Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith [spoilers here]

[Acheron]

I thought the movie was great but in reference to thoughts on who was a bad actor, I thought Hayden Christianson(SPL) wasn't very good. He had so many lines that came off more cheesey than dramatic. Like when he said that he hated Obi Wan Kenobi while wallowing on the ground. I understand its value as showing that he had finally truly gone to the dark side, but it was so over-acted that I just had to laugh. Another time during the movie, specifics escape me, but a subtle wave of laughter befell the theatre at a completely serious part in the movie. It was just too much at times.

Another thing, Lucas loves his scene transitions or does he. Nothing new about this point, its just that some of the ones in episode three seem injected rather than complementary to the story. Just what I thought.

On another note, did anyone see the documentary on discovery the other night relating the concept of the Jedis to Shaolin Warrior Monks? It was quite interesting to see the parallels.

[jjrrs]

I thought the first half of the movie was great, but the second half just screws up all the good parts of the first half.

First of all, I thought the first half had a few very good reasons for skywalker to switch to the sith, since the sith didn't seem to be all evil, while he really needed the power to save a life and the jedis were treating him somewhat unfairly; but all those good causes were thrown out of the window as it seems the reason all jedis were destroyed was because of a minor misunderstanding of a dream? I know the "your thoughts betray you" have been an important message in all these movies but with all those good reasons that were build up earlier, why would the writers abandon all the other causes? and since he believed he could kill the emperor anyways, it appears the only reason skywalker joined the sith was to learn the power to save life; that was a good cause and all but the ending made it seem like "oops too bad that didn't work out. darn, all the jedis are dead, the republic is now an empire, the galaxy is turned upside down, and the person needed to be saved still died... but oh well, what are you gona do..."

[Starslasher]

Justsaw it this saturday. I thougth thta it was great. Perhaps the second best out of the six, IMO, right below the Empire Strikes Back.

I think we are all grateful that Jar Jar didn't say a word. I was trying to spot George Lucas' son, who played one of the doomed Jedis, but i didn't see him. I'm assuming that he was one of the alien Jedis that accompanied Mace into Palpatine's office. Even George Lucas was in the movie himself, but pretty much in the background.

One thing i have to mention, there were tons and tons of special effects, CGIs and all, but some of it seemed...low-grade. Like seeing Obi-Wan somersault, it was obvious that it was a CGI. But there were others that were much more subtle, for which i was grateful.

I'm not sure about how you felt, I liked the character of General Grievious. During the movie, i thought that Darth would get his heavy breathing from him somehow. :lol:

Someone mentioned that s/he didn't like how Mace Windu died. For that, al i can say is that at east you can be satisfied with the fact that Mace Windu was stronger than Darth Sidious. The only reason Mace lost was because of Annie. I thought that it was a bit absurd that Palpatine kill off the other Jedis accompanying Mace with such ease. He didn't struggle at all. What kind of fight was that?

I was under the assumption that Darth Sidious killed Darth Plageus hundreds of years ago or so. But it's only an assumption, the idea that Plageus created Anakin is still plausible. But what about the mommy? Didn't she have a say in this? I'll have to see Episode 1 again...

I don't think that there were any bad acting. But i do think that the fight between Yoda and Palpatine should have lasted longer. I thought that Palpatine would have tried to hunt him a little bit, but no, he sends others to do the searching.

I felt that there should have been at least some mention of the surname "Solo". You got Bobba frickin' Fett, and Chewbacca, but where were the Solos?

You're right abotu the scene transition, Archeron. He sure likes to be creative with them. And maybe you can enlighten us about the comparison of the Jedis and Shaolin Monks.

i agree with you abotu the ending. Darth finds out that the love of his life has died, he failed. And what does he do? He shakes the foundations and goes all frankenstein. Didn't Paplatine guarantee that he could stop his wife from dying? Looks like Darth had a few loose circuits in his brain when he woke up.

Overall, great movie. Worthy of its hype.
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Guardian of Greenhill & Devoted Protector of Oulan



Bork! Bork! Bork!

