Revenge of the Sith

Alas, the epic saga is complete. For nerds everywhere, the Star Wars circle is finalized. Not just nerds are into Star Wars, though. Many, many people love it. It's a magical cinematic genius that transports you to other worlds. The original trilogy is special, and I believe they're better than the prequels.

With that introduction, the real bit of news for this blog is my reaction to the final installation in the six film heroic opera, Revenge of the Sith. I saw it last night with some friends in a sold-out show.

The film hits the ground running. The opening shots reveal Anakin Skywalker and Ob-1 hurtling through an extraordinary panoramic space battle in an attempt to save the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine. The action is very, very intense, fast-paced, and the tone is dark. As the plot unravels, we slowly watch Anakin get seduced by the lies of the dark side. The action sequences are frequent, and incredibly ambitious. George Lucas seems to have honed the abilities of Industrial Light and Magic.

The actual plot is much more interesting than that of Episodes 1 and 2. The murky and overwrought political dialouge that overburdened Episode 1 is finally replaced with pure payoff. Watching "Lord Sidious" increase his ever-strengthening grip over the political structure was very, very exciting. I think the strength in the writing of Revenge of the Sith is the poetic language Palpatine uses to draw Anakin to his side.

Some are uncomfortable taking their kids to see this Star Wars, and rightfully so. It's quite violent. It was disturbing, in a way, to see such a violent Star Wars film. After five other PG ratings, the sixth is finally PG-13. There are many light sabre battles, which makes it immensely entertaining.

Thumbs Up: Breath-taking special effects, intense fighting, The Emperor, Wookies, good pace, lots of fun action. We get to see how Anakin becomes Darth Vader. Natalie Portman is good, Ewan McGregor is fantastic. The Emperor is genuinely evil and seething. Hayden Christenson is much better in this one than in Episode 2. We get to see R2-D2 fight! The emotional tone is deeper than the first two prequels.

Thumbs Down: Mace Windu is under-utilized. General Greivous is sickly and didn't live up to the hype of all the promotion. Not enough Chewbacca! Some Yoda fight scenes were a bit tedious (maybe a bit too long). Despite the 2 1/2 hour time of the film, some plot points seemed to be skimmed over. For example, Mace Windu, Wookies, Padme, and the conclusion of the film seemed to be crammed with all the tying up of loose ends. It was almost as if George Lucas realized all this stuff had to be crammed in there somehow, and had to make it work.

So, what do I think over all? Come on. It's Star Wars. I absolutely loved it. I'll be watching it several more times before it leaves theaters.


Sidenote tidbit:
Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu) said that he knows he must die in this film, so he told George Lucas that he'll only do the film if Mace Windu goes out in a blaze of glory and not "like some sucka". On an American late-night talk show, he confirmed that he did indeed have a meaningful death scene, and did not go out like "some punk."