I don't know about you but I didn't really care much about Anakin Skywalker's childhood (Episode 1: The Phantom Menace). And, to be honest, I never really had a pressing desire to learn more about the Clone Wars (Episode 2: Attack of the Clones). What I have been interested in ever since Darth Vader uttered those infamous words "Luke, I am your father" in The Empire Strikes Back is what the hell happened? How in the world did Anakin go from being a powerful, virtuous Jedi warrior to being the embodiment of the Dark Side? Episode 3 - Revenge of the the Sith has the answers.

Sith picks up several years into the Clone Wars. Young Anakin (Hayden Christiansen) has grown as a strong Jedi but he struggles between hiss desire to be a good Jedi, and his growing personal ambitions. His mentor General Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the always wise Yoda try in vain to keep him on the honorable path. But, pulling him in the other direction is Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) who plays on Anakin's growing ambition and ego as well as his desire to protect his pregnant wife Padme (Natalie Portman). The Jedi Counsel is suspicious of Anakin's close relationship with Chancellor Palpatine and as a result are a bit distrustful of the young Jedi. This distrust plays right into the hands of the Chancellor and helps push Anakin over the edge.

You have to hand it to George Lucas, he knows what the fans want. There are several long light saber duels as well as battle scenes.  The effects are top-notch. The Sith home planet is filled with molten lava, a fitting sanctuary for those who embrace the dark side. We also get to see the entire transformation from Anakin Skywalker, handsome young Jedi, to the black cloaked part-man/part-machine that is Darth Vader.

Episode 3 is decidedly darker than all of the previous Star Wars installments. Lucas wisely forgoes the childlike, family friendly Phantom Menace constructs. There are no cute kids (well, there is one, but...) and there is no Jar-Jar Binks (thankfully). What little comic relief there is, courtesy of R2-D2, occurs early on and is abandoned entirely as the movie gets more and more intense. Wisely, Episode 3 forgoes all of the politics and political posturing that bogged down Attack of the Clones.

Of course, no Star Wars film has ever been lauded for its script and Revenge of the Sith won't be either. The dialogue is stunted and sometimes amateurish. The scenes between Anakin and Padme were particularly cringe-worthy.

While I still prefer the original trilogy, Revenge of the Sith is definitely a satisfying film and gives the series the sense of closure that it has needed for two decades. After the last two scenes, you'll be running out to pick up the original Star Wars, now retitled, Episode 4: A New Beginning.