Review by Maurice Broaddus
Review by Kevin Miller
Review by Ed Travis
Review by Tom Price
Review by PapaBear
Review by Matthew Hill

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections

Forum reopened

Directed by George Lucas
Written by George Lucas

Cast (in credits order)
Ewan McGregor .... Obi-Wan/Ben Kenobi
Hayden Christensen .... Anakin Skywalker/Lord Darth Vader
Natalie Portman .... Senator Amidala/Padmé Naberrie-Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid .... Supreme Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious
Samuel L. Jackson .... Mace Windu
Christopher Lee .... Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus
Anthony Daniels .... C-3PO
Kenny Baker .... R2-D2
Peter Mayhew .... Chewbacca
Frank Oz .... Yoda (voice)
Jimmy Smits .... Senator Bail Organa
Genevieve O'Reilly .... Senator Mon Mothma
Ahmed Best .... Jar Jar Binks
Jay Laga'aia .... Captain Typho
Joel Edgerton .... Owen Lars
Bonnie Piesse .... Beru Whitesun-Lars
Oliver Ford Davies .... Governor Sio Bibble
Temuera Morrison .... Commander Cody/Commander Thire/Commander Bly
Bodie Taylor .... Clonetroopers/Stormtroopers
Keisha Castle-Hughes .... Queen Apailana
Rebecca Jackson Mendoza .... Queen of Alderaan
Bruce Spence .... Tion Medon
Kee Chan .... Senator Male-Dee
Ling Bai .... Senator Bana Breemu
Warren Owens .... Senator Fang Zar
Rena Owen .... Senator Nee Alavar
Christopher Kirby .... Senator Giddean Danu
Silas Carson .... Viceroy Nute Gunray and Ki-Adi-Mundi
Matt Sloan .... Plo Koon
Kenji Oates .... Saesee Tiin
Ben Cooke .... Kit Fisto
Mary Oyaya .... Luminara Unduli
Nalini Krishan .... Barriss Offee
Mimi Daraphet .... Bultar Swan
Orli Shoshan .... Shaak Ti
Lily Nyamwasa .... Stass Allie
Tux Akindoyeni .... Agen Kolar
David Bowers .... Vice Chairman Mas Amedda
Sandi Finlay .... Sly Moore
Colin Ware .... Senator Lott Dod
Sandy Thompson .... Rune Haako
Marty Wetherill .... Magistrate Passel Argente
Graeme Blundell .... Ruwee Naberrie
Trisha Noble .... Jobal Naberrie
Claudia Karvan .... Sola Naberrie
Keira Wingate .... Ryoo Naberrie
Hayley Mooy .... Pooja Naberrie
Rohan Nichol .... Captain Antilles
Matt Rowan .... Senator Orn Free Taa
Chantal Freer .... Elle
Kristy Wright .... Motee
Holly Stringer .... A Handmaiden
Paul Spence .... Senator Ask Aak
Paul Nicholson .... Senator Po Nudo
Olive Levi .... Senator Fema Baab
Coinneach Alexander .... Whie
Amy Allen .... Aayla Secura
Jerome Blake .... Mas Amedda
Jeremy Bulloch .... Captain Colton
James Earl Jones .... Darth Vader (voice)

Produced by
George Lucas .... executive producer
Rick McCallum .... producer

Original Music by John Williams
Cinematography by David Tattersall

Film Editing by
Roger Barton
Ben Burtt

Rated PG 13
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG

Track Listings
1. Star Wars and the Revenge of the Sith Medley
2. Star Wars
3. Revenge of the Sith
4. Anakin's Dream
5. Battle of the Heroes
6. Anakin's Betrayal
7. General Grievous
8. Palpatine's Teachings
9. Grievous and the Droids
10. Padme's Ruminations
11. Anakin vs. Obi-Wan

Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
(Hardcover)
by Matthew Woodring Stover

Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Graphic Novel --Paperback
by Miles Lane, Doug Wheatley

Previous entries into the most recent Star Wars trilogy, The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, were Exhibits A and B in making the case that George Lucas was more master craftsman than effortless storyteller. The power of his productions has been his ability to submerge the viewer in his fully imagined galaxy. In Revenge of the Sith, the detail of his vision gave his dizzying city vistas and space battles an urgency in and of themselves. But ultimately, for all of Lucas' technical wizardry, it is the story, the space opera, that draws us into the movie. And this is the story that we all have been wanting to see: the tragic finale to a good man's final capitulation to the dark side.

