The end of the beginning

By Ben Miller

May 19, 2005, 12:00 AM

Star Wars is over, at least on the big screen. With the sixth and final installment of the saga, Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith, out today, it's hard not to feel nostalgic. This is the last time you'll get to see a Star Wars film for the first time. George Lucas' now six-part series has been marked over the years with both success and failure. Fans of the original trilogy remember intimate details of when they first saw Star Wars, while many viewers of the new films look back on their first Episode I screening with disdain. Perhaps Sith will finally bring balance to the saga. Episodes I and II disappointed legions of fans who were at first impressed with the digital effects diffused through the films, but less than enthusiastic about the lack of meaningful character development or dialogue. The most heard question since last week's press screening of the film, of course, was, "How is it?" -- usually asked with a cringe-like, "I-have-a-bad-feeling-about-this" facial expression. So here it is -- it's better. Admittedly, fitting the final piece of any jigsaw puzzle is really a letdown, and in some ways, Sith is no different. It's tough to make a film where the ending is already history. The first trilogy (the first here on Earth, but the last one in a galaxy far, far away) explores the story of children redeeming their evil father. Audiences today get to see how that man becomes the evil "Dark Father," as Lucas puts it. Hayden Christensen is a little older, a little more evocative and delivers a better Anakin Skywalker this time around. Of course, Attack of the Clones, the previous Star Wars installment, was more about the epic story than about any of the characters in it. What is revealed for the first time here are relationships that the Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious character cultivated during his rise to power, and even his own sordid past is explored. Juicy stuff. Padme (Natalie Portman) almost disappears entirely -- despite how important her character is to the plot. Lucas drives home the point that Anakin is the focus of this story, effectively putting everyone else in the background. The final battle between Obi-Wan and the newly appointed Darth Vader (still looking like Anakin) on a volcanic planet is quite stunning. Lucas took advantage of a large lava flow on Mount Aetna in Italy to capture the footage he wanted, and much of it actually works. The Empire Strikes Back was the film that won over the audiences and has long been considered the best of the series, but Sith is Lucas' finest of the four he directed, surpassing even the original 1977 film. But Sith's storyline is worthy of attention, and the thematic material is not wholly dependent on CGI effects to carry it from scene to scene. Aside from plot markers included for consistency, there's real substance to the story itself. The 6-film story arc follows a core group of characters across several decades of time and space. Here on Earth, 28 years later, the saga closes. Lucas is fairly adamant that he's done with the franchise, saying that any rumors of films seven through nine were myths largely created by the media. With the whole set now out -- and destined to eventually become one big DVD set -- we can watch them all in order now. And, thankfully, we only have to fast forward through Jar Jar Binks in one film.

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