==Criticism==
It caused a very minor controversy for its supposed political overtones. Anakin Skywalker's declaration to Obi-Wan that, "If you're not with me than then you are against memy enemy," was interpreted by some conservatives as a dig at [[President Bush]], and the fall of the Republic is seen as allegory for the rise of the so-called [[American Empire]]. For his part, Lucas has denied this is true except in the broadest terms, saying that whenever democracy becomes empire you will find similarities. He has, however, confirmed during his speech at Cannes Film Festival that when he initially conceived of Episode III, he had been thinking of [[Richard Nixon]]'s power grabs and the Vietnam War, and compared it to the current situation in Iraq. Despite this controversy, the film was hailed by critics as a vast improvement over the previous prequels. In addition, at least one set of dialogue was meant by Lucas to be a criticism of Bush's policies for the War in Iraq: Just prior to the duel between Vader and Obi-Wan on Mustafar, the former yells to Obi-Wan "If you are not with me, then you are my enemy!", which was meant to echo George W. Bush's line of "You're either with us or the terrorists" during Bush's September 20, 2001 State of the Union speech. Likewise, Obi-Wan's response, "Only a Sith deals in absolutes", was meant to reflect on what Lucas thought the viewers thought regarding Bush's black and white worldview.
==Trivia==