Revenge of the Sith | 2005 | Final | UK Quad

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (also known as Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith) is a 2005 film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the third and final instalment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy and stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Frank Oz.

The storyline is set three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, established in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. The Jedi Knights are spread across the galaxy, leading a large-scale war against the Separatists. After Count Dooku is killed, the Jedi Council dispatches Obi-Wan Kenobi to eliminate General Grievous, the leader of the Separatist army, and put an end to the war. Meanwhile, after having premonitions of his wife Padmé Amidala dying in childbirth, Anakin Skywalker is tasked by the Council to spy on Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and, secretly, a Sith lord known as Darth Sidious. Palpatine manipulates Anakin into turning to the dark side of the Force and becoming his apprentice, Darth Vader, with wide-ranging consequences for the galaxy.

In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Peter Mayhew, Oliver Ford Davies, Ahmed Best, and Silas Carson reprise their roles as Chewbacca, Sio Bibble, Jar Jar Binks, Nute Gunray and Ki-Adi-Mundi respectively from the previous films. Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse also make cameo appearances, reprising their roles as Owen and Beru Lars respectively from Attack of the Clones.

George Lucas had previously stated that he conceived the Star Wars saga’s story in the form of a plot outline in 1973 but later clarified that, at the time of the saga’s conception, he had not fully realized the details—only major plot points. George Lucas had actually began writing the script before production of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones had even ended. The film’s climactic duel has its basis in the Return of the Jedi novelisation, in which Obi-Wan recounts his battle with Anakin that ended with the latter falling into a molten pit.

When Revenge of the Sith was released it received positive reviews from the critics with most considering this film to be the best of the prequel trilogy. On Rotten Tomatoes it currently holds a rating of 80% with the general consensus being, “With Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas brings his second Star Wars trilogy to a suitably thrilling and often poignant — if still a bit uneven — conclusion”. Roger Ebert praised the film and awarded a three-and-a-half out of four stars rating, writing “If [Lucas] got bogged down in solemnity and theory in Episode II: Attack of the Clones, the Force is in a jollier mood this time, and Revenge of the Sith is a great entertainment”, but he noted that “the dialogue throughout the movie is once again its weakest point”.

Commercially, Revenge of the Sith was a huge box office success despite a copy of the film being leaked onto peer-to-peer file sharing networks just hours after opening in cinemas. The film was a time-stamped workprint, suggesting it may have come from within the industry rather than from someone who videotaped an advance screening. At its midnight screenings in the US it acheived $16.91 million and went on make $50 million from its opening day release. Revenge of the Sith earned $158.5 million in its first four-day period, surpassing the previous four-day record held by The Matrix Reloaded with $134.3 million, and joining Spider-Man, The Matrix Reloaded and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as one the only films to make $100 million in their first three days of release. It went on to earn over $848 million worldwide, making it, at the time, the third-highest-grossing film in the Star Wars franchise and the second most financially successful film of 2005, behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

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