History YMMV / RevengeOfTheSith

** Palpatine is a Chancellor, a Sith Lord, and can act as ''the entire Galactic Senate''. In more memetic conversations, fans often refer to Palpatine as simply "The Senate".

** Palpatine is a Chancellor, a Sith Lord, and ''the entire Galactic Senate''.

* ViewersInMourning: Fan-favorites Mace Windu and Kit Fisto die in this film, much to fans' dismay.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Darth Plagueis proved to be a tremendously popular character '''without even appearing in the film''', based solely on the story Palpatine tells to Anakin (which is often regarded as one of the best scenes in the entire prequel trilogy). His presence in both the ''Legends'' continuity and the Canon countinuity is extremely limited, but there has been no short order of fascination with the character.

* MisaimedFandom: People sometimes argue in complete seriousness that TheExtremistWasRight regarding Mace Windu attempting to arrest Palpatine ("You see, Anakin? I told you it would come to this. The Jedi are taking over!"), not helped by Palpatine arguing in [[MorePopularSpinoff the better-received novelization]] that merely being a Sith isn't a crime. The Jedi ''aren't'' arresting him for being just a member of a rival religious group, they're arresting him for instigating [[Film/ThePhantomMenace a military occupation of a member state]] and [[Film/AttackOfTheClones the current rebellion against the Republic]], and now for ''trying to overthrow the government''.
* MorePopularSpinoff: The film itself is generally rated "good, could be better": better than its immediate predecessors but not as good as the original trilogy. [[Literature/RevengeOfTheSith The novelization]] by Creator/MattStover is almost universally considered to far surpass the film it's based on and one of the finest single pieces of licensed fiction ever.

* ContestedSequel: Like the other two Prequel Trilogy theatrical films, though leaning more towards the positive end of the spectrum. Many fans regard the film as a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel to the previous Prequel Trilogy films, although opinions are all over place. In general, ''Revenge of the Sith'' is one of the most polarizing of all nine ''Star Wars'' films, from both ends, only behind ''Film/TheLastJedi'' and ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''. Some fans love the film for its DarkerAndEdgier tone and multi-layered, intriguing and tragic plot. Others hate it for the craploads of {{narm}} and bad acting and dialogue and idiotic character decisions that it retains from the other two prequels, as well as for trying ''so'' hard to make Vader into a tragic figure when many people come away thinking that Anakin was bad news all along and he had little to redeem himself (most notably killing children and his wife). Others TakeAThirdOption and state that while the film definitely falls short compared to the Original Trilogy and has plenty of narm to go around, it's still the best entry in the Prequel Trilogy and is fairly enjoyable in its own right.
* CriticalDissonance: It gets enough flak from the fans that its Website/RottenTomatoes rating of '''80%''' might surprise some people, especially considering this was nearly identical to ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'''s former score of 79%. The score of the latter film has since gone up, but it doesn't make much of a difference. Though for what it's worth, even the film's haters usually concede that it isn't as bad as the other two prequels--see SurprisinglyImprovedSequel below.

* EvilIsCool: Palpatine/Sidious is widely held as the best aspect about the film. A number of critics claimed that he filled the hole the other prequels had been lacking with an effective bad guy. Even the vast majority of the film's detractors will traditionally concede that he is an excellent villain. This is due to the convincingly sinister atmosphere of all of his scenes, [[FountainOfMemes being endlessly quotable]] and Creator/IanMcDiarmid clearly [[ChewingTheScenery having the time of his life playing such a deliciously evil character]].

** Bail Organa ordering Captain Antilles to wipe C-3PO's memory at the end of the film clears up the continuity problem of 3PO not recognizing the planet Tatooine, Obi-Wan, Owen and Beru Lars, Luke, Leia or Darth Vader in the Original Trilogy despite experiencing all this in the prequels. R2 was spared this fate since he's an astromech droid and can't speak, which is why he does vaguely remember Obi-Wan in ''A New Hope''.

** Bail Organa ordering Captain Antilles to wipe C-3PO's memory at the end of the film clears up the continuity problem of 3PO not recognizing the planet Tatooine, Obi-Wan, Owen and Beru Lars, Luke, Leia or Darth Vader in the Original Trilogy despite experiencing all this in the prequels. R2 was spared this fate since he's an astromech droid and can't speak, which is why he does vaguely remember Obi-Wan in ''A New Hope''.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: While it had highly polarizing reception, the film was considered a breath of fresh air at the time of its release for having a [[DarkerAndEdgier very dark tone]] and tragic plot that let it stand out from the other two prequels, not to mention [[JustHereForGodzilla depicting Darth Vader on-screen as a villain for the first time in ages]].[[note]]While Anakin spends roughly half of the film as "Vader", he only appears in his iconic suit of armor for one scene at the end of the films.[[/note]] However, Disney's ''Star Wars'' films have caused the film to go through UniquenessDecay; contemporary ''Star Wars'' films are consistently PG-13 and are less blatantly "toyetic" than the prequels, and the suited Vader reappeared in both ''Film/RogueOne'' and ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'' (the latter show even having Creator/HaydenChristensen reprising the role) with much more impressive and terrifying scenes than [[{{Narm}} the]] [[MemeticMutation one]] he was given in ''Revenge of the Sith''.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: While Creator/HaydenChristensen's performance remains divisive, many fans note that it's otherwise been greatly improved and Anakin himself is more bearable and even sympathetic in this films compared to how he was in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''.

** Creator/ChristopherLee's scene as Count Dooku perfectly sets up Anakin's StartOfDarkness. It also serves as retribution for all of Dooku's schemes in ''Clone Wars''.

