Revenge of the Sith

Scott Hardie | May 19, 2005
From those who have seen it: What's the verdict?

Amy Austin | May 20, 2005
Seeing it tomorrow -- I'll let you know then.

Lori Lancaster | May 20, 2005
[hidden by request]

Scott Horowitz | May 20, 2005
I saw it. It doesn't live up to the hype, but i enjoyed it. There are many big flaws, but my 2 favorite scenes were more artistic than action.

Scott Hardie | May 21, 2005
In Wil Wheaton's blog, he recently discussed with Stephen Lynch (link) the "end of the geek golden era." Star Wars ended this week. Star Trek ended last week. The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix are fading memories. What's left but more superhero movies? I don't know if I agree that the geek era is dead (says Stephen) or just beginning (says Wil), but I do appreciate that someone noticed how Star Trek and Star Wars ended within a week of each other.

Kris Weberg | May 21, 2005
Well, you've got Orson Scott Card's books being adapted and potential franchises like Joss Whedon's new sci-fi flick, but I have another suspicion of what's either transforming or replacing "geek culture" -- Evangelical Christian culture.

Passion of the Christ did big money. The Left Behind books, which are nothing so much as a kind of evangelical-Christian sci-fi/fantasy sequence, sell millions and even the rushed video-dump movie sold big numbers.

It's only a matter of time before those sorts of epic, good vs. evil struggles become the big screen's big attraction, IMHO. Same sort of Manichean ethics, same level of intricate mythology/folklore, but with an audience that is at once at least as devoted as a hardcore sci-fi fan AND the imprimatur of "wholesomeness" behind them. All it'll take is someone in the studio system wising up and cashing in.

Amy Austin | May 23, 2005
It all makes sense now.

Well... except for Scott's "doesn't live up to the hype" comment. I'm not sure if I've been too sheltered before this release or if the Ho is just expecting too much, but it seemed to me like there was less hype surrounding this installation than any other! (The advert budget should have been the lowest yet, with all the momentum -- and wait -- carrying it into this summer!) Yes, the BK and Pepsi commercials are a tad annoying... but if you haven't come to expect this phenomenon of mass pop culture marketing by now, then the likelihood for disappointment is far greater. Personally, I am happy that I got to see it without the pre-view of a trailer (this is almost *always* a plus, I find), and I thought that it did a fine job of connecting the two trilogies. Could it have been better? Yeah, maybe... probably... but I wasn't nit-picking. First of all, I'm not so immersed in the whole SW/Lucas sub-culture that I am too demanding. Second... having not seen *any* movies in a few months now (hence, no trailers!), I was actually perfectly primed for a totally enjoyable cinematic experience. (Well, except for the group attendance factor -- which I've also never been a big fan of. I much prefer the company of only one -- two to three, tops -- *close* friends (husband)... whose habits I am already familiar with and don't mind. Props, though, to the many under-17 audience members, who stayed so quietly enthralled from the roll of opening titles that they only made their presence known -- with guffaws -- during a comedic entrance by Yoda. I was very grateful for that, so close to opening night.)

I'm also not sure what the "many big flaws" were (and I'm not really asking, for the sake of those who haven't yet seen)... but if you want to know about the pace, it opened with action and stayed fairly compelling throughout. I do think that there would have been room for another movie in between and that the story was a lot to compress into a two-hour film, but these limitations were still handled pretty well. Beyond that, I don't want to say any more that might hurt anyone else's experience of it... I think it is worth seeing, to be sure, and of these first three, I *think* that I did like it best (but I cannot be sure without another viewing... of Episode II, at least ;-D).

Scott Hardie | May 31, 2005
Spoilers ahead, of course.

My review (link) says what I thought of it. I'm not a Star Wars fan, although I did enjoy all five previous films, and I thought this was the best of them all, because it was the most total realization of Lucas's ambitions. Obviously it had the advantage by coming last, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good.

