Silence. A black screen is the only light illuminating the room. Then—BAM! B major fills my speakers and yellow text fills my screen. The iconic Star Wars theme song plays as the preposition for the 3rd chronologically movie in this series plays out across my screen, filling me with hope for what is to come. 

Star Wars Episode 3 follows up one of the least-liked Star Wars films among fans, Attack of the Clones. Because of this, Revenge of the Sith had large shoes to fill and this movie does not disappoint. 

The beginning of this movie starts out with one of the greatest opening scenes in film history. we see Obi-Wan and Anakin flying their Jedi interceptors perfectly in sync showing the growth between them as master and apprentice. This opening scene is a perfect exposition, introducing the main protagonists (and soon to be main antagonist) and the clones just introduced in the last movie. It is also quick to introduce 2 of the 3 leaders of the Separatist army, General Grevious, and fallen Jedi, Count Dooku. Both of them represent aspects of Anakin’s fall to the dark side coming up later in the movie. Anakin quickly kills Count Dooku with permission from the newly elected Chancellor Palpatine. This is the first time in the movie series that we see Palpatine directly influence Anakin towards the dark side and it is perfect. 

After this opening sequence, we finally meet Anakin’s love interest throughout the movie, Padme Amidala. While others think that this relationship is cringy and too cliche, I think that the movie makes this relationship perfect. We see how much Anakin really loves her and how he is willing to do anything to keep her from dying like his mother. We learn that Jedi are not supposed to form attachments or love, so we see that Anakin is breaking those rules and later on it will cost him. Padme is Anakin’s main reason for his downfall and it could not have been done better by this movie. Anakin begins to have dreams of Padme dying in childbirth and he will now do anything it takes to keep that from happening. 

Now we get to one of the most underrated scenes in the movie, the final time that Anakin and Obi-Wan speak to each other. This scene comes up about halfway through the movie. In this scene, Obi-Wan is leaving to go find and destroy the leader of the Separatists, General Grievous. Anakin says goodbye to Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan tells Anakin how proud he is of him and his progress. Finishing it with “Goodbye old friend” and with that Anakin and Obi-Wan never speak again for the rest of the movie. Anakin no longer exists by the time their fight at the end happens. Only Darth Vader is left by that point. That is what makes this scene so beautiful. The foreshadowing in this scene is also interesting once you realize it. As Anakin says goodbye to Obi-Wan, Anakin stands in the shadows representing his inevitable turn to the dark side and Obi-Wan stands in the light.

Order 66 takes place when Chancellor Palpatine orders all the clones to hunt down and kill their Jedi generals. Nearly every Jedi in the galaxy is killed except for a select few that we get to see in this movie and others spared in spin-off shows. Order 66 is a beautifully brutal sequence in which we watch as the Jedi that we come to know throughout the trilogy get gunned down by who they think is on their side. It is shot beautifully as we see each planet the Jedi are stationed on and we even get to see some Jedi attempt to fight back. One of the most recognizable scenes from this film is when Anakin leads the attack on the Jedi temple and slaughters the younglings. In this scene, you see the fear in the kid's eyes as well as the fear in Anakin’s eyes. The conflict within Anakin makes you feel bad for him and completely changes the way that we view Darth Vader going forward into the original trilogy movies. 

The best part of the movie by far is the battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan. The scene is perfectly shot, taking place on Mustaphar, a lava planet. When Obi-Wan finally confronts Anakin or Darth Vader, we see the extent of Ewan McGregor’s acting. He does an amazing job of showing the pain and anguish that Obi-Wan goes through after seeing his “brother” turn to the dark side. Hayden Christiansen also does an immaculate job of displaying the conflict within Anakin as he fights his former master. In the end, we see Obi-Wan win and Anakin is burned and transformed into the Darth Vader that we know from the original trilogy of Star Wars. This scene alone displays the truly brilliant side of this movie. The acting is magnificent and the plot makes it even better. We know what’s coming at the end but it is incredible to see it take place. This movie is easily a 10/10 for me and every time I watch it, it gets better and better. So next time you need a movie to watch and are on Disney Plus or even just watching live TV keep an eye out for this one because it is not one to miss.