Sith Happens
Sometimes my post titles are so unfunny I want to kick myself. But I had to try!
Anyway, yesterday I headed out with my dad and sisters to watch Star Wars : Revenge of the Sith. It’s been a long time since we’ve all gone to watch a movie together, and my dad has seemed pretty down lately, so I thought it would be a good pick-me-up for all of us. One of my favorite childhood memories was when my dad took all of us to watch ‘Return of the Jedi’, and we sat in the theater and watched it twice.
I can honestly say that Episode III was heads above the other two prequels. It’s hard for me to compare it to the original trilogy because the others are so close to my heart, I doubt anything could be better because of that bias. However, I hated Episodes I and II, so III didn’t have to accomplish much to be better.
George Lucas is a visual master. EpIII is a masterpiece for the eyes - the special effects are amazing. My criteria for a good special effects movie is that the effects don’t divert your attention from the story. You’re not watching and thinking ‘Cool! Look at that special effect!’ or ‘That thing looks SO CGI!’. The effects are seamless, you don’t know your watching the effects because they go so well with the story. Only looking back do you realize, ‘Wow, that was amazing!’ For EpIII, Lucas created some brand new worlds, some amazing fights in space, and incredible light saber duels. This is where he shines, his imagination soars, and you can see it from what he presents on screen. This is his strength.
Which brings me to his greatest weakness, something that I’m sure we’re all aware of - his writing. For some reason, the first trilogy was fine, I don’t have any issues with the writing. Maybe if I saw it with new eyes now I would, but as I said before, I love those movies. But I thought the writing was horrible for EpI and even worse for EpII (those romantic scenes made me want to throw up). EpIII isn’t as bad, but that could be because there’s so much action going on. However, some of the dialogue is choppy, and once again, the romantic scenes between Anakin and Padme are just plain uncomfortable. There were several times where I’m like, ‘OK Lucas, cut the scene, you’ve been hovering on them too much’ or when the scene was cut too abruptly. The storyline this time around seems a lot easier to follow, but it could be because I had seen the other two several times that I know what the basis of the story for EpIII is. Although I can understand the reasons why Anakin turned to the dark side, the events leading to that turn seem hard to believe.
The acting was ‘eh’, though much better this time around. Anakin isn’t as bratty as he was in II, which was my biggest gripe. All of the actors were able to get a little more depth this time around, though I really felt that there could have been more. Then again, you can only work with the script you’re given. Natalie Portman looked gorgeous, though there’s one scene where her hair looks totally 80’s and I felt like laughing. Ewan McGregor was born to play Obi Wan, he’s got the voice and the bearing. The man who played Senator Palpatine probably had the best performance - he play his shady, manipulative character well. Yoda rocked my world, watch out for the scene near the end where it looks like he’s wearing pajamas - it’s really cute. I also enjoyed every seen that my beloved R2D2 was in. He’s adorable.
Even with these gripes aside, I loved the movie. It’s what the other two should have been. We didn’t need the fluff of Jarjar Binks or scenes of Anakin and Padme rolling around fields. We need action, we need anguish, we need to be shocked. There were definitely times in EpIII that I was shocked, turning to my sisters with my mouth open in disbelief. Lucas may have problems writing dialoge or scenes between people, but he knows how to throw in some zingers to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. I’d say the last 1/2 hour of the movie is definitely the best.
What I love most about EpIII is that now I feel some closure. The circle is complete, leading us back to the original Star Wars. Lucas makes sure to close any gaps in the mythology (like why don’t R2D2 and C3PO recognize Darth Vader to be Anakin?) and gives us a great prequel. He sets up the next three movies perfectly. I’m not giving away any spoilers here, because we all know what happens in the original movies, but that moment when we actually see the Darth Vader that we had come to know and love, it sends shivers up your spine. It’s an amazing feeling.
I left the theater feeling fulfilled. Even though I have some issues with the dialogue, I’m not there to see the dialogue. I’m there to see a good movie, to see if I can forgive Lucas for the other two movies.
…and I have.
So get out there and see it. Even if you think it sucks, at least you’ll get some sense of closure for this whole saga.
Frankie Muniz - My Dog Skip
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