Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the SithWell I just finally got the last vestiges of my
Twi’Lek Jedi costume off from the midnight show (that green makeup gets everywhere!), so I apologize for the tardy review.
I
loved it. But then again, I went to the midnight premiere and waited in line for an hour, so I’m not exactly an unbiased source. Of course the reason I went to the midnight premiere, to make fun of the geeks, failed as there weren’t that many dressed up. There was one nerd Darth Vader, and a few nerds dressed as Queen Amidala (either that or Natalie Portman really let herself go), but that was it. Ah well, onto the film. And yes,
there are spoilers. How else can I review the movie?
IT was without a doubt the best opening sequence to any Star Wars film. It just grabbed you by your Jedi balls and never let go. The long opening tracking shot was just virtuoso. Put you right in the action, waving in and out of a huge battle, yet giving you a clear frame of reference so you always knew what was going on (something missing from the previous 2 films space battles, which were a confusing jumble). The rest of the opening hour chronicles the end of the war and lays the foundation for the real story. The rise of Bush. Or the Emperor. Whatever you wanna call him. We get some really great action sequences (the film is wall to wall action, a sharp contrast from a lot of the Machiavellian plotting of the first 2), and some secondary villians, but they are just a prelude to the final hour and a half of the film.
At about this midway part of the film, the stupid Jedi’s finally figure out what we knew all along. That Palpatine isn’t some nice benevolent chancellor, but that he is the dark lord of the Sith, and everything that’s happened up til now, the blockade of Naboo, the Separatists, the war, you name it, was all a ruse to give him power and destroy the Jedi’s. But whats ingenious about the film is the way Lucas does it. If you ever wondered how an entire galaxy can let an evil Sith Lord take over as emperor and kill all Jedi’s without stopping it, this is how. Palpatine finesses it in such a way that he really does make it look to some people that the Jedi’s are staging a coup and committing treason. Since the Jedi’s only find out too late the plot, Palpatine makes it look like they are the ones who are making a grab for power by attacking him. He then declares that he will reorganize into a galactic empire to restore the peace. I mean really, when were at war, doesn’t the idea of a Patriot act seem necessary? Why do the Jedi’s hate our Clone Troops so much?
And the way he seduces Anakin is equally subtle. So when he finally does choose the moment to reveal himself as the Sith Lord, Anakins ultimate choice is a sequence that is jarring, and the real kickstart to the rest of the film. From this point on, the movie has a narrative drive that is unrelenting, and you are just taken along for the ride. This is also the movie gets dark. Really dark. Don’t believe me? How about An entire montague of Clone troopers getting their orders and in mid battle, turn and ambush the jedi, murdering them all in cold blood. Or Yoda sifting through the corpses of murdered 6 year olds.
And when we finally get to the big confrontation we are waiting for, even Anakins ultimate fate of how he got into the suit is a violent and disturbing sequence. And Lucas cutting between the birth of the twins and the “birth” of the suited Vader adds a poignancy to the character that was missing from the original films.
Now they still suffer from the same drawbacks as all the other films. The dialogue gets really awful. I felt bad for Natalie Portman for being forced to say some of the things she had to say. As emotional as their last moments together were, it could have been better if it wasn’t filled with such stiff dialogue. Imagine a tearful scene when she sees the man she loves disappearing forever and she says “You’re going down a path that I cannot follow”. Ugh. This is why Empire Strikes back still ranks as the best. Lucas’s skill as a consummate storyteller paired with actual dialogue from Lawrence Kasden that doesn’t sound like a bad Shakespeare play.
One other complaint about the marketing. Suited Vader is in it for a grand total of about 60 seconds, and 2 lines of dialogue, yet hes in every commercial and on every Darth Dew Slurpee cup (collect all four). Don't go in expecting to see Darth Vader running around breathing heavy. It's not there. But the moment when the mask is lowered, and we hear the breathing start for the first time. Good stuff.
So now the films are done. Make way for the live action TV series. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go on ebay and start bidding on some Burger King lightsaber toys, and apply some clearasill.
nanoo nanoo.