Put yer reviews of Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith here. Don’t read here unless ya done watched it.
My review? I’m not an artsy-fartsy type. I don’t like dramas. I like popcorn flicks with happy endings.
This is no popcorn flick with a happy ending. It’s dark, moody, and overwhelmingly depressing. Favorite characters die, those that live are permanently scarred, and it’s just a big downer. The first half feels like old-fashioned Star Wars. The second half feels like all the most glum parts of the series put together.
On the plus side, it sets up Episode IV very well, and I think Lucas had the right idea when he started this franchise 30 years ago. The first trilogy would never have sold. The Emperor wins. The remaining Jedi are in exile. Lucas would never have had the money to finish the series.
I think in the context of all six episodes, it’s an excellent segue to the next 3. Anakin’s downfall is complete. The only hope lies in the two infants. The film was amazingly well-choreographed, seamless with most visual effects (a few of the CG people stood out to me, particularly the clones), and although the dialog was stilted and forced here and there, I was almost moved to tears at a couple of points. I think Anakin’s transition to the Dark Side is a bit forced, as is the Emperor’s transition to the tremendously ugly man he becomes (WTH? Firing lightning turns you ugly?).
Lines that moved me (note: they are paraphrases, since I have only seen it once.)
“This is how freedom dies. To thunderous applause.” — Padme
Anakin: “You are either with me, or against me.” Obi-Wan: “Only the Sith speak in absolutes.”
George W. Bush: “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists”.
Wait, no, that last line wasn’t in the movie. I strongly suspect Lucas is attempting to draw some parallels to current events in his work. The main problem I have with that kind of analogy is that Lucas leaves very little room for “gray” thinking in his movies: it is very black-and-white, on both sides…
Anyway, great movie, just a real downer. Like watching Fried Green Tomatoes or something. It’s a great movie, but the ending just sucks for people who like happy endings.
I must go home and watch IV, V, and VI now so that I don’t feel so down.
Movie summary in a nutshell:
Movie summary in a nutshell: The movie was flawed, but in the exact same way that the original trilogy was flawed. It also succeeded in the same way the original trilogy did… and even had some new bonuses. Social commentary, for one. Also, some truly beautiful quiet moments.
I think my favorite part was very subtle. It was right before Anakin went to rescue Palpatine from Mace Windu, when he’s just standing on top of his balcony, looking out over Coruscant. The scene cuts back and forth between him and Padme standing on different balconies, and I realize: THIS is the moment where he chooses. Maybe he doesn’t realize yet, but his choice isn’t made in the heat of battle or passion. Somewhere in this quiet moment, something in his heart changes.
And I do love the fact that what motivated his downfall was not ambition, but the desire to protect what he loved, the willingness to do anything to make sure that who he loved was safe. Another social commentary there, only more subtle than the fantastic “this is how liberty dies” line: it is a good thing to desire the safety of our loved ones, but don’t let that desire force you into the wrong actions. It’s not our desires that make us bad, it’s the methods we use to achieve them.
As a fight choreographer, I was disappointed with the lightsaber battles. That is, until the final one between Anakin and Obi-Wan. Very nice. Not the same quality as Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul (which ranks as my favorite fight in film history, actually), but still very good and emotionally charged.
I could go on and on. The movie gave me a lot to talk and think about. I’m actually surprised by how much it’s stayed with me since watching it.
So, here’s the big question: In what order to we show the series to our kids who haven’t seen it?
Arthur Rowan
“There is nothing more frightening than a man who is absolutely sure in the righteousness of his cause.
Except spiders. Spiders freak the hell out of me.”
Just returned from seeing it…
I rather enjoyed it.
Granted, I found parts of it to be uneven. There were places where things seemed overly melodramatic and I rolled my eyes at several bits of dialogue.
But, this is Space Opera – not Science Fiction. I’ve never felt that the objective of any of the Star Wars movies were to be tightly woven explorations into technology or setting or even character. Instead, I’ve felt they aimed to be more like a mythology or a morality play.
