Welcome to JoshHornik.com: Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith

« Asashoryu ZENSHO! (15-0!) | Main | My Favorite Music -- Statistically Proven »

May 27, 2005

Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith

It won't come as any surprise to anyone when I agree with the majority of the reviews for Revenge of the Sith that it is a huge success. It's hard to imagine a more satisfying ending to the prequel trilogy and lead-in to the original Star Wars movies. (OK, a holographic cameo by Liam Neeson as the late Qui-Gon Jin would have been nice.) A clear sign of how well George Lucas connected the six movies was the instant desire I had to go back and watch the end of Return of the Jedi again after seeing Sith. Having just watched Anakin make his fall to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader, I couldn't wait to go back and, in that context, see the scene in Episode 6 when Darth Vader rebukes the Dark Side, becomes Anakin again and, indeed, fulfills the prophecy of the prequel trilogy.

I am sure that scene would take on a lot more power after seeing the new movie. Anakin's suicidal request for Luke to remove his Darth Vader helmet is much more meaningful after the emotional build-up to the events that lead to Anakin's putting on the helmet in the first place. In fact, this movie is the most emotionally powerful of all six Star Wars movies. The conflict caused by Anakin's fall, in everyone from his pregnant wife to his mentor Obi-Wan to Anakin himself, is the stuff good movies are made of. And the acting in this movie rises above the last two -- Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman do start off wooden again, but as the stakes are raised, so is their acting, thankfully. Ewan MacGregor is, and has been, consistently great.

George Lucas probably still gets ripped for bad dialogue, but I'm sure his direction will be under-appreciated. In a wide-ranging story, with important events taking place simultaneously across the galaxy, Lucas does a great job of maintaining the pacing, the excitement, and the emotion. In fact, there are several places where his intercutting between the various momentous events successfully contrasts the events and increases the impact. The simultaneous births of Luke and Leia and of the familiar black-suited Darth Vader brings to mind the baptism/massacre scenes at the end of The Godfather (and if you want to rip off any scene in a movie ever, that would be the one, wouldn't it?)

In addition to direction and editing, Lucas may have finally fully realized his vision of entirely-digital moviemaking. The special effects here are truly incredible, innovative, cutting edge, and at the same time, perfectly realistic. Yoda feels entirely real and reveals every bit as much emotion as Gollum or any other digital character ever has.

As a psycho Star Wars fan, I can nitpick, however. If your name was Padme Amidala and your husband's name was Anakin, do you really think you would choose the name "Luke"? Didn't Leia say she knew her mother in Return of the Jedi? If Bail Organa only asks for C-3PO's memory to be erased, why does R2-D2 seem so clueless in Episodes 4-6? With all the incredible technology in this galaxy far far away, how come they still can't ever get a clear static-free signal when communicating by hologram?

However, we do get to see the future of Cirque Du Soleil, and Anakin is so bad-ass when he turns evil, and I'm told that if you look closely, for a split-second you can see the Millenium Falcon flying by. That's worth the price of admission right there.

Now, how long must George Lucas continue to claim he won't make Episodes 7, 8, and 9? No one believes you. Now get to work, George.

Posted by JoshHornik at May 27, 2005 02:35 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.joshhornik.com/mt-tb.cgi/37

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith:

» phentermine from phentermine
phentermine phentermine poker poker [Read More]

Tracked on May 4, 2006 05:05 AM

» phentermine from phentermine
phentermine debt consolidation debt consolidation online casino online casino [Read More]

Tracked on May 4, 2006 05:05 AM

» phentermine from phentermine
casino casino phentermine phentermine [Read More]