I wanted to buy some original DVDs to watch on my new TV. So, I asked a shopkeeper for some good quality DVDs. The ones he showed were STAR WARS III and Casino Royale. I selected the former cos I wanted to know what happens after Episode II in which the Clone Wars starts.
The movie is all about betrayal, love, hatred and succumbing to dark temptations. As you already know, Episode III tells the story of Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side, the birth of the Empire and the slaughter of the Jedi.
The scale of the film is epic and the battles are quite impressive. Lucas cleverly illustrates a war far out of control and almost impossible to win. Much like our current political climate, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine refuses to use diplomacy to solve the war with the Separatists; rather he continues the battle, gaining more and more power as the democratic state of the Republic begins to crumble.
In the opening scene, we’re quickly catapulted into an imaginative and exciting space battle between the Republic and the Separatists. In order to rescue the captive Chancellor, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, fight their way through hordes of battleships that look massive like mountans near sheep, with laser fire and explosions blasting at them in every direction. The two Knights then find themselves pitted against both Count Dooku and General Grievous. This battle plants the seed for the dark side in young Anakin who only becomes Darth Vader to save his pregnant wife Padme from certain death. This leads to slaughter of the Jedi younglings.
The issuing of "Order 66", a much talked about scene among fans, is, by far, the greatest in the film. It’s an unholy and diabolical slaughter of innocent lives that’s almost unbearable to watch for anyone who’s ever fallen in love with the Star Wars universe. It’s a stunning moment, one of many, proving that somewhere inside George Lucas, there is still a really great director. Last but not least . . . . . . the light-saber duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin on Mustafar is astounding. These fights are quite extraordinary and saddening all at the same time, spelling the end of the great friendship between Obi-Wan and Anakin. Following this is Anakin transformed into Darth Vader.
This DVD is a THX mastered one for superior Audio and Video clarity - I must say my expectations were only exceeded. THX is studio level reproduction of the recorded sound and video. With tiny details visible, every scene is an eye candy. Unlike other DVDs colors are accurate and not too high and spicy-looking. Some visuals like the lightsaber duels, planets with multiple moons, initial fights with Grievous and Count Dooku and last lightsaber dul are indeed breathtaking. No DVD matches its quality.
Somehow this movie became the saving grace of the criticised prequels that never matched the standards of Return of Jedi and Empire Strikes Back of the late 1970s. One ground where the movie terribly loses is acting - I felt like weeping when the actors act inexpressivlely (maybe they aren’t paid properly I thought). Even Ewan Mc Gregor fails to deliver! I’d conclude saying it’s a very good movie with great techical details but v. poor acting.