On this count, I believe Revenge of the Sith is a resounding success.
After the movie is over, I find myself thinking not about great special effects, or astro-droids, or lightsaber duels, or anything like that. I find myself wondering about the nature of Good and Evil.
As near as I can tell, in the Star Wars universe, Good (as represented by the Jedi) derives primarily from selflessness and a sense of civic duty. Strong passions – of any kind – are considered anathema to being good.
Conversely, the Sith appear to embrace passion and selfishness for their moral compass. This drive is what leads one to become Evil.
The question I find myself pondering is whether or not these sketches of morality ring true. Can one only be good if one denies oneself the passions and desires of his heart?
Or more to the point, if you were Anakin, what would you have done in his situation?
For me, as I reflect upon things – upon what gives my life meaning, I see that my love for my wife and family would almost certainly win out over any abstracted sense of civic duty.
And so, I am quite confident that in terms of Star Wars morality I too would have become Sith.
-Darth Troylus
Agreed
Yoda.
900 years without getting laid.
Where do I sign up for the Dark Side?
— Darth Horndog – – – – Thought for the moment: Whatever you want to do, you have to do something else first.
Falling Over In Laughter
LOL funny.
EPISODE 3 Reviewed
TO paraphrase an AICN talkbacker, 10% of the movie is crap, but the remaining 90% is 100% awesome!
Okay.. spoilers here, you’ve been warned.
Overview, I really really enjoyed the film, and have seen it twice now, and a lot of the problems I had the first time were not such a problem the second time.
In order: The space battle is awesome. R2, okay, unrealistic, but fun fun fun! The battle with Dooku is actually some really good lightsaber work. The Anakin/Padme stuff doesn’t work well Padme’s makeup sucks big time The wookies are cool but superfluous Kill the screaming lizard, he sucks. Anakin and Palpatine are really doing a good job. Obi Wan and Grevious rock! Great! Mace Windu is awesome. Padme still sucks, what’s up there? Anakin is starting to worry me. Holy crap, the Jedi, like this? Holy holy crap, the younglings? this is emotional stuff. Thank God the lizard shut up. Finally the scenes with Padme are ok. Emotional fight Anakin and Obi Wan!! Yoda and Palpatine.. sweet. Okay.. I am actually getting choked up here.. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Anakin, not like this, dude.. wow.. tought to watch. Swallow that lump in the throat.. Ok, keep watching.. LOST THE WILL TO LIVE?? WTF??? What about your kids? Ok, lame. FRANKENVADER? “NOOO!!” wasted moment. Ahh.. now this is cool, Alderaan, Tatooine, ok.. getting chokey again.. Lucas, you did it, good job.. A plus with points taken off for a couple bad choices.. still, nicely done.. when do I see it again?
I could pick nits, but really, this is a well done film.. and I will write on it more as I see it more.
Oh.. and Palpatine is a ham, but I don’t care, he’s awesome.
ok, your commentary was right
ok, your commentary was right on the money and VERY VERY funny. I almost cried when you did. Overall, very satisfying.
But PLEEEEEEEZ, pick the nits!!! I mean, Lucas, you are the genius and the original storyteller and I’m not worthy, but it might have been at least an off-handed courtesy to review the first 3 plotlines and expositional dialogue – at least ROTJ. You know, where all the younger generation Skywalker secrets are being told????????? You know, in the novels, Vader/Anakin wishes he had “met” Yoda to thank him for Luke’s training. Yeah. Lava can do things to ya.
And Mon Mothma is heralded as the FOUNDER/LEADER and FORMER SENATOR of the Rebel Alliance, who SUPPOSEDLY stood up to Palpatine but is NOWHERE in the Senate in ANY prequel? (I was grateful to catch the glimpses of Bail Organa, whose lines got hacked in II) Um, and Leia remembers her grieving mother while Luke has no recollection. Yeah, she just lost the will to live and abandoned her children – this would be the same woman who would not sign treaties, used doubles to protect herself, freed herself from execution without waiting for Jedi help, and blasted droids into the cosmos?
