How and why did Anakin Skywalker desert the Jedi and go over
to the dark side to become Darth Vader? This is the issue central to the third
prequel in the Star Wars saga, the one that links to George Lucas original
mid-sequence space opera from 1977. And while the retitled Star Wars: Episode
IV- A New Hope remains unchallenged as a ground-breaking classic, not least in
the field of merchandising, nearly thirty years later the franchise has
virtually worn itself out, and audiences for episode III are likely to pay up
out of duty rather than with any expectations of enlightenment. The label
Pauline Kael attached to Episode IV (she called it an epic without a dream)
on the other hand seems to have stuck, and the now familiar trademarks of
tediously astounding special effects, robotic acting (by humans, that is), and
stodgy dialogue will do little to detract from the satisfying sense of closure
that completing the circle brings. You wouldnt miss it, would you?