It took six years, hundreds of millions of dollars and the broken hearts of fan boys, but George Lucas has finally- albeit intermittingly- recaptured the magic of the galaxy far, far away, just in time to wrap up its cinematic saga.

Coming on the heels of two prequels that, while containing flashes of brilliance, left supporters shaking their heads, Revenge Of The Sith fills in the gaps between the two trilogies in a way that doesn't disappoint and, at times, reaches unexpected heights. It's not immune to the pitfalls of the earlier films by any means, but Sith grasps the tone and gravitas, not to mention the excitement, of the originals.

The Star Wars prequel trilogy arrived with great fanfare in 1999, with Lucas returning from a 22 year directing hiatus in order to deliver The Phantom Menace, which was savaged by critics and ultimately rejected by audiences. Despite a wondrous final third and inspired production design, the film was deeply flawed, due to weak and unfocused storytelling, as well as the hate-inducing character Jar Jar Binks. Yet some fans, myself included, were so glad to have Star Wars back that it took us quite awhile to realize just how substandard it was.

Attack Of The Clones, which followed three years later, was granted no such courtesies. It subtracted many of the problems of its predecessor and added several new ones, namely a brutal romantic subplot, as well focusing on a confused and ultimately meaningless "clone war," which seemed to lead to more committee meetings than actual battles. Throughout both films was a sense that Lucas had lost focus on what made the originals great, abandoning storytelling in favour of more and more sophisticated special effects.

And now we have Revenge Of The Sith, in which the performances are still laughable from all the usual suspects, plus Ian McDiarmid's inexplicably praised decision to play villain Palpatine with comical, wildly campy overacting. The love scenes, bad enough in Clones, are somehow even worse here. Natalie Portman, in particular, is given practically nothing to do except look concerned and repeat the same scene four or five times. There's still the over-reliance on special effects and a bit too much of the arcane, intergalactic politics that ultimately sank Clones, a film so ponderous and talky that one critic dubbed it Episode II: How A Bill Becomes A Law.

Yet despite these flaws, Sith works, because it finally gets back to the underlying essence of the original trilogy, the combination of thrilling action, exploration of a unique and fascinating universe, and (most of all) engaging and dramatic storytelling. It does this despite the handicap that virtually everyone in the audience knows exactly how the plot will turn out, which characters will live and die, and the outcome of every battle.

Indeed, numerous events take place that are, of course, preordained by the plots of the previous canon - The Republic becomes the Empire, Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, certain characters die and certain others are born. A major achievement of the film is that all of these events meet and sometimes even confound expectations and none disappoint.

The final hour is especially poignant, recalling the conclusions of all three original films, as well as the vastly under appreciated third act of Phantom Menace. Thrilling action is juxtaposed with necessary plot events, with neither too dependent on the other, and all accompanied by a standout John Williams score.

Assuming that we hold Lucas to his promise to make no more Star Wars, his saga is now complete. And while he may have done irreparable damage to his legacy with the disappointing prequels and constant tinkering with the originals, perhaps the sixth and last will ultimately vindicate him.