THE SAGA IS COMPLETE.
With this third entry in the second series of Star Wars films, George Lucas closed in on the original series – not just in terms of story but also quality.
The Clone Wars that began in the last film is coming to an end and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) rescue Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) who has been kidnapped; no one in the Republic knows just how fast democracy is headed for destruction.
Lucas promised darkness for this one and it’s what we’re getting. There is a new terrific villain with a bad cough, General Grievous, and McDiarmid is truly enjoyable as the wicked senator. The looks of the old and the new are fused in great harmony.
2005-U.S. 140 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by George Lucas. Music: John Williams. Cast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Natalie Portman (Padmé Amidala), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Jimmy Smits… Temuera Morrison, Joel Edgerton. Voices of Frank Oz, James Earl Jones. Cameo: George Lucas.
Trivia: Gary Oldman was first cast to voice the character of General Grievous, but had to drop out. Followed by a spin-off series, Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).
Last word: “There’s a huge group of people who were eight to 12 years old when The Phantom Menace came out who don’t like the original trilogy at all – they only like the prequels. Then you have a large audience who are in their twenties and thirties, have a greater access to the Internet and other media and are more able to express their dissatisfaction with the prequels. George always knew, even back in 1990, that this was going to be a big issue for hardcore fans who had grown up with Star Wars. He was just more interested in tapping into a new audience who hadn’t seen the films in the theatres before. If you were eight when you saw The Phantom Menace, you’d be around 17 now and George knew Revenge of the Sith would be the one that would bring peace to both of these groups – and they are totally different groups.” (Producer Rick McCallum, Metro)
