t's hard to believe that the sixth and last Star Wars summer has come to an end. Fans in larger cities will still catch the film playing at a multiplex somewhere or in second-run discount theaters for a little while, but by and large, it's the sunset of an era. We will never have the experience of seeing a new Star Wars film over and over at the AMC 20 again. In a couple of months' time, we'll have the DVD in our hot little hands and we'll be able to stage Star Wars marathons in our homes ad infinitum, remembering Star Wars summers past.

Revenge of the Sith was in many ways far from a typical popcorn movie. Certainly it has the action and visual spectacles audiences love in their summer movies but it's also an unflinching look at the worst its characters can do. A lot of recent fare, from the Spiderman movies to The Incredibles to Batman Begins, etc. have presented flawed superheroes or at least showed the downsides of being one. But Revenge of the Sith goes a step further. Anyone can show heroes having to struggle with doing the right thing. 99% of the time, they will do the right thing. Yet Anakin chooses differently. It takes real guts to devote an entire film to a hero who makes the wrong decisions and show the consequences of those decisions.

Papa George had long claimed such a film would have limited appeal and thought it would be the least-successful of the series. In the book The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, he joked during one of the artists' meetings in 2002, "We're out of our minds...(m)aking a movie where the bad guys win, and everyone dies, is not destined to be the most successful film of all time." The box office proved that audiences can accept such a film if it is done well. Of course we know what happens post-Revenge of the Sith and as difficult as the tragic elements are to watch, that foreknowledge was certainly comforting. One can imagine how audiences would have received Sith if there were no Episodes IV-VI.

In any case, the film was embraced by audiences worldwide and I think it has a fair claim to being the best of the series. Not because it's perfect--perfection isn't the issue--but because of its emotional effect. Even knowing what would become of the characters, it was still hard to watch. You didn't want Anakin to turn to the Dark Side. You didn't want Obi-Wan to go off to Utapau alone and it's still shocking to see him leave Anakin behind after their duel. You still didn't want Padmé to die; her funeral has to be the saddest thing I've ever seen in SW. Even though we knew it was inevitable, it was also the first and only time we see a major character die while in her prime.

One fascinating aspect of Revenge of the Sith is how it could still evoke sympathy for Anakin, even after he commits horrible deeds. His motivations were entirely human and understandable even if his actions are immoral. He is crippled and helpless when he is immolated. And even after he becomes the symbol of villainy, the first thing on his mind is his beloved wife. The film never loses sight of Vader's humanity.

The conclusion to the film is brilliant. Focusing on the fates of the Skywalkers, it begins with the dark destinies of Padmé and Anakin and ends with the hope of Leia and Luke. The film could not end in any other way. It's a perfect bridge between the prequel and classic trilogies.

While hoping for an Oscar nod might be too much (Oscar nominations need campaigns and Lucasfilm's not willing to wage them, plus there's too much of an anti-prequel bias), it would be nice if Ian McDiarmid got at least a Golden Globe nomination for his fine performance. He goes from the unassuming pol seen in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones to a galactic Iago to the Emperor/Sith Lord we all loved to hate in Return of the Jedi, all in one film.

Nevertheless, Hayden has clearly walked away the star of this movie, which is well-deserved. He did an amazing job (some of us around here believed in the guy all along) and while everyone did well, he really is the heart of the film. If you didn't believe Hayden's performance, you didn't believe anything else in the movie.

Of course there were those who were never comfortable with Anakin's open-hearted nature, thinking it's not terribly "macho" to fumble for the right words to say to his wife or to express his agony at hearing of her death. But Lucas never intended to make the prequels a tale of a one-dimensional villain nor did he want to take the easy route to Anakin's fall. No one 28 years ago would ever have guessed Vader went down in flames, literally, for love.

Mark my words, Revenge of the Sith's reputation and that of the other prequels, will grow over time. Some of us will remember we were there first and for many times afterwards, enjoying the last new Star Wars film's finale.