This time around, the movie’s plot keeps more to the things that made the original trilogy great. In Episodes I and II, the epic story of the hero—or in this case the descent of a hero—didn’t mesh well with the less-than-epic story of political drama and intrigue. Politics had plagued this most recent trilogy of movies, bogging the stories down to the point where an hour of C-SPAN held more drama. Not even serious politics—since they are of the “don’t think too hard because they don’t make a lot of sense” variety—they seemed like exercises in pontification while waiting for the third movie to come out.

And one certainly doesn’t stay up until 12:01 a.m. on opening day for great acting or scintillating dialogue, either. Unfortunately, Hayden Christensen (as Anakin) lacks the gravitas needed to show the torment of his slow descent to the dark side (especially noticed when compared side-by-side to even one line reading by James Earl Jones). But Ewan McGregor (as Obi-Wan Kenobi) seems in tune with the spirit of his character, bringing a sense of whimsey to his portrayal. Only Ian McDiarmid (as Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious) matches his performance, probably because he’s given some lively dialogue to work with. Even the best actors and actresses can only do so much with the stilted, joyless dialogue to deliver. In the end, everyone was nearly upstaged by R2D2 threatening to steal the show. Since everything about the movie had a knowing sense of consequence to it, the cast didn’t deliver dialogue—they made pronouncements.

All of which points back to the fact that it was the story—the visually stunning story—that counted. A story that abounds in spiritual implications.

“A prophecy misread could have been.” –Yoda.

One of the primary overarching themes of the movie could be described as a misunderstanding of religion. In a lot of ways, this is a journey of faith. Faith can be abused, misdirected, mistaught, even mis-believed; the faithful always fear the possibility that somehow they might depart (or be led astray) from sound doctrine. To paraphrase one sentiment in the movie: to understand mystery, you must understand all aspects of the force, not just the narrow dogmatic view of the Jedi. This makes the Jedi sound like some brand of spiritual fundamentalist. It is not bad to question your faith; some questioning is healthy. However, this critique is given by one who sees himself as the polar opposite of the Jedi.

“This is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause.” –Padmee

This idea of faith gets further complicated once it gets in bed with politics. The question that gets to crux of the matter is what if the Democracy they had been fighting for, the Republic, becomes the thing that they are fighting against? There are enough pointed parallels between the Empire and the state of the American government to choke Jar-Jar, but this does open the door for some valid examination. Religion and politics each their own raison d’etre. When the two blur the lines between one another, it leads to a kind of imperial religion. Spirituality, one’s faith, should inform one’s politics, not the other way around. Politics is about power and power always lusts for more power, leading to Machiavellian (or his intergalactic counterpart) level scheming. When the two conjoin, the danger rests in keeping politics from co-opting the spirituality.

This story also touches on the reality that the characters live in a state of “spoiled creation.” In Anakin’s case, he was deceived by a lie. The Sith’s passions focused inward, thinking of the self; the Jedi were selfless, always thinking of others. However, good became a matter of point of view (the Jedi were liars and power-grubbers; the Sith possessors of secret knowledge) and truth was allowed to be misunderstood (read: ignored).

The path of darkness was paved with good intentions as a good end was attempted through evil means. “Fear is a path to the dark side.” Throw in hate and anger leading down toward an inevitable path of death and destruction and you have the symptoms that diagnose the dark side, being the fallen state of man. Said another way, living in a state of broken creation means that we are being untrue to what we were created to be.

