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'Star Wars Episode III': 'Sith' wraps up space saga nicely

Who knew R2-D2 could spit fire? That Chewbacca lives on a sultry tropical planet, despite being smothered in pounds of fur? That Jimmy Smits simply doesn't belong in outer space? Or that George Lucas could turn in a somewhat satisfying, mostly tolerable conclusion to his six-chapter "Star Wars" saga?

Lucasfilm Ltd. 'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' 3 out of 5 stars Director: George Lucas Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee Run time: 140 minutes Release date: May 19, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer [an error occurred while processing this directive]

In his own artless way, Lucas delivers the goods in "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," the grand finale to his life's project of turning adolescent notions of hero mythology into fabulous merchandising opportunities. Relief that the movie isn't as heart-stoppingly dreadful as the recent episodes I and II certainly contributes to "Episode III's" appeal; a misshapen apple looks pretty good next to worm-infested ones. But the movie stands on its own merits, too, wrapping up the lingering loose ends in a story more than 28 years in the making.

All is revealed in this busy installment, which sticks out from its predecessors for even more evolved digital effects and a weighty, melancholy tone. The paradox for this "ending," of course, is that it's really Part 3 in the series, making its closing a cliffhanger that the original 1977 "Star Wars" neatly picks up.

Essentially a genesis story, "Episode III" provides several revelations and ties many bows in ways that will either leave fanatics in a euphoric swoon or a fit of slighted outrage. We learn, for example, why in later episodes Jedi knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and minty green Yoda live in exile and what Darth Vader really looks like beneath his gaudy Outfit of Evil. (Think barbecued chicken.)

As a kid engulfed by the "Star Wars" machine in 1977, I found these points fascinating, a welcome nostalgia trip. They invoked the elementary enchantments of the first film that Lucas lost sight of as his megalomania ballooned and storytelling gifts shriveled.

"Episode III" is where Jedi protégé Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen, whose acting is a jot stiffer than C-3P0's) gets coaxed to the Dark Side by Chancellor Palpatine, who promises him that a premonition in which Anakin's wife, Padmé (Natalie Portman, reduced to soap opera flutters), dies, will not come true. He also, in malevolently hushed tones, seduces him with tales from the Dark Side.

Though Lucas makes clear that Anakin's passion for Padmé, his hunger for power and perceived dissing by the Jedi Council are what push Anakin to the Dark Side, the defection comes too quickly to be believed. Perhaps that is the power of the Dark Side; one nibble and you're a goner.

Anakin's leap from selfless Jedi to savage Sith — a name bearing the pernicious ring of "cyst" or "zit" and meant to be hissed — is not only the turning point of "Episode III," but of the entire franchise. Now there is a Darth Vader who will turn the Republic on its head with wrath and a helmet that could double as a wicked Corvette grill.

The backdrop of "Episode III" is the still-raging Clone Wars, launched in 2002's "Episode II Ñ Attack of the Clones." The movie, shot entirely in shimmery digital, opens in a convulsion of impressive action, as Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, who appears to be having some fun) and Anakin zip and blast their way through a sea of ships and fighter planes. It's a slam-bang beginning, a full 23 minutes of pure action studded with explosions, lightsaber amputations, Jedi acrobatics and incessant droid carnage.

Lucas has reimagined his sci-fi universe with every episode. He is guided by digital technology, looking for frontiers to storm and pixels to enslave. The latest movie looks best. Lucas introduces worlds of gizmos, creepy droids and background humanoids with amphibian complexions.

Yet it feels cluttered. Rampant visual illusions and architectural modes — from the Taj Mahal to "Blade Runner" — collide for a mealy pan-inclusiveness "Star Wars" has never needed. The lard in this overpopulated cosmos renders the extraordinary pretty ordinary and hardly unlike the hypervisual blockbusters dumped on us every summer since ... well, the first "Star Wars."

High on technological advancements, Lucas famously lost his storytelling way in the interval between "Return of the Jedi" in 1983 and "Episode I — The Phantom Menace" in 1999. The loose, cowboy verve of the original picture was gone, replaced by a self-serious regality choked by miles of colorless backstory exposition. The early movies were praised for their precocious special effects yet equally so for their attention to story, theme and character. At their best, those films swung.

"Episode III" is slightly more nimble and focussed than I and II, though much of the dialogue and acting is so rigid, it splinters and snaps. Characters talk in leaden comic-book blocks, and Lucas seems unwilling to allow the actors, who also include a granite Samuel L. Jackson and miscast Smits, to hit the rattling emotional notes his story demands.

Still, a real sadness seeps through in the final 40 minutes. As Anakin's commitment to evil intensifies, Jedis are murdered and the fate of the Republic makes a bleak downward spiral. No "Star Wars" has conveyed such an adult understanding of violence and betrayal.

It could have been much better, and this will always be a nagging disappointment with Lucas' series. Lucas had two co-writers on his celebrated "American Graffiti" and farmed out writing duties for "The Empire Strikes Back," which many consider the best-written "Star Wars." If he had put his ego aside and hired a script doctor — a colleague suggested none other than Carrie Fisher to add some kick — he might have more classics in his oeuvre.

As it is, Lucas remains a mediocre filmmaker who once in a while does something that pleases our inner 9-year-old. "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" is just that.