* AlasPoorScrappy: Nute Gunray wasn't well liked as an antagonist in ''The Phantom Menace'', with the questionable stereotypes doing him and the Trade Federation no favours. Still, it's hard not to feel a smidgen of sympathy as he pleads for peace and an end to the war, right before Vader brutally cuts him down.

** It's similar with Grievous too. After watching ''The Clone Wars'' and seeing him [[KarmaHoudini escape capture, death, or any sort of retribution for his actions]] time and time again, it is quite nice indeed to [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty ''finally'' see him get his comeuppance]] in this film.

** ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' gives Dooku's death this. Yes, it's still tragic in the context of pushing Anakin to the dark side, but after all the horrible things Dooku did throughout the series, it can feel gratifying knowing Dooku gets what he deserves.
** It's similar with Grievous too. After watching ''The Clone Wars'' and seeing him escape capture, death, or any sort of retribution for his actions time and time again, it is quite nice indeed to ''finally'' see him get his comeuppance in this film.
** Say what you want about Anakin, but watching him slaughter those cowardly slimy Separatist bastards is immensely satisfying. And he does it all silently while epic music plays. Unless you consider the Separatists too pitiful at that point.
** Even if you do pity some of the Separatists, it's still undeniably satisfying to watch Wat Tambor in particular get killed after all the horrible things he pulled and got away with in ''The Clone Wars''.
** Palpatine's duel with Yoda. It is incredibly cathartic to see Sidious being brought down to earth and seeing him, not only manhandled (thrown away, disarmed, and electrocuted) but actually scared for his life (he clearly would have preferred not to fight Yoda), after all the monstrosities he committed, and him acting like he is invincible. Even if he "wins" the duel, he gets a rough beating by his equal in power.
** If you dislike Anakin, or consider his crimes too monstrous to make him sympathetic, being mutilated, burnt and locked in his Darth Vader suit for the rest of his life might do the part. It helps that Vader has none of his previous arrogance from when he was Anakin after this point.

* MisaimedFandom: People sometimes argue in complete seriousness that TheExtremistWasRight regarding Mace Windu attempting to arrest Palpatine ("You see, Anakin? I told you it would come to this. The Jedi are taking over!"), not helped by Palpatine arguing in [[MorePopularSpinoff the better-received novelization]] that merely being a Sith isn't a crime. The Jedi ''aren't'' arresting him for being just a member of a rival religious group, they're arresting him for ''trying to overthrow the government''.

* CompleteMonster: [[Characters/StarWarsEmperorPalpatine Palpatine]], [[Characters/StarWarsGeneralGrievous General Grievous]] and Wat Tambor. See their entries under ''Franchise/StarWars'' films [[Monster/StarWars here]].

* CompleteMonster: [[Characters/StarWarsEmperorPalpatine Palpatine]] and [[Characters/StarWarsGeneralGrievous General Grievous]]. See their entries under ''Franchise/StarWars'' films [[Monster/StarWars here]].

* AwardSnub: This is the only live-action ''Star Wars'' film not to win or be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

** Yoda and Obi-Wan (and, as a result, Luke) being more spiritual in the original trilogy in the manner Qui-Gon was, as opposed to the dogmatic Jedi Order who saw such behavior as blasphemy, is justified by them being taught by the spirit of Qui-Gon himself.

** Yoda and Obi-Wan (and, as a result, Luke) being more spiritual in the original trilogy in the manner Qui-Gon was, as opposed to the dogmatic Jedi Order who saw such behavior as blasphemy, is justified by them being taught by the spirit of Qui-Gon himself.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: See the franchise [[AuthorsSavingThrow/StarWars page]].

* DesignatedHero: A blunt and unusually literal example in the opening crawl. We're told that "there are heroes on both sides" of the Republic-Separatist conflict, which is a ''very'' generous interpretation of the few Separatist-aligned characters this might apply to. Its shadow leader has an entry under CompleteMonster, its public face is fully complicit in every bullet point of that guy's EvilPlan ([[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness other than his own death]]), its general is an AxCrazy cyborg, and its council of leaders is completely unsympathetic to a man. The epithet probably applies best to Dooku, but even then mostly in a TragicVillain and AlasPoorVillain kind of manner.

** Some people felt that Padmé's "So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause" line was [[StrawmanPolitical a blatant jab at things like the Patriot Act]] and [[PostNineElevenTerrorismMovie the overall culture of post-9/11 America]]. For what it's worth, Creator/GeorgeLucas has implied that it was actually supposed to be referencing UsefulNotes/NaziGermany.

* RealismInducedHorror: Your husband succumbs to all his worst qualities, becomes a fanatic mass murderer and would-be tyrant, and when you refuse to join him, he assumes you've turned on him and physically assaults you while you're pregnant. Doubles as DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything, particularly for viewers who have undergone or witnessed domestic abuse.

-->'''Ratio Tile''': This is ''your own'' masterpiece.

--->'''Yoda:''' Not… if anything to say about it… '''''I HAVE!'''''

** Arguably, "Backstroke of the West," of all things, improves on the line, changing it to "I will ruin you!" As if Anakin is vowing that he'll have his revenge one day for what Obi-Wan has done to him.

* AccidentalAesop: Many fans make the joke that one of the messages of the movie is the importance of getting proper sleep, making the observation/joke that the entire plot of the movie only happened because Anakin was sleep deprived due to his nightmares. This aesop is even emphasized in some of the film's various novelizations. This is of course also something of a SpaceWhaleAesop: If you don't get eight hours of sleep, you won't make good decisions, the evil space wizard will win, you'll murder children and your wife, and then you will fall in lava.

** A character played by Creator/SamuelLJackson speaks on behalf of a council: "You are on this council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master."). Seven years later, [[Film/TheAvengers2012 another character played by SLJ defies a different council's decision]]: "I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it."