Hope for finding our way through this broken creation could be found in the power of discipleship. In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, you see what amounts to a tale of two masters. On the one hand, you have Darth Sidious, the dark master dangling temptations of power and salvation. On the other hand, you have Ben Kenobi, lifelong friend and mentor. And one cannot escape the powerful image of this being a story of a master betrayed by his disciple.

What we can’t escape is the power of learning in community. We’ve lost the idea of journeying with our teachers, the sense that teaching and knowing have a relational component. The master-student relationship is an important one when it comes to the idea of “making disciples.” In a lot of ways, people have gotten away from what the picture of making a disciple looked like. Anakin made becoming a master a reward, a power position to be obtained, rather than the act of humbly serving others. It called for a teacher to walk alongside his disciples, live life with them. The master/teacher embodies, incarnates if you will, that teaching and faith are lived out in the context of a community. No, this is not a perfect way to do it: Jesus walked alongside his disciples for three years and most of the time they didn’t seem to get the point.

“I feel lost ... I’m not the Jedi I should be.” –Anakin Skywalker

Which leads to the last element of story that this movie is about, this being a telling of the story of a Judas, one who walks in discipleship then betrays his master and his teachings: a good man, for all intents and purposes, led down a dark path because of some internal discontent. Most of us have this feeling that something is missing, but we don’t know how to fix it. Also, whether we admit it or not, there is this longing to be more, to live lives of significance.

We have this sense of lost-ness. This sense of incompleteness is necessary, as it hints of there being some greater story and purpose about life that we might be missing, one that should drive us to the Author of that Story. In our rush to plug that hole, we run the risk of filling it with the wrong thing. Anakin was lost, but he was found by Darth Sidious, then dubbed Darth Vader by him. And to be named is to be owned and defined. This led to a series of tragedies that eventuated in a wholesale slaughter of Jedi knights that echoed the persecution of the saints of the early church.

There is a lot to be explored in the themes of this movie. In short, this was the movie that everyone wanted to see, the one that took three tries to get right. A high action cinematic experience tinged with a sense of tragic grandeur, Revenge of the Sith brings the sprawling saga we’ve come to love full circle.

Like you really needed a reason to see it.

Comment on Maurice's blog

Just prior to leaving for the theater, I stopped by my older sister's bedroom and said, "Do you realize the significance of the film we are about to see? Do you really?" She looked at me like I was nuts. I probably was.

Once we got to the theater, I don't think I blinked for the next two hours. Never mind the fact that I already knew the story inside and out. I'd read the graphic novel and the storybook, played with the action figures, and discussed the film ad nauseum with my friends. I was primed. And I was not disappointed.

Fast forward twenty-six years: Just prior to leaving for the theater, I turned to my wife and said, "Well, I predicted this could potentially be the best Star Wars film since The Empire Strikes Back--and the first good film in this second trilogy. The critics seem to agree with me, so here's hoping."

As with Empire, I had already read the graphic novel version of this film. And even though that and the trailer gave me some hope that Episode III would finally redeem the first two stinkers in this second trilogy (see my review in the Comix section of this web site), I am sorry to say that George Lucas has let me down again. Who was I kidding? I knew the trailer for this film was too good to be true. Perhaps I should have left it at that.

Honestly--and this is coming from someone who recently started collecting vintage Star Wars action figures again--if this film didn't have the Star Wars label on it and it had been written by a relatively unknown screenwriter, do you really think anyone would have bought the script, much less made it into a movie? Set your nostalgia aside for a moment, and you'll see what I mean. It's okay, you can admit it: This film stinks! Okay, maybe I'm being a little harsh. But I was literally falling asleep during many points in this movie, and I don't think it had anything to do with the fact that I am now 34 and that I was at a 10:00 showing. That's when I usually go to movies, and I never fall asleep! Oh to be eight years old again... Would I have written a different review from the one I'm writing now? Somehow I don't think so.

