Friday, May 20, 2005

Revenge of The Sith: Synopsis

**SPOILERS! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!!**

I’ll start by saying the following -- I don’t agree with the rave reviews that this movie has been getting. This is not a great movie. This is not even the greatest Star Wars movie. It is not, however, a shitty movie like the last two Matrix films.

In short:

  • If you like science-fiction, you will probably think ROTS is at least okay.
  • If you have a deep nostalgic attachment to the original trilogy, you will probably like this movie more than Episodes I and II, but you will probably not like this movie.
  • If you like Obi-Wan, you will probably like this movie.
  • If you liked Episodes I and II, you will be pleased with this movie.
  • If you like comedy and light-hearted action-adventure movies, you will hate this movie.

On to the synopsis:

The movie starts where the Clone Wars cartoon and the novel Labyrinth of Evil left off: Palpatine has been “captured” by General Grievous and Obi-Wan and Anakin have been dispatched to rescue the Chancellor. There is a dizzying space battle as the pair work their way towards General Grievous’ ship. Some insect-like “buzz droids” attach themselves to Obi-Wan’s fighter and Anakin does some delicate maneuvers to shoot them, then brush them off Obi-Wan’s fighter.

The pair crash into Grievous’ docking bay and there are some mildly amusing moments involving R2 attempting to control the turbo lift that the heroes are in. He also takes out some super battle droids.

[Note Obi-Wan smiles and jokes a lot (well, a lot for him) early on in the movie. He clearly likes fighting alongside Anakin. He is looser now, while Anakin has become a little more patient.]

They find Palpatine shackled to a chair. In comes Dooku. The fight is short. Obi-Wan gets taken out quickly by a Force Push from Dooku, but Anakin slices off Dooku’s hands. Anakin hesitates before his helpless foe, but when Palpatine urges him to kill Dooku, he scissors off the Count’s head.

Over Palpatine’s objections, Anakin picks up the unconscious Obi-Wan (“His fate will be the same as ours”) and they flee. They are captured by droids and brought before Grievous, but the ship starts falling apart and Grievous escapes after ejecting all of the escape pods. Anakin is able to guide the ship to a fiery landing on Coruscant.

They are greeted by Mace, Bail Organa and others. Obi-Wan excuses himself, saying he’s “not brave enough for politicians,” but he urges Anakin to enjoy the accolades he’s receiving for rescuing the Chancellor and killing Dooku. Obi-Wan thanks him for saving his life for the ninth time. Anakin smiles and credits the success of the mission to Obi-Wan’s training.

While Bail is congratulating him, Anakin spies Padme lurking in the shadows. They embrace and she tells him she is pregnant. He’s stunned, but claims to be happy. Later, at her apartment, he wakes from a disturbing dream and tells her that he has had a premonition that she will die in childbirth. She says they should ask Obi-Wan for help, but he doesn’t want that.

Anakin goes to Yoda for counseling about his dreams and Yoda’s advice is that he must learn to let go. Death is natural, he says. We should not miss those who have gone on to join the Force.

Anakin is summoned to a meeting with the Chancellor and is told that he will be the Chancellor’s representative on the Jedi Council. Yoda and Mace are not happy with the Chancellor appointing members of their council. Mace tells Anakin he’s on the Council, but they do not grant him the rank of Master. Anakin is livid, but takes a seat when ordered to by Mace.

The Council reviews the status of the war. It is agreed that Yoda should go to the Wookie homeworld Kahsyyyk, which is of strategic importance.

After the meeting is over, Anakin seethes at the insult of not being named a Master. Obi-Wan points out that his appointment to the council was unprecedented in the first place and his friendship with Palpatine has paid off. Anakin denies asking for the appointment.

Obi-Wan then gets to what he has been tasked to ask – the Council wants Anakin to report on the Chancellor’s doings. Anakin is not pleased. He says it’s treason.

Later, Obi-Wan and Mace accompany Yoda to the ship leaving for Kashyyyk. Mace says putting Anakin and the Chancellor together is dangerous. “I don’t think the boy can handle it. I don’t trust him.”

Obi-Wan says, “But isn’t he the Chosen One destined to destroy the Sith?”

“So the prophecy says,” Mace says skeptically.

Yoda muses that the prophecy of The Chosen One may have been misread and all three seem to agree.

