Rating of
3/4
The Pathos of Star Wars
SIngli6 - wrote on 09/25/11
The final chapter in George Lucas' grand space opera succeeds at eliciting pathos for the tragic figure of Darth Vader while still providing the audience with a thoroughly flagitious villain in the form of Emperor Palpatine (played with hammy relish by Ian McDiarmid). It also gives us a very assured performance from lead Mark Hamill and a truly spectacular and cathartic climax. A post-production edit that replaces the ghostly image of Sebastion Shaw with that of Hayden Christenson, however, has proven for many almost as pernicious an alteration as the 'Greedo Scene' from 'A New Hope'; but, unlike that former atrocity of political correctness, this change actually improves the film by giving the viewer a sense of continuity between the two trilogies (not to mention giving Christenson the opportunity to show off his his looks without bothering us with his irritatingly meek voice) and thereby a feeling of finality.