Sure, Revenge of the Sith features many of my favorite Star Wars characters, both old and new. It's also chock full of stunning digital landscapes and epic battles. But despite all of this grandeur, the film is about as emotionally engaging as a Tide commercial. Great, George, you finally have all the toys you need to realize your vision. There's just one problem: Your vision called. It said you lost it long ago in a galaxy far, far away.

I know, I should probably stick with tradition and go into the spiritual questions this film raises, such as "How does a good person turn bad?" But I think the only pertinent question here, spiritual or otherwise is, "How does a good filmmaker turn bad?"

I've read enough about George Lucas to know there is an auteur inside of him just dying to get out. THX-1138 is more than ample proof of that fact. So why has George kept that side of himself hidden for so long? Was it money? Power? Fear of failure? Whatever the reason, we--the children of Star Wars--need that part of George to come back out and assert himself. By the sounds of it, George needs it to happen even more than we do.

For that reason, I'd like to give George Lucas some advice that comes straight from the Godfather of roasted chicken himself, Kenny Rogers: "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run."

George, you've been holding 'em for a long time. Thank God you're finally folding 'em. It's time to walk away now. Heck, run for your life, George. Thanks for all the great memories, for firing my imagination as a kid, for inspiring me to follow in your footsteps as a professional imagineer. Now please, please go off and inspire us again.

Comment on Kevin's blog

Perfect is a scary word to use. To elaborate, it isn’t this film that is perfect. It was Lucas’ ability to meld together the silly showcases which were the last two films and the great pulp storytelling of the original trilogy which was miraculously perfected. Episodes I and II seemed to revolve around set pieces. A pod race here and a slightly tweaked light saber duel there were the centerpieces of those films. In Episode III the story is what drives us to the inevitable conclusion. And the actions and reactions of a small cast of characters which the viewer actually cares about are what hold the set pieces together, as opposed to the set pieces being strung together by some mandatory plot developments. An example: Seeing two Jedi Knights fighting Darth Maul in the first Episode was neat. But…who was Darth Maul, and why are they fighting? Yet when Obi Wan and Anakin, Master and Apprentice, come head to head, their conflict is deep, and the audience feels the purpose behind each swing of the saber.

Episode III is a tragedy. Again, no one breathing could really enter into this film without knowing some of the overarching details. Yet just as countless crowds flocked to see Titanic, despite knowing the boat would sink, countless fans will take theaters by storm to finally see for themselves how Darth Vader came to be. Part of the tragedy felt in this film is its inevitability. We all know that Darth Vader must arise. We all know that the Jedi order must be slaughtered. Yet none truly knew just how those events came to pass. In that way the viewer is at an advantage over the characters in the film. We are privy to the future of the galaxy, while they are forced to live out the present course.

Spoiler Warning!

Yet Anakin is not entirely stuck in the present. He has premonitions about the future. He sees visions of his love, Padme, dying in childbirth, and he seeks to guard against that happening at all costs. It is his very passion to protect his love that ultimately turns him to the dark side, and ironically, it is his conversion to the dark side which ultimately kills his lover. There is much which can be said of the spirituality of these themes, and of the Star Wars universe in general. It is news to no one that the “Force” which is so prevalent throughout this series, and the path with which to follow this Force, is very eastern mystic in nature. To attain great power in the Force, one must empty themselves and become one with the Force. Yet Jedis seek to serve others with their great power, while those of the dark side empty themselves as well, they take their anger and hatred and empty it in surges of great power against others.

Watching Episode III invokes shades of CS Lewis’ great work The Screwtape Letters, in which readers get inside advice on how demons, or Satan himself, works to turn people away from God. Viewers see Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord, coddle and tempt Anakin Skywalker, manipulating everything possible in order to pry him away from the Jedi order. The ultimate turning point comes when Darth Sidious convinces Anakin that turning to the dark path will ultimately save a love, or even prove the love he has for Padme. Just as the Evil One uses even the purest appearances to draw one away from the Light, so Sidious uses love to manipulate Anakin into a new creation of hate. It is frightening to know that one can be doing something terribly wrong, but be doing it for the “right reasons”. This is the central strength behind the best parts of this new Star Wars trilogy.

