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The Battle of Coruscant
Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith
Writer: George Lucas
Director: George Lucas
I love the opening moments of Revenge of the Sith.
There. I said it. It’s out there. I love the Battle of Coruscant, and I stand by that.
Hopefully, it was easier for all of you to get to that point. Maybe you never had to “get to it” as you were there from the start. I envy you. I really do. There was no great aversion to it on my part, mind you. I just felt as though the sequence floated on the surface of things. It was a built-out version of the Battle of Yavin. George Lucas and his visual effects legions finally had all the toys in his sandbox, and this was the result. I just sort of skipped over it as a fan. Yet, with each viewing—may the Force keep being with the home media market—more layers and meanings started to emerge. A brutality to the action was revealed. A brotherhood was on display. And, suddenly, the Battle of Coruscant was every bit of Star Wars we love to consume.
What we have here is a dark thesis statement on the final chapter of George’s Star Wars films. After telling the inspiring tale of self-discovery, hope, and the fight for freedom in the original trilogy, he had turned his focus on the tale of self-destruction, fear, and the collapse of supposedly indestructible institutions. And, for this third chapter, he brought a PG-13 rating with him. Darkness was falling on the galaxy and it began with the pounding drums of John Williams’ score. Already this sounded different.
The opening crawl had proclaimed “War!” and, sure enough, for the first time in the franchise (at this point in time), we actually started the story deep within a battle. The Jedi Starships flown by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker roar past us, over the surface of a Republic capital ship, and take us into the action. It was all around us. It was loud and large. Everywhere you looked, there was violence.
An ARC-170 fighter explodes, and the bodies of clone troopers go flying past us and out into a cold death in space. We had seen beloved Rebel pilots die before, heard their screams, but there was something disturbingly graphic in the emotional distance to this death. We didn’t have time to know these heroes, but too many of them were dying. Unknown fodder in a war waged by politicians.
We do know our Jedi, though, and our view of the full-scale conflict zeroes in on Kenobi and Skywalker. Side by side. Brothers in arms. This was before The Clone Wars animated series arrived to fill out their relationship and story. Yet, even with that series out there, this was the culmination of their collective journey that began with a simple meeting aboard a Nubian starship over a decade before (or 1999 for us at that time). Once a reluctant teacher and a fearful student, they had grown together, fought together, and become the most powerful dynamic duo in the galaxy. This was their final performance.
There are moments in the saga in which Anakin and Obi-Wan both talk about their great friendship and history. They acknowledge the brotherhood that grew between and beyond their working relationship. We hear them talk about it, but, for me, this is all of that in action. The easy rapport, the in-sync nature of their combined fighting technics, the inside jokes, and laughs despite the danger they always seem to find themselves in. It’s all here. This is Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker at the peak of their connection.
Soon, they crash into General Grievous’ command ship The Invisible Hand and we’re off and running toward the rescue of Chancellor Palpatine and the rest of the story. We leave the battle behind. Yet, for those first glorious six minutes, we are wrapped in the full splendor of Star Wars. All those ingredients we love. Explosions, space ships fighting, R2-D2 zapping evil droids, and the fate of the galaxy all served up with heathy doses of the lore, characters, and lessons we crave.
And I missed it all the first time around.
Star Wars is a lot like a popular chain restaurant. I mean, everyone loves eating at Star Wars. So many options, so much to love, yet not every item on the menu is for everyone. It is, though, full of classic meals we all keep ordering over and over because they are truly the best. Yet, every so often, you need to peruse the rest of the menu. The Battle of Coruscant has everything you’re looking for. The score, the characters, the stakes, and every fun, juicy moment of action that pulled you in all those years ago can be found here, high above the capital of the galaxy. You just have to slow yourself down and watch it. You have to order something new on the menu.