Anakin goes to Padme’s apartment. He expresses his unhappiness with not being named a Master. He says that the war has made the Jedi compromise their principles. Padme unexpectedly asks Anakin to ask the Chancellor to stop the war. He reacts angrily and says she sounds like a Separatist.

Later, Anakin attends an opera with Palpatine. Palpatine tells him that intel reports say Grievous is in the Utapau system. He says if the Jedi don’t send Anakin on this mission, he would question their wisdom. He also says he knows that the Jedi want Anakin to spy on him. He says the Council wants to take over the Republic.

Palpatine’s conversation segues into talk about the Sith lord Darth Plagueis The Wise, whom he says had the power to use midichlorians to create life. He could also save others from death. Palpatine says that Plagueis taught everything he knew to his apprentice, who slew him in his sleep.

Anakin asks if it’s possible to learn the power to cheat death.

“Not from a Jedi,” Palpatine says.

Yoda arrives on Kashyyyk, where he helps the Wookies against the droid army.

Obi-Wan is selected to go after Grievous on Utapau and Anakin is disappointed that he was not chosen. Nevertheless, he goes to see Obi-Wan off and they part amiably. Obi-Wan tells him how proud he is of him and tells him to be patient – he’ll be made a Master soon.

At Padme’s apartment, Anakin has a vision of Obi-Wan bending over Padme and telling her to “save her strength.” Frowning, he asks her if Obi-Wan has been there. “Yes,” she says, “He came by this morning because he’s worried about you.”

Anakin is not happy about this. Again he expresses his frustration with the Council. He also tells her, “I’m not the Jedi I should be – Something is wrong. I want more.” He says he’s found a way to save her from his nightmares.

Obi-Wan lands on Utapau. He is greeted by the leader, who whispers that they are being held hostage and Grievous is on the 10th level with thousands of battle droids. Obi-Wan sends his ship back up with R4, sneaks into the shadows and he takes a giant iguana. He rides up to the level where Grievous is speaking with the Separatist leaders about the planned move to the volcanic mining planet of Mustafar.

Obi-Wan drops down in front of Grievous and the fight is on. Obi-Wan quickly severs two of the cyborg’s arms, but Grievous flees in a wheeled vehicle. Obi-Wan pursues on his lizard. He loses his lightsaber in the race.

[Obi-Wan shows a curious lack of detachment in this fight. He is very pumped up. He’s almost as exuberant as he was when fighting in Episode I.]

In another meeting with Anakin, Palatine comes out and tells Anakin that he can use his knowledge to save his wife. Anakin draws his lightsaber, realizing that Palpatine is the Sith Lord they’ve been looking for. Anakin chooses not to strike him down. Instead, he goes to Mace.

On Utapau, Kenobi battles Grievous. Having lost his lightsaber he uses a polearm, then when he is flipped over the side of a platform he picks up a blaster and shoots him four times in the chest. “So uncivilized, “ he says with disgust, throwing the blaster aside with disgust.

Anakin tells Mace that Palpatine is the Sith Lord. “I sense confusion in you,” Mace tells Anakin. Mace tells Anakin to wait in the council chambers and he takes Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar and Saesee Tiin with him. Anakin is frustrated again. Anakin waits for awhile, but he keeps thinking of Padme and finally he races for the Chancellor’s quarters.

Mace and the others come to arrest Palpatine, who whips out a lightsaber. Agen and Sasee never get a chance to raise their sabers before being cut down. Kit dies soon after. Mace holds his own, then starts to press his advantage. Anakin arrives to see Palpatine on his back begging for mercy. Each man tells Anakin that the other is a traitor. Palpatine starts to use his Force Lightning on Mace. Mace raises his saber to kill Palpatine, but Anakin tells him, no, he must stand trial. Mace hesitates. “He’s got control of the courts and the senate!” “When it looks like Mace is going to slay Palpatine, Anakin lops off his arm and Palpatine, whose face has become wrinkled and hideous, blasts Mace and flings him through the shattered window to plunge to his death.

Anakin cries, “What have I done?” but Darth Sidious reassures him that he’s “fulfilling his destiny.”

Anakin bows before Darth Sidious and says I’ll do anything you ask, just help me save Padme. Sidious christens him “Darth Vader” and far away on Kashyyyk Yoda clutches his chest and feels a disturbance in the Force.