Maintaining shreds of evidence of Episodes I and II, complete with zero romantic chemistry between the leads, and maintaining the excellent look and feel of the character and imagination-driven original trilogy, Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith strikes a remarkable balance. It also asks many questions worth asking. What makes someone a hero? What might someone hold on to so hard that it could destroy them? Just why do dark things tempt humankind? These are some of the great questions of life and faith. And these are some of the great foundations of the Star Wars Universe. Ultimately, Star Wars remains such a huge phenomenon because those elements of humanity we all relate to shine through in a fantastic and imaginative way.

Comment on blog

Forum reopened

What can make a good person turn to evil? As long expected, that question is at the heart of what is said to be the final installment after 28 years of the Star Wars series. And while Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith brings a strong conclusion to a spotty prequel trilogy of the Star Wars epic, Anakin Skywalker’s journey to becoming Darth Vader seems somehow unconvincing.

There are compelling reasons for Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to make the switch to the dark side of the Force. We have seen the seeds for this possibility sown in Episodes I and II, and this film brings those threads to fruition, providing strong spiritual illustrations of how anger, fear and feelings of being disrespected can cloud one’s judgment. His love for Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) and his joy at word of her pregnancy leads to Anakin’s premonitions of her death in childbirth. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), the evil Sith lord (a surprise to nobody other than the Jedi), skillfully plays on Anakin’s fears, telling the young Jedi that only the Dark Side would give him the power to cheat death for another.

Yet there are times in Revenge of the Sith when one can wonder whether series creator George Lucas has forgotten his own work. In the original trilogy, the “Jedi mind trick” was a way a Jedi knight used the power of suggestion to get weaker minds to do what the Jedi wanted. In Revenge of the Sith, there are times when it seems that Anakin Skywalker falls prey too easily to the power of suggestion of others – executing unarmed prisoners, believing the worst about his friends, placing too much confidence in his own abilities.

And when the point of conversion comes, the switch seems unconvincing, despite the many steps that lead to such a decision. And simply digitally altering a character’s eyes does not make for a convincing transformation.

Still, Revenge of the Sith has its great moments. As always, there are excellent computer-generated special effects, light years ahead of what can now seem dated in the groundbreaking original trilogy. The light-sabre battles reach new levels. Although we see glimpses of Jar Jar Binks, the computer-generated character introduced in Episode I: Attack of the Clones, mercifully he does not speak. Another improvement in story from the first two episodes in the prequel trilogy is that Obi-Wan Kenobe (Ewan McGregor) is not the smug, scolding, insecure Jedi master he seems to be in versions I and II. Obi-Wan’s respect for Anakin has clearly grown, yet not enough to prevent the inevitable.

If there is magic in Episode III it results from scenes that call to mind what people loved about the original trilogy – the birth of Luke and Leia tugs on our heartstrings for characters we miss. We see the fight and spunkiness that first endeared us to R2D2. After Anakin’s descent into darkness and his physical mutilation, perhaps the film’s most dramatic moment is when the infamous mask is placed onto his head, and he takes his first breath. The “rebirth” that marks his transition to Darth Vader is complete when he stumbles off a gurney in a manner that calls to mind the first steps of the Frankenstein monster.

Already knowing that Vader will be redeemed at the conclusion of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, this film may raise questions for some about whether such forgiveness is possible as they view the atrocities committed after Anakin’s turn to the dark side.

The 2-hour and 26-minute film is rated PG-13 for its extreme violence and implied violence, some of it when Anakin again slaughters innocent children (offscreen). “If you’re not with me, you’re against me,” he tells Obi-Wan in their penultimate battle. “Only a Sith deals in absolutes,” Obi-Wan responds.

While the third act of Revenge of the Sith is enthralling, there are slow points in the second act. The dialogue seems stilted at points (especially in the romantic scenes), leading one to wonder whether Lucas’ greatest foe is the Sith or the stiff. One viewer behind me at a midnight screening was either imitating Darth Vader’s breathing or he had begun to snore.

