Revenge of the Sith
Director: George Lucas
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels
In “Revenge of the Sith”, the final chapter of the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, darkness has fallen across the galaxy. The Clone Wars are drawing to an end, but peace is but a faint memory as the chasm between the Dark Side and the Light becomes blurred. Things grow ever more complicated when Jedi Anakin Skywalker faces a heartbreaking choice; does he remain loyal to the Jedi Order or does he sacrifice everything and succumb to the Dark Side to save the woman he loves?
Love is one of the most powerful themes in “Revenge of the Sith” and nowhere does it shine more brightly than in the characters of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala.
Anakin's entire motivation for following the Emperor to the Dark Side was that Palpatine gave him the ultimate incentive. When Anakin returns home from war, he discovers that his beloved wife, Padme, is carrying a precious secret. Although Anakin is overjoyed at the idea of becoming a father, his joy is soon overshadowed by terror when he is haunted by nightmares of his beloved Padme dying in childbirth. His willingness to go to any extreme to save her life is borne from the knowledge that he had already experienced the loss of his mother - the only other person that he truly loved – and he was terrified of reliving that pain again.
Palpatine knew that once he revealed to Anakin that there was a way to prevent Padme and his unborn child from dying, he would have him, and thus his plan was set in motion. Anakin betrayed the Jedi, Obi-Wan - who he loved as a brother - and his wife and unborn child by allowing himself to be seduced by the Dark Side. Although this choice to destroy the Jedi was borne from his desire to save the woman he loved, all he truly achieved was to be drawn deeper into the Dark Side.
In the end, the connection shared between Anakin and Padme is ultimately severed when Anakin takes his final steps into the Dark Side. In that moment, everything goes silent, and as Anakin is transformed fully into Darth Vader, Padme's heart stops and Darth Vader is born. The heartbreaking irony is that even in that moment, when he wakes up on the table as Darth Vader, the first thing Anakin does is ask if Padme is safe. Even consumed in darkness, he still loves her. When the Emperor reveals she has died – and that Anakin is the one that killed her - I think the part of Anakin that was good died too and his grief is expressed in that heartbroken scream.
While it is definitely the darkest (and strongest) chapter of the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, “Revenge of the Sith” is an epic adventure that breathes new life into a story that began nearly 40 years ago. The casting is exceptional, particularly for Ewan McGregor who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ian McDiarmid who embodies the dark and seductive Emperor Palpatine. The story is by far the strongest of the first three chapters of the “Star Wars” saga and ties the new stories with the old perfectly.
© 2013 – 2017 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: George Lucas
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels
In “Revenge of the Sith”, the final chapter of the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, darkness has fallen across the galaxy. The Clone Wars are drawing to an end, but peace is but a faint memory as the chasm between the Dark Side and the Light becomes blurred. Things grow ever more complicated when Jedi Anakin Skywalker faces a heartbreaking choice; does he remain loyal to the Jedi Order or does he sacrifice everything and succumb to the Dark Side to save the woman he loves?
Love is one of the most powerful themes in “Revenge of the Sith” and nowhere does it shine more brightly than in the characters of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala.
Anakin's entire motivation for following the Emperor to the Dark Side was that Palpatine gave him the ultimate incentive. When Anakin returns home from war, he discovers that his beloved wife, Padme, is carrying a precious secret. Although Anakin is overjoyed at the idea of becoming a father, his joy is soon overshadowed by terror when he is haunted by nightmares of his beloved Padme dying in childbirth. His willingness to go to any extreme to save her life is borne from the knowledge that he had already experienced the loss of his mother - the only other person that he truly loved – and he was terrified of reliving that pain again.
Palpatine knew that once he revealed to Anakin that there was a way to prevent Padme and his unborn child from dying, he would have him, and thus his plan was set in motion. Anakin betrayed the Jedi, Obi-Wan - who he loved as a brother - and his wife and unborn child by allowing himself to be seduced by the Dark Side. Although this choice to destroy the Jedi was borne from his desire to save the woman he loved, all he truly achieved was to be drawn deeper into the Dark Side.
In the end, the connection shared between Anakin and Padme is ultimately severed when Anakin takes his final steps into the Dark Side. In that moment, everything goes silent, and as Anakin is transformed fully into Darth Vader, Padme's heart stops and Darth Vader is born. The heartbreaking irony is that even in that moment, when he wakes up on the table as Darth Vader, the first thing Anakin does is ask if Padme is safe. Even consumed in darkness, he still loves her. When the Emperor reveals she has died – and that Anakin is the one that killed her - I think the part of Anakin that was good died too and his grief is expressed in that heartbroken scream.
While it is definitely the darkest (and strongest) chapter of the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, “Revenge of the Sith” is an epic adventure that breathes new life into a story that began nearly 40 years ago. The casting is exceptional, particularly for Ewan McGregor who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ian McDiarmid who embodies the dark and seductive Emperor Palpatine. The story is by far the strongest of the first three chapters of the “Star Wars” saga and ties the new stories with the old perfectly.
© 2013 – 2017 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.