Luke, Leia), even as the modern triptych completes the circle back to where it all began: long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.

REVENGE OF THE SITH is, ultimately, about the transforming fall from grace of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), a particularly talented Jedi Knight who, through a combination of ambition and circumstance, feels a strong pull towards the Dark Side of the Force. The pull towards his new bride, Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), is even stronger; it threatens both his relationship with the Jedi Council and his bond with mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). Confused and restless, Anakin takes some solace in the eerie comfort of Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), a politician with an agenda of his own; the war that has rocked the Republic is coming to a close, and a new order is coming...one that presages the Empire of Darth Vader and its diabolical Emperor.

Lucas breaks up the soapy politics and court intrigue with some astonishing action sequences, including EDITED and some vintage lightsaber action. With a clarity that has eluded him in previous outings, the director propels the Anakin/Padme love story with a velocity that will please even the most skeptical viewer. For comic relief, Lucas employs a gallery of old friends, including Yoda (EDITED); the comedy duo C-3PO and R2D2, who return to their wisecracking ways seen in The Empire Strikes Back; and most appealingly, Chewbacca, who appears in an extended sequence on the Wookie homeworld..EDITED

The computer-designed universe Lucas utilized in Menace and Clones seemed plastic and sterile, beautiful landscapes that lacked any sense of life. Thankfully, technology has progressed enough in REVENGE OF THE SITH to make the backdrops pulsate with energy and vibrancy. Sequences on lava-covered mining worlds, inside space cruisers, and on the expansive floor of the Imperial Senate almost crackle with intensity; finally, Lucas' vision has borne fruit, making CGI an emotional medium as well as a visual one.

The non-CGI actors -- look Ma, real humans! -- contain some pleasant surprises, too. Christensen is given the thankless task of trasmogrifying into Darth Vader, one of the most iconic characters in the history of cinema. His smoldering rage and jealous fury doesn't quite make it all the way, but it's enough to suspend disbelief. (Who knew that adolescent rebellion could change the face of an entire universe?) McGregor seems to be having a marvelous time turning Obi-Wan into a futuristic swashbuckler, as does McDiarmid, who gleefully employs

 

Entertaining from start to finish and even enthralling at times, "Sith" has some acting worth writing home about,

Ok, as hopeful as I was, this was the LAST thing I expected to read from a mainstream review.

So far it seems a consensus that McDiarmid, McGregor, and Yoda are superb. People seem split on HC and NP between decent and great (well, HC, anyways). But I don't see the words "wooden" or "bad" anywhere.

At last George will reveal himself to the masses. At last he will have revenge.

 

Whiz, I think the factor into why the TFN review wasn't so "enthused" was probably because he was spoiled. From what I've been gathering, if you know the payoff, then it kind of ruins the inital reaction though I do agree on the confusion issue. You can't just see a SW movie once and get everything in it. How many of us still watch these movies over and over and still find something new every time? Me!

I guess what is hard on this is that expectations vary from person to person and some will have them met and others won't. This is never to say ROTS isn't any good because all of these wonderfully positive reviews gives me so much to look forward to. I have stressed to those not so enamored with the PT as a whole to go see this one, that this movie will successful bridge everything together. What can I say, I'm an idealist at heart. I never lost faith.

And frankly, every one of these movies has flaws. The movies are essentially what we bring to them as well. And to me, it will be a culmination of one of the most wonderful and important experiences in my life. Nothing comes close to Star Wars for me. So embrace this time everyone! Don't let other's opinions ruin your own for ROTS. Look at it this way, you get to write your own review after you see the movie too. Everyone wins!

 

Wow, positive reviews are really pouring in now. I never had any doubt that I would like the movie, but a part of me really wants everyone else to like it too. Hopefully the early positive hype doesn't get turned around later, like what happened with AotC, but I'm optimistic about that because everything seems much more positive this time around.

 

*sigh* The jab against President Bush was completely unneccessary. Like the world has never seen a plot line involving a megalomanical dictator taking power under the guise of Democracy before. It must be a jab against Bush!

 

Lucas?s exceptionally well crafted script

Revenge of the Sith isn?t just a great Star Wars movie, it?s a flat out great film.

