I was as disappointed as any with one villain fromStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, but this was always the point. My opinion on the third film in George Lucas' trilogy often aligns with many others; I thinkRevenge of the Sithis one of thebest-rankedStar Warsmovies. It is undoubtedly the best movie in the prequel trilogy and, in my opinion, falls behind onlyStar Wars: The Last JediandThe Empire Strikes Backregarding its place in my franchise ranking.
One of the reasons I holdRevenge of the Sithin such high regard is due to the film’s fantasticStar Warsaction scenes. The brilliant battles of The Clone Wars and the lightsaber duels match the film’s bleaker tone and solidifyRevenge of the Sith’s place on thechronologicalStar Warstimelineas an integral stepping stone in creating one of the franchise’s most iconic villains. Although I agree with many that Darth Vader’s set-up works wonderfully inRevenge of the Sith, I cannot help but also agree that one of the film’s other villains is disappointing, but this was always their intended purpose.
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General Grievous Was Never Meant To Be An All-Powerful Threat
Grievous Was Always A Misunderstood Villain
The villain I am talking about is General Grievous, a character whose first release order appearance came inRevenge of the Sith. I have long found Grievous disappointing, primarily due to his unthreatening personality, his tendency to run away from skirmishes throughout thetimeline ofStar Wars: The Clone WarsandEpisode III, and the somewhat ease with which Obi-Wan Kenobi defeats him in the latter. However, I now realize that this disappointment was misplaced thanks to an explanation of the character byStar Wars’Dave Filoni in theStar Wars Insidermagazine:
“Some people want Grievous to be Darth Vader, but he’s not. That’s a critical thing to remember.Fandom made him this powerful weapon of fear before we saw Revenge of the Sith, which is what Dooku wants you to think of Grievous. But as Obi-Wan sees in the movie, when you meet him face-to-face, he isn’t this terrifying creature. In fact, much like any Frankenstein’s monster, there’s this sadness to him, about what he probably once was and what this mechanized wickedness has turned him into.”
As pointed out by Filoni, my perception of Grievous has been wrong this entire time. Rather than seeing Grievous as an incredibly powerful, Vader-like villain of The Clone Wars, I was supposed to view him exactly as the film presented him. Grievous is more of a tragic figure, one whose disappointing presence somewhat conveys his hidden backstory as a living being who has slowly been turned into a monster akin to Vader, only without the latter’s threat.
The Clone Wars Micro-Series Shaped Our Understanding Of Grievous
Admittedly,one of the primary reasons as to why I perceived Grievous as a highly menacing threat was his depiction in Genndy Tartakovski’sStar Wars: Clone Wars. When I first watched theStar Warsseries, I did so in chronological order, nestling my first watch of theClone Warsmicro-series between my first watch ofStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clonesand its sequel. As it turns out, this shaped my understanding of what Grievous was - or more aptly, what he was not - in the era of theStar Warsprequels.
In Grievous' first appearance inStar Wars: Clone Wars, he was depicted as a terrifying monster. The scene saw him stalking toward six Jedi, including powerful masters like Ki-Adi-Mundi, Aayla Secura, and Shaak Ti, his presence indicated only by the threatening sounds of his mechanical limbs. This, combined with his battle against six Jedi simultaneously, convinced me that Grievous was supposed to be an almighty threat to the Jedi. Naturally, his depiction inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithwas always going to come as a disappointment after this, though Filoni’s explanation - andClone Warsbeing dubbed Legends - makes Grievous' canon portrayal more logical.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Cast
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith details the fall of the Jedi Order and Anakin Skywalker’s transformation under the influence of Darth Sidious. Released in 2005, the film explores Anakin’s internal conflict and the shifting political landscape, leading to the rise of the Galactic Empire.