Ultimately, Revenge of the Sith is like its principal character – dark, flawed, very interesting and perhaps worthy of redemption as time will tell.

Forum reopened

Review by
PETER "PapaBear" CRUIKSHANK

And to answer the question about character development, through intense painful scenes we see how Anakin in Episode I is faced with the loss of the only person he had truly loved until then, his mother, and how this carries over into Episode III as a driving factor in his transition to the Darkside. We see that it isn’t just an instant conversion from Jedi to Sith. There are many stresses in his life; which are brought to light in great detail throughout all three of the Episodes.

We are shown the relationships between all the main characters and are led to understand how the interactions between them mold the various characters’ personalities and subsequent actions. What more could you ask for in a series of movies! And speaking of interactions between characters. The biggest complaint I have heard is that the dialogue was stiff, especially between Anakin and Padmé. Well, give me a break, they are teenagers. And though we all know how verbally adept Romeo and Juliet were; it would not have been believable for our Star Wars’ teenage lovers to drone on about the depth of their love and passion. For one thing, it would have been totally out of character for Anakin who through the first two Episodes was a boy/man of action, not of words.

SPOILER WARNING

Rather than dialogue, it was much more in Anakin’s character to see his reaction when Padmé tells him that she is pregnant. One of my colleagues saw the movie at 12:01 the night it opened in a theater full of college students. He told me that when Padmé broke the “exciting” news, the audience burst into laughter after seeing Anakin’s expression. My friend heard several of the people around him making comments like “Oh geez, he’s probably thinking now – I have to get a real job!” The typical reaction you might get from a teenage or young adult male who finds themselves in the same position. But definitely not a lot of “dialogue”.

END OF SPOILER

So beyond the quality of the film; which is up for individual interpretation, what else might we get out of the movie? Back to the old question of what is the Message in the Movie. In this case, to get the full set of Messages, you need to look across the entire spectrum of the six films. Assuredly, for anyone who has seen Return of the Jedi there is the concept of redemption. After everything that Darth Vader has done in his life he finally comes to the realization of what is truly important. Love, duty, truth. In this moment Vader disappears and Anakin returns momentarily before his death (i.e. Return of the Jedi). Redemption is confirmed when Anakin is revealed to Luke from the beyond along side Yoda and Obi-Wan, Anakin in his pre-Vader state (an important symbolism here). Joining his mentors and friends, he is finally forgiven and at peace. And after seeing his dastardly deeds in Episode III, you must truly believe that no matter what I, or you, have done, there is always the hope of forgiveness and love out there waiting for us.

Beyond the redemption factor (though not something to lightly be glanced over), there were other major Messages to be found. But to focus on just Episode III I wanted to bring up something that struck me personally and is probably one of the reasons I really got into Episode III. It’s a little thing called stress. I asked earlier how could someone like Anakin transform into Darth Vader. There were many factors that contributed to this, but one is definitely the stress applied to him by everyone around him. Friend and foe alike. Anakin felt trapped in a world not of his making. The difference between him and many of us is how he responded. He felt he had no outlet except for the one offered by the Darkside. A quickly made decision, and unfortunate mistake for everyone concerned, especially himself. This struck a chord with me as it related to one of my favorite verses from Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Remember, there is another avenue then the Darkside. We just need to turn 180 degrees and look for the Light! “Come to me…I will give you rest.”

Comment on blog

Star Wars III: A Philosophical Caveat (rant) and (mini) Review

I know, I know . . . we don’t need another Episode III review. But don’t worry—this is not a review. Enough things have been said about this movie by enough people, and I have nothing really to add to the discussion of the movie as a movie. All I want to do is point out something that Lucas tries to do with this film, philosophically, that just cannot be done.

