"SITH" HAPPENS! - LUCAS' EPIC COMES TO SATISFYING CONCLUSION IN THE DARKEST CHAPTER

Fanboys rejoice!  The final climactic chapter of the most lucrative science fiction franchise in cinematic history brings many riches of dark epic enthralling visual effects and a satisfying mythic ethos to the storyline of Anakin Skywalker's crossover into The Dark Side of The Force is finalized as Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith.

For those novice to the series let us bring the fable up to date: Skywalker (a fiery petulant-no-more Christensen embracing the black soul of his doomed-to-be metallic hybrid) is considered The Chosen One of the Jedis and at the propulsive beginning is in league with his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor finessing his uncanny channeling of the late great Sir Alec Guinness) to rescue Chancellor Palpatine of the Senate (McDiarmid) whose been kidnapped by the nefarious Count Dooku (the always creepily enchanting Christopher Lee) as they battle their way thru a hairy dog-fight in space to a swift light saber confrontation.

It's here that Skywalker realizes he is missing something in his life and is taken under the wing of the Senator to be Palpatine as a protégée.  Skywalker is still seething from the death of his mother and uncomfortable with his secret marriage to Padme Amidala (the porcelain goddess Portman, sporting some serious hair-dos) who announces she is pregnant, further adding fuel to his conflicted inner fires.

Meanwhile the Jedi Council - led by bad muthafucka Mace Windu (a smoldering, glowering Jackson) - is suspicious of Palpatine's Caesarian tactics and enlists Anakin to espy on the elder statesman.  Conflictions concur and eventually a coup de tat is enacted by - you guessed it - Palpatine AKA the evil, cunning Darth Sidious - who is found out in his plan to wipe out the Jedis once and for all and installing the brooding Skywalker as his lapdog/enforcer/hit-man to do the dirty job.

Kenobi manages to avoid most of the bloodshed as he intends to stop the equally heinous Darth Grievous, a menacing scabrous metallic insectoid hellbent on domination at any lethal means possible (one neat little characteristic : he keeps all the light sabers of those Jedi he's terminated as souvenirs).

What ultimately happens next is basically The Empire's installation and the fears of good being vanquished once and for all and Lucas orchestrates the proceedings at hand with a skilled, technically savvy polish that proves once and for all what a gifted filmmaking genius he is with his vast broad strokes of fine details and stunning landscapes (planets of all shapes, sizes and atmospheres abound) as well as new characters (the aforementioned Grievous, a combination of Lon Chaney and a scuttling, wet hacking coughing phantom menace indeed!) and old (welcome back Chewbacca! Everyone's favorite Wookiee!  Chewie, baby, Chewie!!)

As anticipated and expected the high-tech state-of-the-art CGI/ILM conceit works brilliantly and one stunning sequence/set-piece/costume display/character creation blends seamlessly thru the next with breath-taking eye candy and impeccable sound design that scorches the screen (particularly the climactic light saber duel between Kenobi & Skywalker on the magmatic planet sealing the young charge's fate against an angry orange background of lava that will have fans 'gasming).

While the acting is mixed (frankly Portman seems anesthetized in some sequences) the standout is McDiarmid as the cruelly diabolical, hissable Sith sayer Sidious and his evolving to the final completion of his pact with intergalactic Satanism is truly unnerving and his insidious asides are priceless.

Some standout sequences include an ass-kicking R2-D2 (!!) and Master Yoda getting his ya-yas out from his last impression in the second chapter Attack of the Clones as a tiny flurry a la Ricochet Rabbit that was the true crowd-pleaser for the World Premiere audience I had the sweet fortune of attending at NYC's cinematic palatial Ziegfeld theatre.

Lucas has done the near impossible - redeemed himself for the naysayers, nerd bloggers and all forms of disdain for his wooden dialogue and stilted histrionics - combining a triptych of various genres - Westerns, samurai flicks, Greek tragedy, opera, Saturday Matinee cliffhanger, political treatise, comedy, horror, suspense, action, romance et al. - into an entertaining saga of family values, loyalty, noble rot and ultimately - universal sacrifices.

Not to give any more away but when the final sequence is laid bare, and John Williams' score evoking Darth Vader's theme (and the first audible breathing hiss from within his intergalactic streamlined iron lung) it's damn impossible not to get goose bumps.

Dark indeed is the final word and most impressive is the fate for Anakin Skywalker that sets the stage for the original trilogies follow-up episodes that will have you racing to the DVD player to see all the pieces fall into place with nerdy glee; I'm at one with The Force.  And so to will be you.  As Comic Book Guy of The Simpsons may say, "Best. Ending. Ever!"

Film Rating: êêêê  (out of 4)