Well, in my latest edition of my commentary on one of my biggest hobbies, I dive into Star Wars Ep. 3. This movie, as many well know, has been a long time coming. I've always been a huge fan of Star Wars. I'm not the extreme, face-painting, dressing-up kinda fan, but it is fun to get into.
So, let's get down to it. First, I was very skeptical, as many were/are of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker. I just don't think he had the right image or expectation of what I thought that he should look like (geez, his ridiculous hair style alone cost him). However, I did find that the character he showed had the necessary potential of turning to the dark side, as only Anakin could. I could see it building up, and I was hoping that his turn wasn't so blah. I mean, the scene where he saves Palpatine was crucial, but does that mean that he all of the sudden is gung-ho? Why does he go straight into killing like 15 jedi kids without thinking twice about it? I could justify that he was "so overtaken with fear over Padme's coming death" or "angry that the Jedi council 'betrayed' him", but there was no explanation. You kinda had to read into it. So, the scene was good, just the actual turn to the dark side seemed to abrupt.
Second, let's look at Padme'. Is this the same girl who was Queen of Naboo? The now seemingly meek motherly figure is a mere shadow of that character from episode 1 and some of 2. What's up with that? Was it the constant worry of Anakin? Who knows, but her abrupt character tranformation sucked.
Those are some pretty harsh criticisms, you might think, but there are some things I do like about it. Easily the scene where Anakin's legs and left arm are chopped off by Obi-Wan in their last encounter was breath-taking. His dark red eyes glowing while he was trying not to slide into the lava pit -- Obi-Wan's abandonment of his former apprentice -- Sweeeet.
Some other cool points -- Count Dooku's death (classic), Yoda going off on Palpatine (priceless), Palpatine's deformity (wicked), the double sunset with Owen and Beru holding young Luke (awesome), the two-second glance of Commander Tarkin (Governor/Grand Moff Tarkin in Episode 4), the starting of the Death Star (niiiice), and the emergence of the Darth Vader suit (justifably done).
Other sucky points -- Padme's death bed/stirrups, naming Luke and Leia in her dying breaths (dumb), seeing two seconds of Chewbacca (could've been way more), Anakin's lack of emotion besides his 'mean face' (underplayed), and Padme's character transition (lame).
So, overall: B- -- Good story, great action, cool scenes, but with details that needed help.
5/29/2005
Movie Review: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Posted by Kent at 12:59 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Well done, older Caperton. I totally agree about Padme' and about Anakin's lame "mean face." Those details were definitely lacking. The most lacking, as you pointed out, was how quickly Anakin turned to the dark side. I also would've just been satisfied with a simple explanation, but nothing.
I also liked a lot of it, especially all the allusions to Episode 4. Tops was the part where all the Jedi are killed in such an unsuspecting way. It truly was the only way they could all be offed so swiftly.
Seeing the movie made me want more (with beter acting) of Star Wars. Do you know if there's anything in the works for Episode 7,8,9?
From what I've read/heard, there are none for those episodes. However, there are talks (from Lucas himself) about having a live action TV show in 2006, and releasing the first trilogy again in 3-D... but that may be confused with an animated 3-D version of the already animated series, The Clone Wars.
I agree Anakin's transformation was stunningly abrupt. But the other stuff, especially the double sunset was awesome. I was almost crying at the thought of knowing what future was in store for Owen and family.
Post a Comment