She “can’t believe this” about Anakin? Maybe she forgot the exchange where he admitted to slaughtering a whole tribe of ugly Raiders (no pun) just because he’s not quite stable emotionally and even after 10 years, has not quite absorbed the lesson of letting go of people and grieving for them while continuing to live. then again, she thought nothing of marrying a Padawan who has been obsessed with her for 10 years and could get booted out of the Order for it and seemed amazed that sex created babies…and THEN wondered what to do about it.
Oh, and even if she’s a decorative Senator in III, isn’t she still a duly elected one? Does she ever leave her lush apartment bldg to go do Senator things? Once, to listen to an emergency session which was mandatory. (She did have a stunning reputation in II. She was even upset about not being at the vote to protest the Military Creation Act, although hunky teen Jedi guy seemed to make her forget about that pretty quick.)
And why/how did Yoda choose Dagobah? Why was the tree/cave swarming with evil Sith energy and what was the way to defeat it without taking anything in with you? How does his huge little presence go undetected? (I know, these questions are really another movie: Episode III 1/2.)
Who the hell was Master Siphodeus (spelling??) He ordered the Clone Army, then died or disappeared about the same time as Phantom Menace events. Did he erase the Jedi archive file? Was he a Sith apprentice of Palpatine’s before Darth Maul? (Not really a III question I guess but it’s always bothered me)
Oh, and I LOVED the aferthought revelation: Btw Dude, I’ve been communing with your former Master, I’ll show you how. Good to know, since Obi-Wan trains Luke that way a whole bunch.
And, the big one (I too was extremely sad and moved by Anakin’s final transformation and Vader moment): If good ole concerned Annie (I hate that nickname) TRULY embraced the Dark Side ONLY for his desperation to save Padme, why didn’t he renounce it and come back when Plan A didn’t work? Because with all other Jedi being dead and only the old guy to “care” about ya, you might get your dream come true and become the most powerful Jedi ever. That doesn’t sound like someone thinking about others and besides, if he’d come to his senses we wouldn’t have the rest of the story!!! (which is the best part, in my humbly pompous opinion)
As far as the pictorial pleasures of planets and battles, superb as always. A little too much CGI for my taste but that is the new Saar Wars and it makes so much possible to portray the Republic. And Order 66 – that was brilliant and shocking and heartbreaking. Very nice.
I’m done ranting. I’ve only seen it twice so I’m sure it will grow on me. Parts of III were amazing and it was a relief to finally see the whole story on film.
Obi-Wan addresses this
Obi-Wan addresses this at the start of his confrontation with Vader. Averting Padme’s death is only the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was Anakin’s overarching ambition, conceit, and self-righteousness which drove him to the Dark Side — not just concern for Padme.
I really think the Padme thing was just his excuse to justify his dark desires.
—
Matthew P. Barnson
How The Industry Has Changed
“‘I think we have a shot to be No. 1 next week even with two giant pictures coming out’, said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution at Twentieth Century Fox.”
Yes, the head of distribution at Fox is hoping that their biggest hit of the year, “Episode III” will lead box office revenues for more than one week.
I think this shows how the movie industry has changed in the last 15 years. Growing up, I remember “The Karate Kid” was on screens all summer long. The movie came out in early summer and stayed in the theatre and played in the newspaper ads until school started in the fall. There was no burning rush to see a movie its opening weekend. Besides, movie interest built over time.
To think that it was “Star Wars” that originally changed the summer season to a blockbuster mentality is wild, because now the summer blockbuster has been reduced to a one week shelf-life.
A great commerical
My Dad tells me he saw a Star Wars commercial that I think is absolutely brilliant. I don’t know the details, but the gist of the commericial revolves around two words:
“Sith happens.”
Arthur Rowan
“There is nothing more frightening than a man who is absolutely sure in the righteousness of his cause.
Except spiders. Spiders freak the hell out of me.”