Nothing I can post here will change anyone's mind about ROTS. And I wouldn't even want to. I actually envy anyone who thinks highly of it because I wish like crazy that I could regard ROTS as a good film, or even just an enjoyable one. But I don't think I'll ever see it as anything other than a complete mess. And it actually blows my mind how ROTS is perceived as a superior film to either of the ST movies. Not even remotely close, IMO. Not in acting, writing, dialogue, cinematography, effects, sophistication, coherency . . . not in *any* way whatsoever.
I could spend all day going over how cringey the Artoo oil slapstick was . . . how goofy and lame the elevator sequence was . . . the WTF that Grievous was . . . the absurdity of what the final lightsaber duel turned into . . . and on and on (in typical embarrassing PT form). But none of that matters anywhere near as much as what a cluster**** ROTS made of the turning of Anakin into Vader. The most important storyline/plot in the entire Skywalker Saga became an utter joke (even before we get to "NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"). And I never would've even thought it possible before the PT. An epic possibility turned into an epic fail.
ROTS didn't establish any believable rationale for Anakin's turn. In fact, much of the story even undermines the notion that Anakin would ever serve an evil master at all! From lighthearted banter with Obi-Wan . . . to his increased sense for him as a father figure . . . to his affection for Padme and his unborn child(ren). Even him resisting slicing off Dooku's head until he was ordered to "dew it." Why!? This guy had cut off Anakin's hand and totally embarrassed him; so with Kenobi unconscious, *that* was an opportunity to show how Anakin's experience with the Tuskens in AOTC had evolved. Show that he was more lost soul than meets the eye, and that his instincts had changed. But nope; gotta keep Anakin's good nature prevalent enough so that when he turns at the end, and is willing to hurt/kill the two people he cared most about (Padme & Kenobi), we're left saying, "Wait . . . what!?"
All the while, not a single friggin' Jedi *Master* could sense what was going on! After all the talk in the first 5 movies about "search your feelings" and "I can sense the (fill in the blank) in you" we're supposed to believe that all of these super-powerful Jedi *Masters* were completely oblivious to whatever deep turmoil would cause Anakin to embrace the dark side? Think about how that conflicts with what came before: Vader could sense Luke's thoughts, even about his secret sister; Luke could sense Vader's conflict; Yoda could see young Luke's ambitions . . . from ACROSS THE GALAXY!!. But not one of these great and powerful Jedi could sense what was happening to Anakin, right there next to them!?
And he turned to save his wife from dying. The motive that nearly 20 years to think about in order to explain Luke's father murdering countless people in servitude to an evil master was . . . just to learn the power/ability to keep his wife alive? The one who he turns around and levels accusations at before choking her?
Ridiculous. To this day - and after THREE prequel films, if anyone is asked by someone who doesn't watch SW why Anakin turned evil, there won't be a consistent (or coherent) answer from fans who actually love this stuff. That's what ROTS will leave as its legacy: a convoluted mess that ended up leaving as many questions as it provided in answers. Not a good film in a cinematic sense, but a much worse film in terms of justifying its own existence.
I spent all that time writing, and jye does it better in one sentence. I'll get the hang of this eventually.
