For all the flaws that plague the Star Wars prequels, very few can detract from the operatic descent into darkness that Revenge of the Sith ushers in, seeing George Lucas embrace the melodrama, myth, and political allegory of his epic saga to craft its most tragic chapter.
As a grown-up Anakin Skywalker begins to break beneath the weight of duty and desire in Attack of the Clones, George Lucas thoughtfully recaptures the mythic tension of the original Star War trilogy, exposing the corrosive, insidious decay that eats away at the heart of democracy’s heroes, institutions, and ideals.
George Lucas’ myth-making ambitions are undoubtedly bold in The Phantom Menace, serving as a visually and narratively uneven foundation to the darker chapters ahead, yet resolutely daring to ignite the slow-burning fuse of the Star Wars saga’s most tragic, fateful transformation.
