This "Road to VII" marathon has been quite a ride. Just glad we got to see a GOOD prequel.
The reason I, and many others of my generation, like this movie so much is because it is a refreshing return for the franchise that we all love so much. Episode I is bad and Episode II is decent; Episode III, however is surprisingly good. It successfully combines all of the good things from the previous prequels (plus one bad thing) and makes a movie that is fondly remembered.
First of all, this is the first Star Wars prequel that feels like a Star Wars movie from the very start. It kicks off with a very fun space battle as the two heroes go to save Senator Palpatine and capture both Count Dooku and General Grievous, whom was briefly mentioned in the opening scroll. They break into the spaceship and fight off droids in their path but come across Count Dooku who wants a rematch with Anakin. The fight ensues and Anakin ends up destroying everything he has been taught and KILLS Count Dooku. This is one of Anakin's most important beats in the movie. This is when he starts being entangled by the Dark Side. I especially have praise the "Opera Scene" where Senator Palpatine tells Anakin of Darth Plageuis the Wise. This scene is such a shift in momentum for the entire prequel trilogy as it gives the viewer some much needed lore and Sith backstory that we just don't get in the other prequels. This theme of corruption continues throughout the film too with it eventually leading to Anakin's complete turn to the Dark Side and his becoming of Darth Vader. And I do have to say, the last act where Darth Vader takes control of everything and becomes a Sith, though a little too fast paced, holds some of the most intense scenes in all of the prequels. All this chaos building onto itself leads to the final fight scene between Anakin and Obi-Wan which is one of the most well made fight scenes in the entire Star Wars series.
Though I do praise this film for the things it got right, I do absolutely have to point out the bad parts that it still kept from Episodes I and II. For example, Padme is still a useless character with little to no development. The only reason she is there is to be a 'forbidden love' scenario for Anakin to get tangled up into. Maybe if the character of Padme was directed better I would have actually cared about her and the whole 'love' they tried to build around her and Anakin would have been worth something. The way the film turned out, it's all pretty inconsequential. Another bad decision they brought back from the other prequels was a total misuse of the villains. Count Dooku is killed ten minutes through the film and General Grievous has a really cool design but is no real threat. Sure he looks threatening, but nothing he does never is actually threatening. He is just a political enemy for Republic.
Overall I have to say that Star Wars Episode III is definitely a lot less lazy than its predecessors. It is not as amazing as I would have liked, but it wasn't a bad movie.
Star Wars Episode III is a very fun watch.
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