STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH
Now for the first time ever a full review on this blog. Yesterday, I was one of the many losers who went and saw STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH last night at midnight and it was quite a scene. I saw it at AMC Studio 30 here in Houston and I have never seen this huge theater as crowded as it was. There were people in full STAR WARS costumes and people would cheer when an old STAR WARS character would simply make an appearance. Well now my thoughts in another muddled essay for this blog.
STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH
Starring:
Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker
Natalie Portman as Padmé Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
Frank Oz as the voice of Yoda
Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu
Jimmy Smits as Senator Bail Organa
Matthew Wood as the voice of General Grievous
Christopher Lee as Count Dooku
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
Kenny Baker as R2-D2
Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader
Written and Directed by George Lucas. Produced by Rick McCallum. Original Music by John Williams. Distributed by 20th Century Fox. Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images.
STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH is an amazing conclusion to an otherwise lackluster and disappointing prequel trilogy. The original STAR WARS trilogy contains three of the best films ever made, most notably STAR WARS: EPISODE V – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and this prequel trilogy started off with two exceedingly boring and tedious chapters. STAR WARS: EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE was a decently written movie with a plot that would make NPR listeners fall to sleep. STAR WARS: EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES was a horribly written movie with a decent plot. Both movies were filled to the brim with bad acting from good actors.
REVENGE OF THE SITH (ROTS from now on) doesn’t even come close to resolving the writing problem that has plagued this prequel trilogy (and slightly hampered the original trilogy) but the plot is so fascinating that no matter how dreadfully awful the words coming out of the actor’s mouths are the movie is still great.
ROTS starts off with the Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker engaging in a fantastic spaceship battle that puts any of the original trilogy’s to shame. They are trying to rescue the kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from the hands of the evil Count Dooku and General Grievous. Once they return from the rescue we learn that Anakin’s wife, Padmé, is pregnant (with her twins Luke and Leia) and since Jedi are not allowed to have children this is something she must hide. We also learn that in the few years in between ATTACK OF THE CLONES and ROTS that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and Anakin have become friends with Anakin, sharing his thoughts and feelings with the Chancellor. As everyone should know, Chancellor Palpatine is actually a Sith (the opposite of the Jedi that use the dark side of the force) lord who becomes The Emperor in the original trilogy. Because they are becoming closer, Palpatine is slowly trying to get Anakin to go against the Jedi and join the dark side.
All of that is a primer for anyone who hasn’t seen this yet. I don’t feel like spoiling it for anyone. Now I’ll get into what I did and didn’t like about ROTS.
One problem with ROTS is that one gets the feeling that way too much plot is crammed into this one. Now ROTS is far better than the first two installments in this trilogy but so much goes on that one wishes the movie was actually longer. I believe that George Lucas has been planning this chapter since he started writing EPISODE I because when you look back, the previous two chapters were there only to set up things that happen in ROTS. EPISODE I served the story solely so that the Jedi would meet the young Anakin and to get the then Senator Palpatine elected to Chancellor. EPISODE II killed off Anakin’s mother so that when he fears Padmé will die during child birth, we know he will do anything to save her because he slaughtered the sand people that killed his mother.
Another small problem with ROTS is the overuse of digital technology to create environments. The environments are beautiful and well detailed but for most of the movie you feel like you are watching a video game so the spaceship battles and lightsaber battles lose a little of their punch.
The main problem with ROTS is, as mentioned way above, the dialogue. The words coming out of the actor’s mouths are basic, ineloquent and sound like something I would write. The horrific writing hampers even the great Samuel L. Jackson. George Lucas has admitted that he not a very good writer, so I must ask why doesn’t he just come up with the story and have someone else write it, like the best STAR WARS movie ever THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK which Lucas only got a story credit on. He is obviously a visionary when it comes to plot and what technology can do but on the slight chance that this saga ever gets started again and he is still alive, let’s hope he has very little writing input.
With all of that said I must point out that three main actors (Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, and Natalie Portman) have much improved since the last two movies. Even though they have all improved the show is stolen by Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine who masterfully seduces and manipulates Anakin to get him to switch to the dark side and become Darth Vader.
Each one of the prequel films has had a new villain, each one in some way an apprentice to Darth Sidious a.k.a. Chancellor Palpatine. In EPISODE I we had Darth Maul, a red and black faced, horned alien who was the only reason to see EPISODE I because he used a double bladed lightsaber. In EPISODE II we were introduced to Count Dooku played by the great Christopher Lee who did only a decent job. In ROTS we get General Grievous, a wheezing, coughing, hunched over baddie but we don’t get to know him well enough so he seems less menacing and more annoying.
This chapter in the STAR WARS saga is by far the darkest. It really deserves the PG-13 rating compared to the previous five installments because the things that Anakin does when he switches to the dark side make anything in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK look like a kid's flick.
Even though a lot of press has been given to the lightsaber battle at the end between Anakin and Obi-Wan, I have to say that I prefer the lightsaber battle that is interspliced with that one, between Emperor Palpatine and Yoda. Their battle within The Senate for The Republic is very cool and I have become used to the fully digital Yoda and seeing them through pods at each other is very cool.
STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH is so much better that the previous two that I think it makes the movie look a lot better than it actually is but the spell is working on me and I declare it the best “studio” movie to come out so far this year.
