Revenge of the Sith: Initial Thoughts
Despite some rough acting and more poor dialogue, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was far better than the first two prequels. Here are a few initial thoughts from the morning after my first viewing of the movie.
Let's start with the bad:
1) Hayden Christensen. Better in this movie than the last one, but still a shoddy performance. The scene where he transforms to the dark side could have been far more intense than it was, but his wooden performance, showing almost no struggle whatsoever with his decision, left me unbelieving. I found Padme's faith that there was still some good in him laughable, since we didn't even get a glimpse of it in his conversion to the dark side.
2) Natalie Portman. She got worse each movie. The hardest parts of the movie to watch were the scenes between Padme and Anakin. The dialogue was horrible, and the acting didn't redeem it any. I just didn't really care about the characters.
That, by the way, is one of the key differences between the prequels and the original three. In the first three, we were drawn to the characters and cared about them. We were excited when Han Solo came onto the scene, and we were wondering just what the bond between Luke and Leah was. We were sad when Obi Wan died, and we smiled when the spirits of Yoda, Obi Wan, and Anakin stood there in the final scene of the trilogy.
3) Vader's "NOOOOOOOO!!!!" in one of the final scenes. It sounded and looked dumb.
On to the good:
1) The climax of the movie, flashing back and forth between Yoda vs. the Emperor and Obi Wan vs. Anakin.
2) Yoda rocked this movie again.
3) Ewan McGregor. I believed he cared about Anakin, and I could see his struggle to be a Jedi (not holding onto a strong connection to anyone, in order to remain strong) and to love Anakin.
4) Plenty of excellent story set-up for the original three. I'm looking forward to watching Episodes IV, V, and VI again.
5) No Jar-Jar.
Points of interest:
1) As Emperor Palpatine is trying to tempt Anakin to the dark side, he calls the Jedi way "narrow and dogmatic." He explains to Anakin that he needs to develop "a broader view of the Force." How many times has the church faced the same criticism and been enticed by the same temptation?
2) As Obi Wan faces off with Anakin, Anakin makes a statement that if Obi Wan would not be with him, he must be his enemy. Obi Wan responds, "A Sith always thinks in absolutes," and the battle ensues.
Summary:
This movie redeemed the Star Wars series from the weaknesses of the first two prequels. While it would have been better served by more convincing acting, the story was better and more faithful to the traditional feel of Star Wars. I'm looking forward to heading back to the theater sometime soon and giving it a second watch.
Let's start with the bad:
1) Hayden Christensen. Better in this movie than the last one, but still a shoddy performance. The scene where he transforms to the dark side could have been far more intense than it was, but his wooden performance, showing almost no struggle whatsoever with his decision, left me unbelieving. I found Padme's faith that there was still some good in him laughable, since we didn't even get a glimpse of it in his conversion to the dark side.
2) Natalie Portman. She got worse each movie. The hardest parts of the movie to watch were the scenes between Padme and Anakin. The dialogue was horrible, and the acting didn't redeem it any. I just didn't really care about the characters.
That, by the way, is one of the key differences between the prequels and the original three. In the first three, we were drawn to the characters and cared about them. We were excited when Han Solo came onto the scene, and we were wondering just what the bond between Luke and Leah was. We were sad when Obi Wan died, and we smiled when the spirits of Yoda, Obi Wan, and Anakin stood there in the final scene of the trilogy.
3) Vader's "NOOOOOOOO!!!!" in one of the final scenes. It sounded and looked dumb.
On to the good:
1) The climax of the movie, flashing back and forth between Yoda vs. the Emperor and Obi Wan vs. Anakin.
2) Yoda rocked this movie again.
3) Ewan McGregor. I believed he cared about Anakin, and I could see his struggle to be a Jedi (not holding onto a strong connection to anyone, in order to remain strong) and to love Anakin.
4) Plenty of excellent story set-up for the original three. I'm looking forward to watching Episodes IV, V, and VI again.
5) No Jar-Jar.
Points of interest:
1) As Emperor Palpatine is trying to tempt Anakin to the dark side, he calls the Jedi way "narrow and dogmatic." He explains to Anakin that he needs to develop "a broader view of the Force." How many times has the church faced the same criticism and been enticed by the same temptation?
2) As Obi Wan faces off with Anakin, Anakin makes a statement that if Obi Wan would not be with him, he must be his enemy. Obi Wan responds, "A Sith always thinks in absolutes," and the battle ensues.
Summary:
This movie redeemed the Star Wars series from the weaknesses of the first two prequels. While it would have been better served by more convincing acting, the story was better and more faithful to the traditional feel of Star Wars. I'm looking forward to heading back to the theater sometime soon and giving it a second watch.
posted by Travis Prinzi @ 9:20 AM
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