It's Friday night. You have your popcorn, your favorite drink, and the greatest film of the Star Wars prequels queued up on the TV in your living room. The moment you hit play, you'll be transported to another universe, one that takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It never gets old. There's a reason for that.
As good as the Star Wars prequel films are, there's one of the three movies that truly stands out above the rest. Maybe it's nostalgia; maybe it's the music. Maybe it's both those things and more. Revenge of the Sith is a Star Wars film like no other, and that's what makes it the best of the prequels.
Star Wars fans waited literal decades to find out what really caused Anakin Skywalker to betray the Jedi and fully embrace the dark side of the Force. Say what you want about the story, its dialogue, the special effects -- all Revenge of the Sith really needed to succeed upon its release was audiences' anticipation for the rise of Darth Vader.
Even now, when you sit down and hit play on this film, that same sense of urgency immediately pulls you in. This is it -- the final act of a tragedy in the making. This is what you've been waiting for. Yes, the first two movies in the trilogy have their own bright spots. This third act, however, is the end of one story and the start of another, in a way that the other two films aren't.
Some might argue that the "Duel of the Fates" lightsaber battle from The Phantom Menace takes the No. 1 spot here. But I have four different words for you: Battle of the Heroes.
The entire trilogy has led to this moment: the battle between two brothers in the Force that will end in tragedy no matter the outcome. It's this duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin that leads to the full birth of Darth Vader and the final metaphorical fall of the Jedi Order. It's symbolic, and that's great; add the lava planet as a backdrop and throw in that iconic John Williams score, and you have yourself a near-perfect sequence.
While Revenge of the Sith doesn't perfectly line up with everything originally set up in A New Hope and the two films that follow it, it comes pretty close. It gets all the big and important things right, such as staging Luke and Leia where they need to be years down the road when the original trilogy begins.
It's the moments toward the end that really count -- Obi-Wan handing Luke off to Owen and Beru; Bail and Breha finally starting their little family thanks to Leia's arrival. It's nearly impossible not to start watching the film that started it all immediately after finishing this one. If that's not a sign that it's a movie done right, I don't know what is.
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