Welcome to our Star Wars countdown. Ahead of the release of The Rise of Skywalker we’ve been looking back at the previous 10 movies that have gone before it. The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones have already been covered so, next up, is 2005’s Revenge of the Sith.
This is a blockbuster regarded as the finest within the prequel trilogy, with Anakin Skywalker completing his descent into Darth Vader while Palpatine rises to become Emperor of the first Galactic Empire. We now look at the five things we loved the most - and five we didn’t.
Good: Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker
Prior to the release of the movie, Star Wars had been criticized for its casting choices. Many thought Jake Lloyd was the wrong choice to play a nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, while Hayden Christensen’s performance as the angsty Jedi Padawan in Attack of the Clones had also failed to hit the heights that many had been hoping for.
But, in Revenge of the Sith, Christensen is truly brilliant as the character. He does a perfect job of showing the conflict within Anakin, making him appear as the sympathetic, tragic hero that George Lucas intended. He’s particularly good at playing the bad guy, perfectly relaying the feelings of hate, anger, and jealousy. This performance is the reason why fans are hoping he makes a cameo in The Rise of Skywalker.
Bad: Count Dooku’s Death
Count Dooku hadn’t exactly been great in Attack of the Clones and his death in Revenge of the Sith is infuriating for fans to watch. Anakin Skywalker manages to defeat the Sith Lord and has him at his mercy when he’s urged by Palpatine to kill him off (in THAT ‘dew it’ line).
Dooku knows that Palpatine is the Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious and could easily snitch on his master but, for baffling reasons, he keeps his mouth shut. Had he spoken up, he would likely have lived and stopping Palpatine’s rise up the ranks. But, instead, he dies easily.
Good: The Tone
George Lucas has always insisted that Star Wars is for children. And it was that insistence that had fans worrying that Revenge of the Sith, despite its title and the fact it would be the movie where the Jedi fall and Empire rise, wouldn’t be as dark as they’d want. However, they were definitely proven wrong.
The third and final outing of the prequel trilogy remains, to this day, the darkest Star Wars movie. There’s death everywhere, there’s sinister politics at work and even children are executed (although that’s hinted at, rather than shown). JJ Abrams wants The Rise of Skywalker to be dark but that will take some doing.
Bad: Padme Amidala’s Death
Prior to the release of Revenge of the Sith, Padme Amidala had been one of the strongest characters. She had more than held her own during a showdown with the Trade Federation on Naboo in The Phantom Menace and fought impressively on Geonosis in Attack of the Clones. Even in ROTS itself she’s strong, bravely going to confront Anakin amidst his fall into villainy.
But her death is totally unbefitting of her character. The medic says she’s dying because she’s ‘losing the will to live’. Like, seriously? The Padme we know wouldn’t have given up on Anakin, especially with two young children on the way. And, unless the theory that Palpatine drained her life to save her husband becomes canon down the line, it will remain one of our biggest complaints.
Good: The Fights
When you think of Star Wars, you can’t help but think about the iconic lightsaber weapon. And Revenge of the Sith is full of the item, with many exhilarating fight scenes taking place. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi duel Count Dooku with barely 20 minutes on the clock.
Kenobi fights General Grievous and Anakin himself later in the movie, while Skywalker battles his old master, slaughters countless Jedi and proves key in the showdown between Palpatine and Mace Windu on Coruscant. Palpatine also has a battle scene himself, going up against Yoda in the senate. And all of the action scenes are thrilling for audiences to watch.
Bad: ‘NOOOO’
Revenge of the Sith is a movie where the dialogue is significantly better than both of the two movies that have come before it. But there’s one exception. We are, of course, talking about the moment where Darth Vader shouts ‘nooooo’ once he learns of the death of his wife, Padme Amidala.
To see a villain as infamous as Vader, as legendary as the Sith Lord, utter those words is, in the eyes of many fans, an insult. To make matters worse, director George Lucas also edited in the audio for the 2011 special release of Return of the Jedi at the moment where the villain throws Emperor Palpatine to his death. Safe to say, it’s not a decision that went down badly.
Good: Emperor Palpatine
Followers of the franchise were unsure how Emperor Palpatine’s rise to power would be portrayed when the blockbuster released in 2005. In the two previous prequel trilogy movies, the villain had operated in the shadows, manipulating the likes of Padme Amidala and Mace Windu into trusting him. But it would be no understatement to say he lives up to his evil name in Revenge of the Sith.
Palpatine is absolutely superb to watch, with Ian McDiramid giving the best performance of his career so far. He’s particularly fascinating after he kills Mace Windu, turning his battle scars into a symbol of the Jedi’s treachery. The way he convinces Anakin Skywalker into joining the dark side is magnificent as well.
Bad: They Cut Cool Things
Seriously, we’re running out of bad things to say. It is such a strong movie and, in the eyes of many Star Wars fans, as close to perfection as you can get. So we’ve now moved onto something that wasn’t in the film. George Lucas cut some seriously cool scenes.
We would have seen a young Han Solo on Tantive IV, but that decision was hooked at the last minute. We would also have got to see Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi team up during their thrilling duel on Mustafar to battle a creature. Ultimately, omitting the scenes made no difference. But, that said, we still wish we’d seen them included.
Good: The Explanations
Did the clone troopers who were loyal to the Republic become the stormtroopers? How would Padme Amidala die? What would cause the able-bodied Anakin Skywalker to become Darth Vader? Were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda both personally involved in hiding Luke and Leia from the Empire? Why can’t C3PO remember anything in the original trilogy?
These were all questions that were swirling prior to the release of the movie and, thankfully, every single one of them was answered. It gave fans the answers they wanted and the big hope is that, with so much mystery surrounding the sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker can do the same.
Bad: The Big Unanswered Question
Revenge of the Sith did, however, failed to answer one question. And, given how big a character Anakin Skywalker is, it’s a pretty big one at that. Shmi Skywalker said in The Phantom Menace that there was no father. Qui-Gon Jinn, within the same outing, confirmed he had an insanely high medichlorian count. So just who was behind Anakin’s creation?
We don’t know. George Lucas, after much criticism, chose to leave anything medichlorian-related out. But we still feel we need an answer. Our personal favourite theory is the one that Palpatine engineered his creation and his path to Jedi Knight. Yet for now, 14 years on, it remains unanswered.