Variety likes Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith:
Whatever one thought of the previous two installments, this dynamic picture irons out most of the problems, and emerges as the best in the overall series since ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’
When we look at what’s covered in this one film, I have to ask, Why did we even need episodes I and II?
Everyone who has followed the “Star Wars” saga over the years will come to this film knowing that it all has to pay off here: the transformation from Anakin into Darth Vader, the face-off between Anakin/Vader and his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, the morphing of the Republic into the Empire, the exile of Yoda and Padme’s birth of the twins Luke and Leia, siblings who become the central figures in episodes 4-6.