Darth Sidious tells Anakin to destroy all the Jedi, then go to Mustafar to kill Nute Gunray and the Separtist Leaders.

Anakin leads thousands of clones to the temple.

Palpatine sends a message to clone commanders across the galaxy: “Execute order 66.”

Ki-Adi-Mundi is gunned down on a snowy world

Aayla Secura is surrounded and shot to death by her troops in a meadow.

Yoda feels all their deaths.

Plo Koon is shot down in his star fighter.

Adi Gallia is shot in the back while leading some clones on speeder bikes.

But Yoda is ready. When they come for him, he beheads two clones. Tarful and Chewie get him to the safety of a tiny starship.

In the Jedi Temple, padawans are fighting for their lives. Anakin enters a dark room where some younglings are hiding behind chairs. Recognizing him, one boy of about six comes out.

“Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?” he pleads.

Anakin answers by igniting his lightsaber.

From her apartment, Padme sees the temple in flames.

Bail goes to the temple, but the clones won’t let him enter. “There’s been a rebellion,” they say. One lone padawan somersaults out of nowhere and races to Bail’s aircar. He parries many shots from the clones, but he is cut down before he can reach safety. “No!” Bail screams, but he is forced to flee. The clones do not pursue.

Bail boards his starship, the Tantive, and resolves to intercept any Jedi enroute to Coruscant to save them from the catastrophe unfolding at the temple.

Anakin comes to Padme and tells her that the Jedi tried to overthrow the government. She is appalled and confused. He tells her his is going to Mustafar to eliminate the Separatist leaders.

Obi-Wan has a rendezvous with the Tantive. Yoda is already on board. Yoda says a coded signal is telling the Jedi to return to the temple. Obi-Wan wants to go back to shut it off to save any stragglers.

Anakin arrives on Mustafar. He seals the room where the Separatists are waiting and kills them all.

[His eyes have turned yellow.]

On Coruscant, Obi-Wan and Yoda fight their way into the temple.

In the senate, Padme and Bail listen as Palpatine tells the assembly that the Jedi attempted to assassinate him and left him disfigured. He assures the senators that all Jedi will be hunted down. He declares the formation of the Galactic Empire and the assembly cheers.

In the temple, Yoda and Obi-Wan examine the bodies of the dead and see that some were killed by a lightsaber.

Obi-Wan insists on viewing the security tapes and sees Anakin cutting down younglings. Yoda tells him that they must destroy the Sith. Obi-Wan begs him to let him go after the Emperor, but Yoda tells him he is not powerful enough. Obi-Wan tells him he can’t kill Anakin. He insists that he doesn’t know where to look, but Yoda tells him to examine his feelings.

Obi-Wan goes to see Padme and asks her when did she last see Anakin. He tells her that Anakin has gone over to the Dark Side and that he killed younglings. She doesn’t want to believe it. She won’t say where Anakin is. When he asks her if Anakin is the father of her baby, she doesn’t answer. He says, “I’m very sorry,” and leaves.

She boards her private ship and goes in search of Anakin on Mustafar. Unbeknownst to her, Obi-Wan has snuck on board her ship.

Yoda goes to Palpatine’s office. He casually takes out two crimson guards with a wave of his hand. Palpatine slams Yoda against wall with a Force Push, and briefly knocks him out. Yoda gets to his feet and slams Palpatine back and over his chair. Palpatine ignites his lightsaber and boasts that Vader will be more powerful than either of them. Yoda warns him that he should not be so sure about his new apprentice.

On Mustafar, Padme lands and Anakin rushes to greet her. She tells him that Obi-Wan told her about the younglings. He says Obi-Wan is lying. She says Obi-Wan wants to help them and Anakin bristles. “The Jedi turned against me. Don’t you turn against me too,” he warns.

Then Anakin sees Obi-Wan standing on the ramp of the ship.

“You brought him here to kill me!” Anakin shrieks, and he Force chokes her.

Obi-Wan tells Anakin to release her and she falls down, unconscious.

Anakin starts to rant that Obi-Wan turned Padme against him. Then he starts to rant that he’s brought peace to the galaxy and his “new empire.” Obi-Wan says, “I stand for the Republic.”

Anakin says, “If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy.”

