Can you believe it’s been twenty years since Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith hit the big screen? I certainly can’t, but here we are. The Star Wars prequels have enjoyed something of a comeback as of late, whether that’s due to the people who were kids when these movies are grown up now and enjoying their nostalgia, or for feeling salty towards the sequel trilogy and looking back on the prequels with new appreciation remains a bit unclear. But for my money, I was pretty excited to watch a film I already own on physical media on the big screen. And for all its faults, Revenge of the Sith was better than ever.

I think a big reason for that take was the sound design and mix. The last time I saw the film on the big screen was in 2005, and I was in a standard theatre, and at home when I rewatch Revenge, it’s on my TV speakers. For the 20th anniversary, I was in a premium theatre (unlike the 25th rewatch of The Phantom Menance, which played the original sound mix for me) and as a result, it made full use of Dolby Atmos, and boy, what a difference it made. The sound mix was insane. Skywalker Sound always shows up to work, but hearing the ships roar over John Williams’ score in the opening scene really hit differently. Honestly, it was worth the price of admission just for the audio experience. Williams’ compositions for Sith are also fantastic, arguably some of his best work and the best of the prequel trilogy, full of epic themes, sweeping orchestras, and appropriately darker cues for the quieter moments of the film. Not all of the CGI holds up, but somehow most of the film still looks great despite being entirely shot on chroma key, and the opening dog fight in space in particular was awesome to watch again, thanks in no small part to the one-shot that opens the film.

Without diving too far into the weeds, it was a little eerie hearing some of the lines of dialogue being uttered in the film. Star Wars has always been political, with the original films pulling from the Vietnam War and the prequels pulling heavily from Roman history. While we all know the “liberty dies” quote fairly well, I’d say, other lines such as the conversation between Anakin and Padme, where themes of whether the war is destroying the principles of the republic, or pondering if “the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists”, certainly left a bigger impression than they otherwise normally would’ve. George Lucas has never been a scribe when it comes to dialogue, but he does know history and human nature and applies it to his grand story nicely. As he would say, it’s like poetry, it rhymes.

Hayden Christensen’s acting is also a big step up relative to Attack of the Clones. He’s still bogged down by some cringeworthy dialogue, but thankfully, there’s far less of it this time around, and his overall performance is less wooden as Anakin. But the real star of the show is Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine. Sure, he has some goofy moments and his lightsaber duel with Mace Windu is janky to say the least, but he’s a calm and collected authority figure pulling the strings with devilish delight. Once he makes his transformation into the emperor, he cackles with sadistic, yet amused, glee. He simultaneously gives a thespian performance while making sure to not forget to be campy, which is important considering Star Wars is heavily inspired by pulpy/campy shows like Flash Gordon.

Now, this might be a hot take, or perhaps I’m showing my age here, but I actually genuinely enjoy Revenge of the Sith. In fact, I enjoy it more than Return of the Jedi (I can hear it now: blasphemy, outrage!) But it’s true. Sith is a dark film and respects that enroaching darkness. Jedi has an outstanding final act, but I always found that the first two acts were bogged down by making it more “kid-friendly”. This was the first Star Wars film to be given a PG-13 rating by the MPAA, and it shows as all semblance of hope vanishes by the end of the movie; all save for two newborn babies who may have a thing or two to say about the state of the galaxy one day. There’s a tragedy about the narrative that works, even when we know the outcome of the story, whether through repeated viewings or the fact that this is a prequel. It’s gripping and wonderfully paced, with its two-hour-and-twenty-minute runtime flying by.

I think part of what makes the movie that much more enjoyable now is thanks to the expanded material around the film, chiefly The Clone Wars. Watching the film with the knowledge of Ahsoka’s departure from the Jedi Order, and the Siege of Mandalore, just as examples, really helps contextualize Anakin’s fall to the dark side and the larger scope of the war. Watching that show helps make Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side less abrupt, as we get years of crucial character beats that are leading up to that moment.

Everyone tends to prop up the Kenobi and Anakin duel at the end of the movie due to how bombastic and relentless it is, but I just want to close out by highlighting what I think is the better lightsaber duel in the film: the Kenobi and Anakin versus Dooku scene in the first act. Whereas the prequels prioritized duels with minimal to no dialogue and an emphasis on highly choreographed duels, this one feels more like a scene from the original trilogy, complete with dialogue and a more traditional choreography and cinematography. It’s not particularly flashy, nor is it long, but Dooku sensing Anakin’s darkness and the use of light and shadow in the scene is quite effective, and I think the scene doesn’t get enough love or attention.

What can I say? Star Wars may be a little, how shall we say it, inconsistent as of late, but heading back to the cinema to watch Revenge of the Sith was a great time. It’s nice to see that these films, which used to be so hated, have found their audience after so long, and people showed up to see it, resulting in it opening at number two at the box office, under Sinners, which makes it one of the best re-releases of all time. Not bad for a movie that’s twenty years old, that used to be considered something of a joke.