I agree that the dialogue is very stiff in all three prequels, but seriously, why do so many people hold that against them? Are you expecting Olivier's rendition of "Hamlet" here? This is friggin' Star Wars. In classic-adventure-serial sci-fi films like this, stiff dialogue should be a minor nuisance, not a film-ruining catastrophe all by itself. Jar Jar on the other hand...

I was annoyed by a few elements, such as the way too easy means of Padmé's exit from the series. What is with Lucas explaining what does not need to be explained? He didn't have to bring up midichlorians to explain how people use the Force when simple concentration sufficed in original films, and he didn't have to explain Padmé's "losing the will to live" when her simply dying from the physical trauma of childbirth would have sufficed in this film, especially when it had already been established that it was her destiny to die that way.

Anyhow, the element that most bugged me was Action Yoda. It was a treat in "Clones" when he started hopping around like the world's baddest little green ninja, because it revealed the heights of his abilities. It's always great when an old, long-established character is capable of genuinely surprising you. But now the old fellow does it all the time, and it has lost its appeal, and a big part of his intrigue is no more. Disappointed I am.

Amy, by "hype" I think Scott was referring to the anticipation in the fan community that this was going to (far) exceed the first two prequels in quality. That some fans are not satisfied with it bolsters my belief that Star Wars fans, like Star Trek fans and Matrix fans, are some of the pickiest people alive.

Kris Weberg | May 31, 2005
I don't expect Hamlet, but I do at least expect dialogue at the level of Indiana Jones. Say, wasn't some guy named George involved in that project?

Anna Gregoline | May 31, 2005
Yeah, the dialogue made me giggle. A lot of the dialogue in the original movies was silly too, but we overlooked that because we grew up with it. And yeah, the acting is extremely wooden on most accounts compared to greats like Harrison Ford.

But I had a great time - I loved the last movie and I felt like I got some insight into the original films and what Lucas was going for. I still don't forgive him for adding bizarre CGI to the original films, but this is his life's work - so I understand him wanting to leave a complete, similar-looking, far-reaching set of films.

Aaron Fischer | June 1, 2005
Overall, I thought the movie was very good. It did provide many answers to some long lagging questions. The cinematography was excellent and the soundtrack was great. Overall I give it 2 thumbs up! I just wish we had a bit more “Vader time”. In regards to being better than episode IV, I don’t think I’d go quite that far, but nostalgia has definitely set it on the original movies.

Anna Gregoline | June 1, 2005
Did everyone see the Millenium Falcon in the movie??!?

Mike Eberhart | June 1, 2005
The movie was OK. I'd give probably a 3 out of 5 rating. It didn't really just blow me away. However, I re-watched episode IV last night and you can definately make a lot of connections from III to IV. It was much better watching it this time around after watching episode III.

Matthew Preston | June 1, 2005
The best part of the film for me was Ian McDiarmid. I thought he did an excellent job as Palpatine/Sidious. Also, Star Wars is not coming to an end (YAY!). Besides making the Clone Wars cartoon into a half-hour series, George Lucas confirmed a new live-action television series in the making. It will take place between Episodes III and IV. I am proud to say that I was at the interview with Lucas when he confirmed this at Celebration III in Indianpolis.

A link with further information is here:
(link)

Anna Gregoline | June 2, 2005
I thought so too, Matt! I was most impressed with him.

Lori Lancaster | June 3, 2005
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Amy Austin | June 3, 2005
DAMN!... why didn't *I* think of that??? Holy shit, it's amazing what "fans" will pay!!! But... to her credit, what a fantastic job -- and certain to be better than anything the factories have/will put out! And wait!!! There's more... Did you see that she also has a Padme listed??? A 3-day listing, with only 5 bidders thus far and 2 more days to go... she's bound to fetch close to the same! I wonder if the same buyer will step up to pay $5,000 for two dollies!!!

(link)

Lori Lancaster | June 3, 2005
[hidden by request]

Amy Austin | June 3, 2005
Yes... impressive they were. ;-D

Lori Lancaster | June 14, 2005
[hidden by request]