But before I get to that, I can’t resist going back on my word (a little) and sneaking in a (mini) review. I thought that Episode III was very satisfying, both as a stand-alone movie and as the final Star Wars movie—it fit all the pieces into place, it delivered breathtaking action, it told a good story, it drummed up nostalgia, and it did all of this while maintaining that Star Wars feel. Like many others, I have fond memories of seeing The Empire Strikes Back, my first SW experience, and Episode III, for me, brought things full circle as it was supposed to. And, just as a final SW dork/fan-boy note to this (mini) review, I gotta say that the part where Yoda comes in and force brushes the Imperial Guards aside was so sweet. Even sweeter than seeing Chewbacca. Maybe even sweeter than that final shot of baby Luke on Tatooine, mimicking that first shot of teenage Luke in A New Hope—all of which was pretty sweet.

Now for the real point. Star Wars has always, in some circles, been talked about for its supposed smuggling of religious/philosophical ideas into its story and dialogue. The Force, for example, has at various times been seen as advocacy of some kind of pantheism, or Taoism, or new age beliefs, etc. Then, when the idea of the midi-chlorians was introduced, the Force was demystified and made more scientific—perhaps evolutionary. Episode III continues this tradition of Star Wars movies being about more than just light sabers and Ewoks.

But in this particular movie, more than in any of the others, I think a clear contradiction can be seen within what appears to be one of Lucas’ pet beliefs—relativism. If you go back and watch the older movies, hints of relativism can be found all around. Luke is once told (in Return of the Jedi) that truth depends on a person’s point-of-view. Numerous characters are repeatedly reminded to trust their feelings, their hearts. Now, some of this makes sense and is healthy, but the problem comes when relativism is posited absolutely. It’s an oxymoron, I know . . . but that’s the point.

In Episode III, when Anakin is ranting to Obi-Wan in preparation for their climactic fight, Obi-Wan comments that “only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes.” Everything, in other words, is relative. There is no absolute truth. It all depends on your point-of-view. Your feelings. Your heart. But then, not ten minutes later, when Anakin says that the Jedi are evil from his point-of-view, Obi-Wan responds with, “Well, then you are lost.” He doesn’t say, “Oh, okay—all truth is relative.” He doesn’t say, “Well, your opinion is as good as mine.” He doesn’t say, “No absolutes!” No. He instead affirms that some opinions are false, and that some false opinions can even cause a person to be “lost.” Well, the obvious question is: which way does Star Wars want it? Is there absolute truth, or not? Does all truth depend on point-of-view, or can I be “lost” if my point-of-view happens to be incorrect? Colloquially speaking, Lucas can’t have his cake and eat it too.

My personal opinion is that deep down, underneath the posturing, Lucas and whoever else is responsible for these bits of philosophizing knows that some things are really true, and some things are really false. As much as opinions and points-of-view matter, there is still good and evil, there are still heroes and villains, there is still the light and the dark side of the Force. Anakin still needs redeeming and the Emperor still needs to get his. This is just the way it is. The person who says, “There is no absolute truth,” is making an absolute truth claim. This is just the way it is. The person who says, “Everything is relative,” is supposedly saying something that isn’t relative. Relativism doesn’t work. This is just the way it is.

In the end, this all matters for a few reasons. First, a disturbing number of people, according to various surveys, agrees with the idea that there is no absolute truth. Second, this popular belief has become popular partly because of the influence of movies, music, etc.—culture in general. Star Wars, obviously, is a very weighty part of pop culture. Finally, pure relativism is spiritually dangerous. From a Christian viewpoint, there are some things that are non-negotiably true, and some that are non-negotiably false. From a Christian viewpoint, it is vitally important that people put their trust in the truth of the gospel. Popular relativism, of course, does not help this situation.

So, that’s my rant. Relativism just can’t be true. It doesn’t work philosophically, it doesn’t work practically, and as Episode III makes clear, it doesn’t work artistically. If “only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes,” then we’re all Sith Lords, even if we don’t know it. This is just the way it is.

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I will not post these comments. I welcome your spiritual concerns and prayer needs.  I will correspond with you, usually within two weeks.
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