[Axiose]

To be fair, about Mace Windu, I heard he learnt a fighting style of the Sith and the Jedi. Normally, most Jedi's cannot learn the dark fighting style without turning to the dark side. But Mace Windu did, which is possibly why he's so cool and collected with his emotions. It's also an explination of his lightsabre colour. Blue (Jedi) and Red (Sith) make Purple.

You can see the look of shock on Sidious' face when Mace Windu counters all of his moves easily.
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[Axiose] [Fliktor]

[Idylan Thomas]

Episode III is packing it in theaters and seems to have redeemed the series after two false starts. Now everyone is 'starry starry' again, looking fondly at a long time ago. in a galaxy far far away. I'll give it 10 reasons for intergalactic, intergenerational hangover.

1. Ever since the saga began almost three decades ago, not a few women (and men) have been intrigued with how Darth Vader looked before he fell to the dark side . It certainly was a relief to know he was dashing once, straight, and in no way related to Jabba the Hut.

2. Episode III finally puts to rest earlier doubts fans had about C-3PO's sexuall orientation. Since Padme' Amidala obviously couldnt change hairstyles all by hersekf (from cinnamon rolls one minute to long curls the next) , it doesn't take Yoda to figure out who helped her do the 'do.

3. Episode III also reminds us not to be too dependent on science. So much for ultrasound and all those modern gadgets and scientific advaces. Up to the last minute, Padme' Amidala didin't know she had twins!!!.

4. The scripts of all six movies may not be exactly be a gold mine of unforgettable and classic one liners, but at least today's verbally challenged youth can resort to Yoda-speak to mask their deficiencies. Listen to Yoda we must learn like sages to speak. Get it???.

5. What three pre-quels show is that even a stellar cast of critically acclaimed actors cant pull off terrible, sappy love lines. George Lucas, stick to CGI!!!!.

6. The Dark Side is actually more interesting and exciting. In the last installment, the pace only picks up when Anakin Skywalker begins to metamorphose into Darth Vader

7. The saga tells us lesser mortals that the cinnamon-roll 'do only works on fictitious royals like Princess Leia and her Mother, Queen Amidala. Too much use of it can result on a stint rehab. Look at Carrie Fisher.

8. It's hilarious to see political statement masquerade as a seemingly inocous movie for kids and the kids at heart. Anakin/ Darth Vader in "Sith": "If your'e not with me , you are my enemy". Hello dubya, is that you??,

9. From the way the latest installments is making a killing at the international/locall box office, the movie debunks the old notion of people are suckers for happy ending. The Quenn is dead and his King is now a future mass murderer in a glossy helmet and patent leather cape!!.

10. While Jar Jar Binks vividly demostrates what a major irritant onscreen can look and sound like , "Star Wars" has inventions as "Light Sabers" and expanded the visual limits of cinema with unsurpassable marvels such as the underwater city of Coruscant . MAY THE FORCE LIVE FOREVER!!.
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Trust me, when I woke up today I have no plans on being this sexy. But hey, sh*t happens.

[Starslasher]

[Noot]

I thought it was a very good movie, a nice connecting piece to both trilogies. Even with a bad script at parts (Padme's character did a 180 from the headstrong senator in Episode II), the movie still got by because of the final transition of Anakin to the Dark Side. That's what everyone was waiting to see--how Darth Vader was born. Honestly, we didn't even need Episodes I and II because those only set up this finale (and neither of the plots of those two movies had any real bearing on this one at all--my co-worker who saw it with me had never seen ANY of the Star Wars movies but still could follow along amidst the bizarre names).

Here are just a few things that still have me thinking, 6 days since I've seen it last Wednesday night:

-The story behind Anakin reminded me of a Shakespearean tragedy: of a man who has the world by the cajones but makes some bad choices to ruin his life. He takes a simple dream of Padme dying (whether it is truly a premonition of the future given to him by the Force, I'm not sure), and he bases all his actions on just this dream. As it turns out, Padme died BECAUSE of Anakin's actions (she lost all hope). So in the end, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

-Ian McDirmid (sp) had all the best lines from the movie. He's officially my third favorite character in all of Star Wars (behind only Darth Vader and R2-D2).

