Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: ***/*****

I loved this movie. I know it cannot be compared to some other *good* movies by defintion of such word, but I will make some comments as to why I thought this movie was the best of the Prequel Trilogy and could even match the Originals.

What I liked about it, first of all, was the fact that Lucas, either intentionally or unintentionally, combined the main elements of the first three movies to make this culmination of his saga.

For example, by the end, when Obi Wan gives Luke to Owen Lars, you understand that he is really THE new hope. That is what Episode IV is about. A new hope to fight the Empire, and you see that here. Obi Wan is, wordlessly, in that scene, putting all of his hopes in Luke, and knowing that, when the time was right, he would reveal himself to him and instruct him in the ways of the Jedi. I think that this was planned by him before he even gave Luke to the Lars family.
By that ending, he clearly sets the way for Episode IV, and explains, with ease, how Luke came to live with his uncle and aunt. The shots of Tatooine in the end are very similar to those of Episode IV as well, and I got the message that Luke's life was going to be similar to that of Owen Lars', and that things had not changed at all in those 20 years.

The element caught from Episode V, I think, was that in the end, either directly or indirectly, the bad guys won. I mean, in Episode III, Anakin turned to the Dark Side, the Jedi Order was exterminated and the Empire began. In Episode V, Luke's hand was cut off, you learn the painful truth that Vader is in fact Luke's father, Han Solo is frozen in carbon, and the Rebels are again scattered. I think that both movies are phyrric victories to the Empire, because, for example, in Episode III, the Emperor failed in taking Luke, killing those last two Jedi, and in leaving a remote chance of him being defeated. These facts were more than extremely important in the long term, because they eventually led to the downfall of the Empire. In Episode V, there is also that little touch of hope, and the Rebels, although having lost a battle, and our heroes appear to be defeated, you finally realize that not all is lost yet. Luke is still alive, Leia is not in the hands of the Empire, the Rebel fleet is still standing, and these factors, combined, assure that hope remains.
In the end, the "bad guys" may have won the battle, but they eventually lose the war.

In Episode VI, I could not draw many similarities, because this Episode is completely about the battle for making the Empire fall, and in Episode III, everything happens except that. Episode III was, for me, about losing the battle but just having a slight bit of hope, while Episode VI was, with much toil and sweat, winning the war and finally having a favourable outcome. That is why, I think, the old Lucas returned, and instead of criticising Padme's lines, people should instead see the positive aspects, and how Lucas managed to bring those little touches of magic to his last movie.

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Batman Begins: ***/*****

This movie was also good, and I went to see it reluctantly because I thought it would be "just another superhero movie". I was wrong. This movie really does have some depth in it, and focuses much more in storytelling than in the action, unlike other superhero movies which do the exact same thing.
This movie is almost entirely devoted to showing Bruce Wayne's transformation into the fearsome Batman and...

I'm tired now, and I'm sure you already knew what I was going to say.