Sith is not perfect, but ultimately none of this matters. Lucas has finally shown his greatest creation, Darth Vader, the respect that he deserves.
Star Wars is important. People who say it is undeserving of tremendous hype, anxiety, deliberation and expectation do not understand it, and quite possibly do not understand film in general. The Star Wars saga is important because it changed people's lives and became a part of who they are, which is what good films, good music and all good art have in common.
Revenge of the Sith arrives on the back of two huge cinematic disappointments. Phantom Menace delivered precious little, and Attack of the Clones was only narrowly better. All eyes now rest on this chapter, the dark episode, to redeem George Lucas’ actions of the past five years.
Is it actually possible to screw up Anakin Skywalker turning to the dark side of the force and becoming Darth Vader? The simple answer is no, and the simple fact is, he does better than could ever have been expected.
Revenge of the Sith’s main task, to explain why Anakin turned to the dark side, is the film's greatest success. This was critical because, like it or not, what happens in this film will change the way we view the original trilogy. If we don't understand his betrayal of the Jedi and devotion to the Emperor, we can't understand Vader's eventual redemption.
In this sense, Hayden Christenson excels, taking the character beyond the petulant teenager of Attack of the Clones. Similarly, Ewan Mcgregor and Nathalie Portman do their smaller but important roles the justice the deserve.
Finally, Lucas majestically ties up the loose ends which were vital for a smooth transition to A New Hope; a title that now has greater poignancy.
Sith is not perfect, (most notably in Lucas' now traditionally weak dialogue) but ultimately none of this matters. Lucas has finally shown his greatest creation, Darth Vader, the respect that he deserves and provided the depth that we always hoped this film would deliver.
It's Star Was... 'nuff said.
Lucas draws you in to the story enough that you can skip over some of its obvious weaknesses.
As good as it could have realistically been, but still not a patch on the original trilogy.
