Friday, May 20, 2005
Sith Notes
This is my personal review of the final installment of the Star Wars 6-ology, "The Revenge of the Sith." The following rewiew is spoiler-laden, so if you are still trying to be spoiler-free, DO NOT PROCEED.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT PROCEED UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN MOVIE OR DON'T CARE!
This is all very personal to me as you may or may not know from reading my previous post. So, I went into "Revenge of the Sith" with a couple of definite things I was looking for, and quite frankly, some definitive needs from the movie.
Here they are:
1. I needed about 10 – 15 loose ends tied up.
2. I needed Anakin to really have a watershed event that turned him to the Dark Side.
3. Ineeded to realize why Darth Sidious looks like he does vs. how we see him as Palpatine.
4. I needed to learn why some Jedi simply die while others are able to come back as Force ghosts.
5. I needed to learn who Anakin’s father is.
6. I needed to cry.
Here’s how Lucas did.
1. He damn near tied up all the loose ends I was worried about. We found out why Anakin turns, we saw Obi-Wan pick up his lightsaber so that he can give it to Luke in 20 years, we saw Leia and Luke being born, we saw the power of the Emperor, we learned why some Jedi can come back and others can’t. We also found out who figured it all out.
I give Lucas an A on this.
2. While, to him, Anakin seemed to have a huge event (the death visions of Padme), it sure seemed sudden that he turns on Mace and helps the Emperor to kill him. I realize that the Emperor had been poking that wound with a stick the whole movie, so I get that. I also understand that Anakin has been teetering on the brink of the Dark Side for about 20 years – so I can live with it. It could have been better and more tragic though.
I give Lucas a C on this.
3. I LOVED how the Mace “Jules” Windu was deflecting the Sith Lightning back into the Emperor and it burned, scarred and deformed his face. I also liked how Palpatine used that in the Senate to further condemn the Jedi.
This is an A+.
4. I LOVED the way that Yoda tells Obi-Wan that his old master has learned how to become immortal. I LOVE that Qui-Gon has been studying the ways of the Force from beyond the grave. This was a very creative way to finally sell Anakin's immaculate conception. If you go to supershadow.com and download the script, there is a scene where Yoda submits to become Qui-Gon’s padawan. This was a great scene I hope is on the DVD.
Concept: A, the fact that Lucas glossed over it in about two seconds: C.
5. I was floored by the description of Darth Plagueis and his ability to manipulate the Force to create life. There is a whole Frankenstein thing going in this time around, and it is further illustrated when Vader stands up off the table. (I half-expected the Emperor to shout, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” I really liked this notion and further enjoyed that fact that we are led to believe that Plagueis was Sidious’s master until Sidous cut him down.
This gets an A.
6. When that Youngling goes out to Anakin in the Jedi Temple asking for help and Anakin turns on his lightsaber, I teared up. I could not believe he could slaughter them like that. And I will admit, when Luke and Leia were born, I teared up again. I also nearly full-on cried when the crippled Anakin tells Obi-Wan he hates him and Obi-Wan replies, “I loved you.”
Solid B on the crying.
So, all in all, it was a solid B for me. It tied up loose ends, it had incredible space and lightsaber duels and we got to learn about the Jedi ghosts and saw the awesome power of Darth Vader.
And for me, that’s enough.
APPENDIX: I would like everyone to stop comparing these three films to the original Star Wars movies. First of all, we are all simmply carrying way too much baggage to look at all this objectively. I don't know about you, but I'm a whole lot different at 35 than I was at 7. (I suspect you are too.) I think everyone was hoping the new trilogy would recapture some of those old feelings we had when we were kids. It can't you guys. It just cant. Compare these films only to each other and you will utterly agree that "Sith" is the one we've been waiting for. ¶ 10:26 AM
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT PROCEED UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN MOVIE OR DON'T CARE!
This is all very personal to me as you may or may not know from reading my previous post. So, I went into "Revenge of the Sith" with a couple of definite things I was looking for, and quite frankly, some definitive needs from the movie.
Here they are:
1. I needed about 10 – 15 loose ends tied up.
2. I needed Anakin to really have a watershed event that turned him to the Dark Side.
3. Ineeded to realize why Darth Sidious looks like he does vs. how we see him as Palpatine.
4. I needed to learn why some Jedi simply die while others are able to come back as Force ghosts.
5. I needed to learn who Anakin’s father is.
6. I needed to cry.
Here’s how Lucas did.
