There must be two, neither more nor less. One to embody power, the other to thirst for it, Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith The thirst for power has consumed the Sith Order since its founding thousands of years ago. The greedy Lords of Darkness placed at the head of their doctrine the desire to dominate all things at all costs. It does not matter what means you have to use. The first Dark Lords, somewhat unexpectedly, came out of the Jedi Order, whose followers professed peace, tranquility and sober reason as the fundamental values on which the life of the galactic community rests. Disagreeing with the selfless ideology of the Light Side, the so-called Grey Jedi left the Order, organizing into groups that eventually formed a myriad army that declared war on the Old Republic. However, the apostates failed to defeat the Jedi and were forced into exile in the Uncharted Regions, establishing a new home on the inhospitable planet of Corriban, the birthplace of the red-skinned humanoids known as the Sith. A few millennia later, the culture of the Grey Jedi completely absorbed the Sith, and the designation of the latter became the name of the Order of the Dark Side, gradually expanding its influence. It was only a matter of time before the Sith returned to the Old Republic with another military invasion, and it did take place, taking with it to the graves of millions of innocent lives who fell in battle on countless star systems. But despite the terrifying power of the Sith, they were again forced to retreat.
The history of the galaxy far, far away includes several full-blown conflicts pitting the light and dark sides, and each time the Sith missed the approaching victory due to their own recklessness. The dark side, clouding the mind, caused the Masters to plot against each other, while the Jedi confronted the old enemy in a united front. It is likely that the dark Order would have vanished forever from the face of the Galaxy under the weight of its own greed, were it not for the birth of Darth Bain, the prescient Sith, who at the root destroyed the old rules of the Order by proclaiming the sacred Rule of Two. Thus, a thousand years before the battle, Yavin survived only two Sith - Bane himself and his student Zannah. This division of power implied the concentration of the Dark Side in the hands of the strongest of the Force. Bane rejected open conflicts with the Jedi, choosing a wait-and-see attitude. The Sith formed an aura of mystery and legend, but in fact their influence on the politics of the Old Republic exceeded even the wildest expectations.
Starting work on the Star Wars prequel trilogy, director George Lucas personally introduced the Rule of Two into the story of the Saga, thereby emphasizing the invisible presence of the Sith, terrifying demons from the depths of centuries, carrying a hidden threat to the entire civilized community. Star Wars fans were already familiar with the galaxy’s greatest Sith, who inspire fear and awe in the Original Trilogy. The sinister Lord Darth Vader and the self-assured Emperor Palpatine were a force to be reckoned with. This is especially true of Vader, who has become a symbol of the Saga no less than the young idealist Luke Skywalker. But for certain reasons, in the 70s of the last century, Lucas could not tell about the Dark Side everything that he originally conceived and subsequently refined in several volumes. The director left intriguing sketches for the Prequels, where the Sith were given much more time than in the classic Episodes, and they pleased the audience with their insidious plans, waiting to be embodied for a whole millennium. The first episode, which was released in 1999, introduced us to the ambitious senator from the provincial planet of Naboo, Shiv Palpatine, hiding the guise of Sith Lord Darth Sidius. It is this antihero who will one day proclaim himself emperor and begin to dream in nightmares of champions of galactic democracy. In addition to Palpatine, The Hidden Menace presents us with a meeting with Darth Maul, a Datomir scumbag, a disciple of Sidious, who is the embodiment of the unstoppable aggression of the Dark Side. Having revealed to the world one of the most spectacular villains in the history of cinema, Lucas for well-known reasons had to look for a proper replacement for him, because Mol a priori could not take part in the events of the Attack of the Clones. The replacement for the rejection was an elegant diplomat with a curved lightsaber handle on his belt, Count Dooku, a former Jedi who lost faith in the Order and the Senate by defecting to the Sith. Also known as Darth Tyranus, Dooku faithfully served Palpatine as the public face of separatists secretly led by the Sith. the influence of Dooku’s image on the narrative is enhanced by the play of Sir Christopher Lee, the legendary actor who graced the Second and Third Episodes of the Prequel Trilogy with his presence.
"Star Wars" has always been famous for spectacular antagonists, able to compete in the fight for audience attention with representatives of the Light side. And although the villains from the Prequels in terms of dramatic performance lost to the sad image of the long-suffering Darth Vader, they rightfully occupied their niche in history, becoming an indestructible part of the Saga, expanding their own biography of dots of impressive limits thanks to the projects of the Expanded Universe. Fans did not cease to argue among themselves, which of the students of Darth Sidious has the most power. The eternal favorite of the audience Darth Vader hardly restrained the onslaught of competitors, and all sorts of discussions and thematic polls now and then put forward one or another Sith as leaders. Independent director John E. Hutchens, known among Star Wars fans as the creator of several funny short films, rediscovering the well-known characters of Watto, Boba Fett and Darth Vader, also wondered about which of Palpatine's students has the most power in the Force and in the traditional manner put another beautiful short film called "Sith Apprentice".
The action of the plot borrows the rules of the famous American television show “Internship”, in which a famous businessman invites several ambitious newcomers to his internship, who want to become the right hand of a high-ranking patron. Under the gunshot of the cameras, the heroes have to go through a lot of tricky tests, testing not only the strength of the candidates, but also the ingenuity According to the version of John E. Hutchens, the idea of the “Intern” perfectly fits the plans of Darth Sidious, who continues to follow the Rules of Two Darth Bain. Gathering the best of the best applicants for the post of Sith apprentice, Sidious forces Vader, Maul, Duka and even Jar-Ja Binks to solve difficult semantic tasks. and only a true adherent of the Dark Side will be able to emerge victorious from a difficult competition. Each potential student of the future Emperor has his own weaknesses. Some of them open them from the first minutes, with the lightning track of the Force flying out of the frame, others fight for the favor of Sidious until the very end. But to defeat the eternal favorite Vader will be difficult even wise gray-haired Count Dook.
Hutchence’s tape is purely entertaining in nature, and it should not be considered from a serious point of view. The director competently builds the narrative, borrows elements of the ancient philosophy of the Sith, charmingly playing them and bringing the story to a frank farce. “Sith Apprentice” is able to please even those who are not familiar with the history of “Star Wars” viewers, which only goes to the film as an asset.
7 out of 10