-I'm glad Chewbacca was not in the movie a lot. I would have hated for them to over-play his role in this trilogy because he won't become significant until IV-VI. Meanwhile, I'm glad that Han Solo was kept out of the film, for the same reason.

-Anakin's final scream "NOOO" once he's Vader has been laughed at, but I think it's cheesiness is justified in this case. The Emperor just told him that Padme is dead, the one thing left in the universe that he cares for (with Obi-wan and the rest of the Jedi deserting him and his mother gone previously) and that he was the one who killed her. So that final cry is really the last bit of compassion fleeing from the man once known as Anakin Skywalker. The next time you see him, he's 100% Sithlord, filled with only anger and hatred. It won't be until Luke Skywalker comes along that Anakin emerges once again. So audiences may laugh at the "cheesiness" of that cry, but in this one case I think it works completely.

-There were a lot of scenes of just ships landing. Maybe they could have used some of that time to give more character development to Anakin during his transitional period.

-The killing of the children was done very tastefully, but it still had an impact that resonated in the theater. I don't think most of the people actually knew how far Anakin would go to attain the power he sought.

-I always thought Yoda's goofy talking was brought on by his time on Dagobah (sp) in solitude. That he went a little cooky because of it. Lucas clearly ruined his character by reversing every line that Yoda had. But that's what happens when you let the writer, director, lord of the universe go un-checked: you get products like bad lines and Jar Jar Binks.

I'll be seeing it again for the second time tomorrow. For those of you who have yet to see it, well, what are you waiting for!?!??! :D
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~~Harmonian Tenhei Star~~

It's hard to bargle naudle zauss with all these marbles in my mouth.

[Earthquake923]

I thought it was only okay. The acting was bad, but I don't blame all of the actors. Natalie Portman is very good in the professional, and I heard she was very good in garden state. WHich leads me to belive it's a directorial issue. But I do have 2 problems with Padme.
#1-What's with the heroine sheek-The sceen where she and "Anni" are talking on the balcony and her face is pale and gaunt, she has very dark rings around her eyes. She looked like an addict.
#2-What woman wears make up to bed, and her clothes(Anni's dream of her dying). She get's up dressed and in make up, like she just snuck back into bed after a hot night out.
As for the "Political"relevance I say that's grasping at straws. The idea of Vader becoming who he was has been around longer than George W. So stop looking into things that aren't there.
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If anybody asks about the avatar, I did it for Jess.

[Aesa]

Oh, I forgot to mention the incredibly "chance" based events in IV, V, and VI

Let's see

1) Obi-wan just happens to live on Tatooin where Luke also lives
2) Luke just happens to be out of the house when the Storm Troopers attack his aunt's and uncle's house. (A note here: I'm guessing their on his mother's side)
3) Luke just happens to crash where Yoda lives.

Now don't get me wrong I like the Star Wars movies and games, there are just a lot of flaws.
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The setting sun means the rise of a new day...
...excepting for Ragnarok, of course

~Tinto~

[Beecham]

DHA, did you even bother to watch any of the movies? Seriously, all of that is answered at one point or another. No "guessing" who is aunt and uncle are, either; his uncle is his father's stepbrother. That was made blatently clear. Obi-wan doesn't happen to live where Luke does at all, that is very specifically planned; he's there to watch over Luke. And as for Luke landing near Yoda, if you haven't figured out that the Force can guide someone to where he needs to go, you haven't paid any attention to any of the movies at all.

Earthquake, yes, the idea of the fall of Vader and the rise of the Empire is far older than Dubya. But you forget that the dialog from this movie is not. Lucas didn't write "If you're not with me, you're my enemy," twenty some odd years ago; he wrote that recently. I know, because I've seen one of the earliest drafts, and I can guarentee you the movie idea then and the story now were very different indeed. A lot of it, I am sure, is shaped further by the current American political climate. Why am I sure? Because Lucas said so himself at Cannes. The overall story fits neatly into history any number of times, from now to the Vietnam era America way back to the Roman Empire and probably even earlier; but you can't deny that some of the wording of this theme was based on more modern repetitions of the same old cycle.

