Full Review

The saga started midstream with "Star Wars: A New Hope" back in 1977 and continued with "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983). After a 16-year hiatus, there were two highly anticipated but disappointing prequels, "The Phantom Menace" (1999) and "Attack of the Clones" (2002). The saga now comes full circle in what is by far the best film of the "newer" trilogy.

"Revenge of the Sith" -- which takes place three years after the last movie -- opens like all the rest with scrolling text and a blast of brass courtesy of composer John Williams. The preamble announces "War!" and viewers are plunged into what seems like a half-hour of unabated space battles and swashbuckling light-saber duels.

At the center of the CGI storm are space samurai Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his petulant apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). The two Jedi Knights have been dispatched to rescue the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from the sinister clutches of General Grievous, a separatist cyborg with a hacking smoker's cough.

Once the daring duo deliver Palpatine safely to Coruscant -- the seat of political power in the galaxy -- things calm down, briefly, so viewers can catch their collective breath.

Skywalker learns that his wife, Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman) -- whom he secretly wed at the end of "Clones" (marriage is a no-no for the celibate Jedi) -- is pregnant. But his happiness is tempered by ominous night visions of Amidala dying in childbirth.

Anakin also finds himself increasingly alienated from the Round Table-like Jedi council -- including his mentor Obi-Wan and the verb-inverting mystic Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) -- after they deny him "master" status.

Though conflicted, his dreams and growing discontentment eventually drive him to align himself with the deceitful (soon to be evil Emperor) Palpatine, who tells him that his wife can only be saved by someone trained in the black arts of the Sith (the evil counterparts to the valorous Jedi). Palpatine reveals himself to be a Sith lord.

Of course, since Lucas chose to tell his story backwards and viewers already know the outcome, the question is not "what happens?" but "how does it happen?" How does the sweet messianic child from "Phantom Menace" turn into the icon of evil we all love to hate?

Without giving anything away, let's just say that the road to the dark side is paved with good intentions.

By the end of the film, Anakin's conversion is complete and he is fitted with what has become the most famous black helmet in film history.

When watched chronologically with the other films, "Sith" can be seen as the pivotal chapter of a story in which Anakin/Vader is the protagonist. His character arc parallels the fall and redemption of man. Anakin/Vader starts out innocent, but is seduced, like Adam, with "forbidden knowledge" that will give him mastery over life and death. All that's missing is the apple.

Though films can be viewed as little more than a smorgasbord of Jungian psychology, Manichean dualism and New Age mysticism wrapped in sci-fi spectacle, at its heart the "Star Wars" saga is an old-fashioned tale of good versus evil, in which a "new hope" is just an episode away and light ultimately defeats darkness. And while some write off the franchise as adolescent fare, others more correctly view it as a return to mythic storytelling (of which "Sith" achieves a depth and complexity that its two recent predecessors sorely lacked).

The driving theme in "Sith" is the corrupting allure of evil, especially when manifested in a Nietzschean will to power.

Palpatine embodies the danger of modern relativism professing that "good is a point of view" and that "narrow dogmatic views" stunt true enlightenment.

"Sith" is the first in the series to be rated PG-13, and with good cause. The movie contains scenes too intense for young children; they include a grim slaughter of innocents.

It is also the most political. At one point, after the senate hands over ruling power to Palpatine under the pretext of galactic security, Amidala says, "So this is how liberty dies, to thunderous applause" -- a line which some may interpret as a subtle allusion to the current administration. Later in a more (perhaps) intentional jab at President George W. Bush, Anakin paraphrases the president with one line: "If you're not with me, you are my enemy."

Some things never change in the "Star Wars" galaxy: the Jedi are noble, the B-movie dialogue is (mostly) corny, and the performances are wooden (McGregor, McDiarmid, Yoda and R2D2 excepted). Still, the film overall is a marked improvement over both "Clones" and "Menace."

Part "Hamlet," part brooding Buck Rogers, Christensen is less stiff this time around, but, in fairness, not even a Jedi master can make the script's many dreadful lines sound less hokey.

Visually, "Sith" is the most stunning, if at times overwrought, of the entire series, with eye-popping aerial dogfights, dazzling death duels and elegant, Fritz Lang-inspired vistas. Among the action center pieces is an operatic bond-breaking showdown between master and pupil on a planet of molten lava.

As Anakin was prophesied to return equilibrium to the Force, so Lucas strikes a balance between technical video-game-style wizardry and human drama, bringing all the loose story threads to a coherent ending (or middle).

And while this final film falls just short of the mythic grandeur of "Empire" (still the best of the lot), or even the popcorn escapism of "Star Wars," "Revenge of the Sith" is more fun than a barrelful of Wookies.

It wasn't such a "long, long time ago" that George Lucas first transported us to a galaxy "far, far away." As the final curtain falls, it's nice to see a film that finally captures the true force of his vision!

The film contains stylized fantasy violence, including severed limbs and a scene of child menace. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

These movies have been evaluated for artistic merit and moral suitability by the media reviewing division of Catholic News Service. The reviews include the CNS rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

A-I -- general patronage;
A-II -- adults and adolescents;
A-III -- adults;
L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
O -- morally offensive.

Note: Some movies previously were designated A-IV. Older films with this classification should be regarded as classified L.