Critic's reviews are saying things like this? Has the end of the world happened and I missed it?

It is kind of sad that in the same breath as praising ROTS they do the whole "HAY GUZ AOTC AND TPM SURE SUCKED, AM I RITE?" I'm not saying everyone who hates on the PT just does it to look cool, but it almost seems like they're going out of their way. This sort of thing even happens on boards like this with people who like the PT, hedging praise with something like "Don't get me wrong, I didn't like..." It's like you can't say you like it without justifying yourself.

One thing that bugs me, though, is all the comments about how Natalie and Hayden have "matured" and are "less awkward". Or, here's an idea: maybe it's the characters who are more mature and less awkward! Nah, can't be, must be Lucas and his crummy actors.

 

dunno, Hydronium. "a little from column A, a little from column B." The actors are more mature, more comfortable with each other and the SW acting concept, AND the characters are more mature.

Geez, I'm getting teary-eyed just from reading these reviews. Check out my thread on the 3SA reaction, it's even more tear-jerking because you know it's coming from hardcore SW fans.

I feel vindicated, especially BECAUSE I love TPM and AOTC. If I liked those films (might as well throw in ROTJ too lol) as much as I do, then I'm going to be a WRECK come opening night.

EDIT: Oh yeah, one thing a large number of 3SA'ers have said is that there's so much in this film that their brains are kind of fried....it's a lot to take in.

 

Wow. I'm so thrilled to see the positive reviews continuing to pour in! I also skimmed over the Time magazine review today on the newsstand (quickly, because I was afraid of spoilers), and I saw enough to know they'd liked RotS as well. It's unreal hearing so many critics praise a Star Wars movie. I'm really starting to hope that this'll be the one that blows everyone away.

Less than two weeks to go!

 

Gee, wouldn't it be nice if after all of the bashing and negativity that went on that:

-EVERYONE starts kissing GL's butt like Peter Jackson's
-Ian McDiarmid gets an Oscar nod (hey, Ian McKellan did)
-Hayden Christensen is recognized as a great young talent and the masses finally get around to watching Shattered Glass instead of bashing
-People ENJOY Star Wars again

 

oh. my. god.

this is unbelievable. is there ANY way that things will really be this positive? i'm almost afraid to think it could be true. not a single negative review yet. Some of them have been hesitant to rank the movie, some put it at the top of the PT stack, and one even says it's the best SW movie ever. some reviews seem really reserved in general, while others are just gushing. but, not a single negative review. not one. by pros or fans...

my GOD... i know i'll love this, and i know i shouldn't care what other people think... but it would be AWESOME if i loved this movie and everyone else loved it with me... it would be awesome to have people talk about a PT one and not go "yeah, but..."

i can't wait...

andy

 

The other two Star Wars prequels are utterly irrelevant; this film could have existed without them.

Don't believe that for one second.
It sickens me how many points that the other two brought up are taken for granted by people.

 

Looks good so far. I do think Scott Chitwood's comments about no action standouts could be a result of him being highly spoiled.

On the one hand, then yes, he may have picked up on some stuff and back story that first-time viewers wouldn't have...but on the other hand, knowing exactly who fight who, where, with what, and what happens, is really gonna take away from the action sequences I feel *shrugs*

I must've seen all of about 20 seconds of Anakin vs Obi-Wan in little several-second long bits here and there. I have no clue about how it ends, how it flows, any neat tricks or standout moments, so I'm going into it totally fresh.

Still, it all looks very good. You can't please everyone all of the time, so we should be ready for a few negative reviews, but it looks good.

At the end of the day though, the only important review is your own

 

It's getting 100% at RottenTomatoes.com right now! I'm afraid to read the reviews, though. There are six or seven of them up.

 

How can you honestly enjoy a movie the first time if you know EVERYTHING that happens? I was spoiled a ton for TPM and AOTC but I still left some parts of the movies (Yoda vs Dooku for example) out for me because I wanted to be surprised.

Still, if someone in 3SA says it's great, then we are going to be ecstatic seeing it unspoiled!

 

The other TFN reviews are up now.

DO NOT READ THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will post 3NS-safe versions in a little while.

 

You are the lifesaver, Garth