Obi-Wan ignites his saber first, but it is Anakin that starts the fight by springing in the air and attacking Obi-Wan. The fight is fast and furious. They force push each other away. In their fight they wreck the controls of mining station and the whole structure starts collapsing.

The fight between Yoda and Palpatine spills into the Senate hall. They seem evenly matched with saber skills, but Palpatine has a slight edge with telekinesis. Yoda loses his lightsaber and is forced to cling to the edge of a saucer and Palpatine hurls other saucers at him. Palpatine gains the edge with his lightning. Yoda falls from great height and decides to run. He ducks into a vent shaft and signals Bail, who appears under a hatch and catches him in speeder, much like the Falcon caught Luke when he fell off the bottom of Cloud City in TESB.

On Mustafar, the building Anakin and Obi-Wan were in totally collapses and each is left on floating debris on a river of fire racing toward a waterfall.

“I’ve failed you, Anakin,” Obi-Wan admits, “ But the Chancellor is evil!”

“From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!” Anakin screams.

Obi-Wan seizes the opportunity and somersaults to the relative safety of an embankment.

“It’s over,” Obi-Wan says, not wanting to fight anymore. “I have the high ground.”

[Morally and literally, of course.]

“You underestimate my power,” Anakin growls.

“Don’t try it!” Obi-Wan shouts.

Anakin launches himself in the air, but he doesn’t get high enough. With one stroke Obi-Wan slices off his left arm and both legs.

Sickened, Obi-Wan switches off his lightsaber.

“You were the Chosen One,” he says, anguished. “You were my brother. I loved you.”

“I HATE YOU!” Anakin screams as he slips closer and closer to the river of lava. His eyes are bright yellow and filled with rage. His clothes and hair catch on fire and are burned away.

Obi-Wan picks up Anakin’s light saber and head back up the hillside. When he reaches the ship, 3PO tells him to hurry. The droid has taken Padme into the ship. Padme regains consciousness and asks Obi-Wan if Anakin is all right. When he doesn’t answer, she loses consciousness again.

Anakin pulls himself back from the edge with his droid hand.

Palpatine sensing trouble, comes with troops to rescue Anakin.

Obi-Wan brings Padme to an unknown rocky planetoid where Bail and Yoda await.

A droid tells them that medically she is healthy, but she has lost will to live and is dying. The droid says they must work quickly to save the babies. For the first time it is revealed that she is expecting twins.

Simultaneously, on Coruscant droids conduct painful surgery on Anakin, transforming him into the black helmeted Darth Vader we know.

Padme gives birth to a boy she names Luke and a girl she names Leia. As Padme dies she whispers to Obi-Wan, “There is good in him.”

Vader regains consciousness. He asks Palpatine what happened to Padme, and Palpatine tells him that in his anger he killed Padme. Vader breaks free of his bonds and howls in pain. Things implode.

Yoda, Obi-Wan and Bail take Padme’s body to Naboo. Bail offers to take the girl child. He and his wife have talked previously about wanting to adopt a baby girl.

Yoda says the boy should be sent to his family on Tatooine. Obi-Wan vows to watch over him.

The three agree that they must disappear until the time is right. After Bail leaves the room, Yoda tells Obi-Wan that he has training for him in his exile. Qui-Gon has found a way to retain his consciousness after death, and Obi-Wan can learn this as well.

Bail puts 3PO and R2 in the care of a young Capt. Antilles. He tells him to clean up the droids and to wipe the protocol droid's memory. R2 seems to laugh at this.

A massive funeral is held for Naboo on Padme. Her body is made to look like she was still pregnant. Jar Jar Binks and Boss Nass are in attendance, as is the new queen, who looks even younger than Padme was when she was the queen.

Palpatine and Vader stand on the bridge of a star destroyer with a hatched faced Governor Tarkin. Visible through the viewport is the Death Star, in a very early stage of construction.

Bail arrives on Alderaan, a mountainous but not very spectacular world, and places a very alert baby Leia into his wife’s arms.

On Tatooine, Obi-Wan arrives at the Lars homestead. He places a sleeping baby Luke into Beru’s arms. Smiling, she takes the baby and shows him to Owen. Together, the young couple watch the twin suns setting. Satisfied that the boy will be cared for, Obi-Wan mounts his eopie and departs for the wastelands.

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