Grade: A
STAR WARS Movies Ranked (in their original titles):
1. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (Grade: A+)
2. STAR WARS (Grade: A+)
3. RETURN OF THE JEDI (Grade: A+)
4. STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH (Grade: A)
5. STAR WARS: EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES (Grade: C+)
6. STAR WARS: EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE (Grade: C)
Starring:
Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker
Natalie Portman as Padmé Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
Frank Oz as the voice of Yoda
Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu
Jimmy Smits as Senator Bail Organa
Matthew Wood as the voice of General Grievous
Christopher Lee as Count Dooku
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
Kenny Baker as R2-D2
Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader
Written and Directed by George Lucas. Produced by Rick McCallum. Original Music by John Williams. Distributed by 20th Century Fox. Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images.
STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH is an amazing conclusion to an otherwise lackluster and disappointing prequel trilogy. The original STAR WARS trilogy contains three of the best films ever made, most notably STAR WARS: EPISODE V – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and this prequel trilogy started off with two exceedingly boring and tedious chapters. STAR WARS: EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE was a decently written movie with a plot that would make NPR listeners fall to sleep. STAR WARS: EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES was a horribly written movie with a decent plot. Both movies were filled to the brim with bad acting from good actors.
REVENGE OF THE SITH (ROTS from now on) doesn’t even come close to resolving the writing problem that has plagued this prequel trilogy (and slightly hampered the original trilogy) but the plot is so fascinating that no matter how dreadfully awful the words coming out of the actor’s mouths are the movie is still great.
ROTS starts off with the Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker engaging in a fantastic spaceship battle that puts any of the original trilogy’s to shame. They are trying to rescue the kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from the hands of the evil Count Dooku and General Grievous. Once they return from the rescue we learn that Anakin’s wife, Padmé, is pregnant (with her twins Luke and Leia) and since Jedi are not allowed to have children this is something she must hide. We also learn that in the few years in between ATTACK OF THE CLONES and ROTS that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and Anakin have become friends with Anakin, sharing his thoughts and feelings with the Chancellor. As everyone should know, Chancellor Palpatine is actually a Sith (the opposite of the Jedi that use the dark side of the force) lord who becomes The Emperor in the original trilogy. Because they are becoming closer, Palpatine is slowly trying to get Anakin to go against the Jedi and join the dark side.
All of that is a primer for anyone who hasn’t seen this yet. I don’t feel like spoiling it for anyone. Now I’ll get into what I did and didn’t like about ROTS.
One problem with ROTS is that one gets the feeling that way too much plot is crammed into this one. Now ROTS is far better than the first two installments in this trilogy but so much goes on that one wishes the movie was actually longer. I believe that George Lucas has been planning this chapter since he started writing EPISODE I because when you look back, the previous two chapters were there only to set up things that happen in ROTS. EPISODE I served the story solely so that the Jedi would meet the young Anakin and to get the then Senator Palpatine elected to Chancellor. EPISODE II killed off Anakin’s mother so that when he fears Padmé will die during child birth, we know he will do anything to save her because he slaughtered the sand people that killed his mother.
Another small problem with ROTS is the overuse of digital technology to create environments. The environments are beautiful and well detailed but for most of the movie you feel like you are watching a video game so the spaceship battles and lightsaber battles lose a little of their punch.
The main problem with ROTS is, as mentioned way above, the dialogue. The words coming out of the actor’s mouths are basic, ineloquent and sound like something I would write. The horrific writing hampers even the great Samuel L. Jackson. George Lucas has admitted that he not a very good writer, so I must ask why doesn’t he just come up with the story and have someone else write it, like the best STAR WARS movie ever THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK which Lucas only got a story credit on. He is obviously a visionary when it comes to plot and what technology can do but on the slight chance that this saga ever gets started again and he is still alive, let’s hope he has very little writing input.
With all of that said I must point out that three main actors (Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, and Natalie Portman) have much improved since the last two movies. Even though they have all improved the show is stolen by Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine who masterfully seduces and manipulates Anakin to get him to switch to the dark side and become Darth Vader.
Each one of the prequel films has had a new villain, each one in some way an apprentice to Darth Sidious a.k.a. Chancellor Palpatine. In EPISODE I we had Darth Maul, a red and black faced, horned alien who was the only reason to see EPISODE I because he used a double bladed lightsaber. In EPISODE II we were introduced to Count Dooku played by the great Christopher Lee who did only a decent job. In ROTS we get General Grievous, a wheezing, coughing, hunched over baddie but we don’t get to know him well enough so he seems less menacing and more annoying.
This chapter in the STAR WARS saga is by far the darkest. It really deserves the PG-13 rating compared to the previous five installments because the things that Anakin does when he switches to the dark side make anything in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK look like a kid's flick.
Even though a lot of press has been given to the lightsaber battle at the end between Anakin and Obi-Wan, I have to say that I prefer the lightsaber battle that is interspliced with that one, between Emperor Palpatine and Yoda. Their battle within The Senate for The Republic is very cool and I have become used to the fully digital Yoda and seeing them through pods at each other is very cool.
STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH is so much better that the previous two that I think it makes the movie look a lot better than it actually is but the spell is working on me and I declare it the best “studio” movie to come out so far this year.
Grade: A
STAR WARS Movies Ranked (in their original titles):
1. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (Grade: A+)
2. STAR WARS (Grade: A+)
3. RETURN OF THE JEDI (Grade: A+)
4. STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH (Grade: A)
5. STAR WARS: EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES (Grade: C+)
6. STAR WARS: EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE (Grade: C)
posted by Robert at 11:42 PM
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