Starslasher, dunno where you saw it, but I think you're more the exception than the rule :) It broke pretty much every record possible for a film opening. Fifty someodd million in the first day, another one hundred or so million for the weekend [one hundred million, when every single other film combined earned forty million that same weekend]. So theaters were pretty packed across the board.

Nutflush, I couldn't agree more with several of your points. Chewbacca's role in the movie was unnecessary, so I'm glad he was only in for as short a period as he was. Ian McDiarmid did a fantastic job portraying his character, with a handful of notable exceptions [the whiney "no no no no!" comes to mind as being particularly beneath him, but I try to ignore that bit]. As for Yoda, I'm a bit disappointed there, since he doesn't seem to have any sort of consistant grammar; it would have been fine if he simply spoke in a more or less literal translation from his language, but his language would have to be entirely nonsensical for that to work now. With the death of the children, someone actually shouted "No!" Goddamned News Channel 4 ruined the scene for me, when Jeffrey Lyons was reviewing the movie >.< but it was still a very powerful thing to see it. The childn's reaction to the nonexistant lightsaber turning on was probably what made it hit hardest, that you actually saw the poor kid flinch. Good Lord, just thinking of that scene still turns my stomach.

As for Lucas's son, if I am not mistaken, he was the Padawan who was kicking Clone ass for a good while until he was felled in front of Senator Organa. He was also the child in Episode II who spoke to Jocasta Nu right after she told Obi-wan that if something wasn't in the Archives, it didn't exist.

@.@ Wow, so many messages since my last response.

jjrrs, I sort of agree, sort of disagree with your sentiments. Yes, the fall happened way too quickly - and is, in fact, my one major annoyance with the movie; you needed another good half an hour in there, I honestly think - but I don't agree with your "minor misunderstanding of a dream." You have to realize, Anakin's entire life was for Padme, and the thought of losing her was the key to his downfall. As sad an existance as it is, there is a reason the Jedi discourage love. Corellian Jedi aside, for those of us who read the EU :) You see, all throughout the movie, he was motivated by his need to protect her. It's when Palpatine told him that he, Anakin, was responsible for his own wife's death, that Anakin ceased to exist; of course, he wasn't entirely extinguished, but he was pushed so far down, that he had had nothing left but service to the Emperor. I don't particularly like the story, but there is a good moment in one of the Star Wars comics, pitting a resurrected Darth Maul [a clone or somesuch, I don't know... the whole concept was dumb] against Darth Vader. Maul was about to finish Vader off, was standing over him to deliver a finishing blow, when Vader called his lightsaber back to him and ignited it through his own gut up into an almost victorious Maul. Part of the theme throughout the story was that Maul made the better apprentice, since he was pure hatred, while Vader had a spark of light left in him. As the Maul clone whatever thing died, he asked, "What could you hate enough to have beaten me?" Vader's response: "Myself." As shitpoor as the story concept was, that one moment really does perfectly sum up Vader as he is post Episode III, I think.

I think, after seeing the movie again, and seeing Empire again this weekend [25th Anniversary, baby!], I've decided that Sith is my second favorite Star Wars movie. Jedi still, for me, is the best one; nothing quite competes with the scene on the Death Star II, between Luke, Vader and the Emperor. The fight scene between Anakin and Obi-wan is nothing compared to the fight between Anakin and Luke, for purely emotional reasons; sure, the one in Sith is more exciting from a technical point of view, but the emotions run far higher in Luke fighting Vader.

After Sith, they progress down in reverse order: Empire, then ANH, AotC and last [and most certainly least] is TPM. If you could only get rid of, or redub, all the so-called romance scenes from AotC, it would beat out ANH, but since we can't, it falls short.

[Sadness]

"my little green friend..."

Was the best line!
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Make me feel with your razor.

[Earthquake923]

Nope the best lins was "You're welcome."
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If anybody asks about the avatar, I did it for Jess.

[Leb]

[Starslasher]

[Axiose]