Spoiler warning in place. This review may contain stuff you don’t already know, though we doubt it.

Be forewarned, the following sentence is going to sound as cringeworthy as any cheesy romance-laden line that George Lucas has ever attempted to think up; so here goes:

“Yippee! The Force is strong with this one.”

There. That’s bridging the gap between Anakin as a kid (“Yippee!” is from 1999’s The Phantom Menace, as if you’d forget), and Anakin as Darth Vader (“The Force is strong with this one” made into a quotable quote by James Earl-Jones in 1977’s A New Hope).

Which is precisely what Revenge of the Sith does. It bridges the gap that existed between the prequels and the original trilogy (which at times felt like an unbridgeable chasm), completing what its creator writer/director George Lucas started 28 years ago, and pointedly saying that yes, the weighty exposition, clunky lines, and irritating creatures were worth the trouble.

TEMPTATION...You know young Jedi Knight, on the Dark Side you can be as horny as you please. Remember Darth Maul?

Indeed, the Force is strong with this one. It is the best instalment of the prequel trilogy and quite possibly goes one up over Return of the Jedi too (this is arguable).

But that’s not to say that ol’ George has suddenly transformed into a faultless Jedi Master, for he does exhibit his dark side (sorry, Dark Side) here, dangerously wielding a pen in place of a lightsabre, and killing us all with those corny declarations of love delivered by Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) and his wife-in-secret Padme Amidala (Portman) whenever the two are left on their own. Suffice to say, none of the master storyteller’s works will go down in history as moviedom’s great love story.

Thankfully, the lovers don’t get to spend much time alone together, because in this concluding entry of the intergalactic saga, the seduction of Anakin is mostly done by the Dark Side of the Force, as represented by Ian McDiarmid’s Darth Sidious in guise of the Republic’s Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

No, this is not a spoiler. In fact, nothing I say generally here could qualify as one (though I promise to be as careful as an Imperial General under the watchful eye of Helmet Head).

We already know what lies ahead, we already know all the answers. Surprisingly, it doesn’t diminish our enjoyment of the movie in the slightest. The opposite, in fact, holds true; watching each tragic piece of the puzzle fall into its designated space is genuinely engaging, immensely thrilling.

What we don’t know about the story here are the specifics of particular events, which I’m glad to report are presented by the great tinkerer Lucas – who has always excelled when it comes to details, if only just in a visual sense – with a steady hand.

As is tradition, Sith begins with the title crawl informing us of Palpatine’s abduction, held hostage by the Separatists in the latest twist of the ongoing Clone Wars.

It then puts us right in the middle of a spectacular space battle as Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) attempt to save Palpatine from the clutches of Count Dooku (Lee) and his ally, General Grievous (voiced by Wood), leader of the droid army.

It is, naturally, a ruse, planned by the Chancellor/Sith Lord himself, to tilt the balance of power (both political and the Force) further to his side.

He starts the ball rolling by ensuring the death of his apprentice Count Dooku at the hands of Anakin, then later exploiting the Jedi Knight’s disturbing visions of the pregnant Padme’s death in childbirth, to his advantage.

All this eventually leads to the final battle (or rather, “battles”) of the war, in which the ultimate betrayal is to take place, with the clones doing a mighty good job at ensuring that things run smoothly into Hope, fulfilling and setting up what has been written in the first Star Wars story.

Hope, however, seems to exist only in a galaxy far, far away from this portion of the beloved franchise. The story here is dark, sad and tragic. In that regard, it is closest to The Empire Strikes Back, still the best instalment of the series, but it goes to a much darker place where Jedi Younglings are killed with callous indifference, and genocide is but a word.

REVELATION...Luke, I am your aunt's husband's sister's husband. Now see, if you were on the Dark side you would have figured that out by now!

Irony abounds, as Anakin steps over to the Dark Side not because of hate, but because of love. By trying to protect all that is dear to him, he loses everything, including those whom he had tried to protect. And by embracing evil, he fulfills the events of his prophetic visions. This is the stuff great tragedies are made of.

In effect, what Sith does is bring added importance and weight to a number of scenes in all three movies of the original trilogy, particularly the lightsabre battle between Ben Kenobi and Vader in New Hope, Vader’s climactic revelation to Luke in Empire, and the attempted seduction of Luke by the Emperor, as well as the deliverance of Anakin in Jedi.

Let’s just say that Vader has been given a human face (even with the helmet on; oh, you know what I mean!), and you’ll never view him, and for that matter, all the movies from the original trilogy, the same way again.

In the midst of all this darkness, Sith moves at a breathtaking pace, with humour thrown in (derived from R2-D2’s actions, mostly) for good measure. Action is virtually nonstop with space battles, lightsabre duels (five of em!), and full-fledged ground battles taking place in worlds both old and familiar, as well as new and uncharted. Needless to say, the visuals are eye-popping, and it plays as a testimony to ILM’s technical wizardry.

ILM is also responsible for some new characters; foremost among these is Grievous, a hunched four-armed cyborg that kills Jedi with twirling lightsabres which act as deadly rotating blades. He will count as one of the better characters introduced in the prequels.

Lucas also does great work in reintroducing the “old”, in essence providing continuity going from Episode III to IV. The Republic’s fighters resemble that of the Rebels’ X-Wings, while the Separatists’ cruisers remind us of Imperial Star Destroyers. The first Death Star is seen being constructed from a distance. Leia’s signature hairstyle (the bun!) we now know is retro. John Williams’ score contains melodies from the original trilogy; muted by comparison but still packing a punch.

Then of course, there are the familiar characters. Both Luke and Leia make appearances as newborn babies. A certain big walking carpet is referred to by name in one scene. Vader finally appears in that familiar black suit and helmet (complete with Jones’ familiar deep, authoritative voice), an enduring image that has made the character one of moviedom’s most iconic villains. Missing however, is that scruffy-looking nerf-herder (who’s scruffy-looking?) who was originally planned to make an appearance as a 10-year-old. (For the benefit of those who can’t tell a Sarlacc from a hole in the ground I’m referring to Han Solo.)

With so many characters around, it’s hard to call any one of the Star Wars movies an actor’s movie, but in Sith great performances are on full display.

SALEM'S LOT...Yes. Last you saw me, I was trying to turn David Soul over to the Dark Side.

McDiarmid, for one, plays the scheming politico Palpatine with a deliciously shady performance that underlines Sith’s dark theme. Impressive too is Christensen who redeems himself (he was largely criticised for playing a boy-band version of Vader in Clones) by making the transition to evil work.

McGregor this time around really looks the part, though he gives Ben Kenobi a smart-talking, wise-cracking quality which may not endear him to some.

With all the good things happening here, it must said that - like ALL the Star Wars movies - Sith has its flaws. In abundance. Still, it does what it sets out to accomplish. It is a bona fide movie experience (not to be missed on the big screen), a chapter of a modern mythology that will compel you to revisit the original trilogy with added fervour. That is an achievement on its own.

Oh, there’s one thing you need to know. I belong to the minority group who found redeeming qualities in both Phantom and Clones (Darth Maul! The pod race! The droid army! ) which I suppose would diminish the value of this review somewhat.

A message to the naysayers, then. The prequel trilogy may be flawed, but it is flawed on a lot of levels that you could have some fun exploring. Just don’t approach the movie with the mean-spirited mien of a Wookie about to lose a holographic game to a droid. And for the Star Wars “intellectuals” among you: get off your high Tauntauns (or horses, if you prefer), will ya?

Peace! And may the Force be with you always.