1. He damn near tied up all the loose ends I was worried about. We found out why Anakin turns, we saw Obi-Wan pick up his lightsaber so that he can give it to Luke in 20 years, we saw Leia and Luke being born, we saw the power of the Emperor, we learned why some Jedi can come back and others can’t. We also found out who figured it all out.
I give Lucas an A on this.
2. While, to him, Anakin seemed to have a huge event (the death visions of Padme), it sure seemed sudden that he turns on Mace and helps the Emperor to kill him. I realize that the Emperor had been poking that wound with a stick the whole movie, so I get that. I also understand that Anakin has been teetering on the brink of the Dark Side for about 20 years – so I can live with it. It could have been better and more tragic though.
I give Lucas a C on this.
3. I LOVED how the Mace “Jules” Windu was deflecting the Sith Lightning back into the Emperor and it burned, scarred and deformed his face. I also liked how Palpatine used that in the Senate to further condemn the Jedi.
This is an A+.
4. I LOVED the way that Yoda tells Obi-Wan that his old master has learned how to become immortal. I LOVE that Qui-Gon has been studying the ways of the Force from beyond the grave. This was a very creative way to finally sell Anakin's immaculate conception. If you go to supershadow.com and download the script, there is a scene where Yoda submits to become Qui-Gon’s padawan. This was a great scene I hope is on the DVD.
Concept: A, the fact that Lucas glossed over it in about two seconds: C.
5. I was floored by the description of Darth Plagueis and his ability to manipulate the Force to create life. There is a whole Frankenstein thing going in this time around, and it is further illustrated when Vader stands up off the table. (I half-expected the Emperor to shout, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” I really liked this notion and further enjoyed that fact that we are led to believe that Plagueis was Sidious’s master until Sidous cut him down.
This gets an A.
6. When that Youngling goes out to Anakin in the Jedi Temple asking for help and Anakin turns on his lightsaber, I teared up. I could not believe he could slaughter them like that. And I will admit, when Luke and Leia were born, I teared up again. I also nearly full-on cried when the crippled Anakin tells Obi-Wan he hates him and Obi-Wan replies, “I loved you.”
Solid B on the crying.
So, all in all, it was a solid B for me. It tied up loose ends, it had incredible space and lightsaber duels and we got to learn about the Jedi ghosts and saw the awesome power of Darth Vader.
And for me, that’s enough.
APPENDIX: I would like everyone to stop comparing these three films to the original Star Wars movies. First of all, we are all simmply carrying way too much baggage to look at all this objectively. I don't know about you, but I'm a whole lot different at 35 than I was at 7. (I suspect you are too.) I think everyone was hoping the new trilogy would recapture some of those old feelings we had when we were kids. It can't you guys. It just cant. Compare these films only to each other and you will utterly agree that "Sith" is the one we've been waiting for. ¶ 10:26 AM
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Great stuff here Tug. I agree with most of what you say, but have my own points that I illustrate, too.
Here's one thing that I just thought of... if it takes extra training for Ovi-Wan, Yoda and Qui-Gon (though we never see him) to appear beyond the grave, then how exactly does Lucas explain that Anakin is able to do this once he's dead? He was very surprised when Obi-Wan just disappeared after being struck down. He also, in my mind, did not recieve this special training. Fess up, Lucas.
Great stuff. You're absolutely right. I had a few things that really hit home for me, more subtle things.
1. I loved the the reoccuring theme in this (and later in IV, V and VI) resounds when Padme says, "There is still good in him." It made us really not necessarily agree with Vader, but nonetheless understand.
2. Interesting when we find Owen Lars in the same pose on Tattooine we will later see Luke doing in A New Hope.
3. Acting, MUCH better in this one. I believed Padme and Anakin were not only in love but that they had a real relationship. It wasn't just a "we have to get through this" moment.
You rock the mic like nobody's business.
-Marc
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1. I loved the the reoccuring theme in this (and later in IV, V and VI) resounds when Padme says, "There is still good in him." It made us really not necessarily agree with Vader, but nonetheless understand.
2. Interesting when we find Owen Lars in the same pose on Tattooine we will later see Luke doing in A New Hope.
3. Acting, MUCH better in this one. I believed Padme and Anakin were not only in love but that they had a real relationship. It wasn't just a "we have to get through this" moment.
You rock the mic like nobody's business.
-Marc
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