“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I SPAKE AS A CHILD, I UNDERSTOOD AS A CHILD, I THOUGHT AS A CHILD: BUT WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT AWAY CHILDISH THINGS.”

It’s good. Make that really good. But man oh man…it really could’ve been the greatest ever.

It’s hard not to balance out the enthusiasm for the latest episode without injecting a bit of regret into the proceedings, if only because so much of Revenge of the Sith is spot-on, even when detached from it’s oft-maligned intros. It truly is the Star Wars flick we’ve been waiting on, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that in the long run, Sith may just elevate the standing of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones - slightly.

Yet its greatest achievement will be the wondrous depth it adds to the original trio; the duel between Vadar and Obi Wan in the original, the father/son confrontation in Empire and – perhaps it’s most thankful beneficiary – the concluding passages of Jedi. In fact, the series’ chronological opus is perhaps the film most affected by Sith’s strengths, if for no other reason then the perceived shift in the title’s focus from one Jedi (Luke) to another (Anakin).

But these are big picture observations that will be debated ad nauseum. In the moment, Revenge of the Sith is glorious fun with a wondrous dose of dark, adult tragedy. Like the best parts of the previous two, its aim is to take a target audience member and spit him or her back to that first awe-inspiring moment spent in a galaxy far, far away. And in that respect, it’s knocks one outta Mos Eisley.

But man oh man… it really could’ve been the greatest ever. Lucas’ base is strong, but damn him for not finding a Kasdan or a Kershner to lend a helping hand.

On a side note, we got the chump theater at the Riverview last night – shitty sound and not one costumed character, save for the hippie with the lightsaber.