This is awesome!
http://sithsense.com/flash.htm
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
Episode III: The Movie Saga Ends on a High Note
The stakes were high with Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith after the fairly disappointing Episodes I and II. This one HAD to be better. We get to see Anakin become Darth Vader. We get to see the mythic lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan, and we see the stage set for the greatest movie trilogy of all time (sorry Lord of the Rings fans, but they were books first, and Godfather III just brings that whole saga down).
Well, congratulations, George Lucas, you redeemed yourself -- big time! Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back. Sure, it suffered from most of the same weaknesses as Episodes I and II – specifically, hokey writing and wooden acting, but this time, action spoke much louder than words. Except for Natalie Portman, who despite just receiving an Oscar nomination (for Closer), comes off really poorly here. Her dialogue is so horrible, her scenes so heavy-handed, and the poor girl has nothing to do but look radiantly pregnant and pine away for her dark little Annie. After the way she kicked butt in Episode II, the character and the actress both deserved a better send-off.
But enough of the negative. From this point let’s focus on what was good about the movie. And boy is there a lot of positive – right from the beginning. I thought I would no longer be impressed seeing space battles by now. After all, they’re just more special effects. But I was wrong. The opening space battle, led by Obi Wan and Anakin, was epic – in detail, scale, and kicking tail! Hundreds of ships (prototypes of X-Wing and TIE fighters!) battling while mechanical gremlins tore ships apart one at a time, spectacular crash landings – with our heroes leaping out of their cockpits, light sabers blazing, taking down enemy troops. Just unbelievable. Picking up where the animated Clone Wars left off, Anakin and Obi Wan set about their rescue of the Republic’s influential Chancellor Palpatine, but not without resistance from Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku, who in Episode II chopped off Anakin’s hand in their first showdown. This latest faceoff is the first of many light saber duels, each more intense and impressive than the last, all building to an incredible climax that you know is coming, which only makes you anticipate it all the more. And the scene that’s been talked about for almost 30 years is every bit as phenomenal as you could ever picture it to be.
Hayden Christensen no longer pouts, he glares, growing into the role, as you watch Anakin’s ideals, goals and dreams get twisted away by dark manipulation taking advantage of his ego and savior complex.
Ewan McGregor becomes Sir Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi in this movie, as one of two actors who transcend the melodramatic script and direction. The other, of course is Ian McDiarmid, as Palpatine, whose role has grown exponentially with each prequel. Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu gets to kick butt, as does Yoda. Chewbacca is introduced to the saga here as well, as is the entire Wookie planet. And, most importantly, we hear the heavy breathing and the voice of James Earl Jones that are signatures of Darth Vader. Then, there’s R2D2, the mobile Swiss army knife - wow! That little droid rocks, especially in the opening scenes. His fantastic feats are only diminished by the fact that you can’t help but wonder what happened to all those great capabilities in his later years.
That’s the first question that hits you as you try to put the prequel trilogy together with the original trilogy. In this, the last chance to tie the two tales together, a lot of questions do get answered, but a lot more do not, and many new ones arise. But you shouldn’t think about that too hard – if we complain about the inconsistencies too much, Lucas might go back and tinker with the original trilogy even more. The movie ends exactly as it should – setting up the characters, settings and situations for the opening scenes of Episode IV: A New Hope.
Thanks George. The Force is strong in this one.
Well, congratulations, George Lucas, you redeemed yourself -- big time! Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back. Sure, it suffered from most of the same weaknesses as Episodes I and II – specifically, hokey writing and wooden acting, but this time, action spoke much louder than words. Except for Natalie Portman, who despite just receiving an Oscar nomination (for Closer), comes off really poorly here. Her dialogue is so horrible, her scenes so heavy-handed, and the poor girl has nothing to do but look radiantly pregnant and pine away for her dark little Annie. After the way she kicked butt in Episode II, the character and the actress both deserved a better send-off.
But enough of the negative. From this point let’s focus on what was good about the movie. And boy is there a lot of positive – right from the beginning. I thought I would no longer be impressed seeing space battles by now. After all, they’re just more special effects. But I was wrong. The opening space battle, led by Obi Wan and Anakin, was epic – in detail, scale, and kicking tail! Hundreds of ships (prototypes of X-Wing and TIE fighters!) battling while mechanical gremlins tore ships apart one at a time, spectacular crash landings – with our heroes leaping out of their cockpits, light sabers blazing, taking down enemy troops. Just unbelievable. Picking up where the animated Clone Wars left off, Anakin and Obi Wan set about their rescue of the Republic’s influential Chancellor Palpatine, but not without resistance from Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku, who in Episode II chopped off Anakin’s hand in their first showdown. This latest faceoff is the first of many light saber duels, each more intense and impressive than the last, all building to an incredible climax that you know is coming, which only makes you anticipate it all the more. And the scene that’s been talked about for almost 30 years is every bit as phenomenal as you could ever picture it to be.
Hayden Christensen no longer pouts, he glares, growing into the role, as you watch Anakin’s ideals, goals and dreams get twisted away by dark manipulation taking advantage of his ego and savior complex.
Ewan McGregor becomes Sir Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi in this movie, as one of two actors who transcend the melodramatic script and direction. The other, of course is Ian McDiarmid, as Palpatine, whose role has grown exponentially with each prequel. Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu gets to kick butt, as does Yoda. Chewbacca is introduced to the saga here as well, as is the entire Wookie planet. And, most importantly, we hear the heavy breathing and the voice of James Earl Jones that are signatures of Darth Vader. Then, there’s R2D2, the mobile Swiss army knife - wow! That little droid rocks, especially in the opening scenes. His fantastic feats are only diminished by the fact that you can’t help but wonder what happened to all those great capabilities in his later years.
That’s the first question that hits you as you try to put the prequel trilogy together with the original trilogy. In this, the last chance to tie the two tales together, a lot of questions do get answered, but a lot more do not, and many new ones arise. But you shouldn’t think about that too hard – if we complain about the inconsistencies too much, Lucas might go back and tinker with the original trilogy even more. The movie ends exactly as it should – setting up the characters, settings and situations for the opening scenes of Episode IV: A New Hope.
Thanks George. The Force is strong in this one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)