Revenge of the Sith

[fenchurch]

I haven't had a chance to catch up on the last few days of my flist, due to lack of time and internet access. However, I wanted to post some quick thoughts on "Revenge of the Sith," written in exhaustion (it's a combination of several days of driving with a great big party before the movie, a midnight showing, a discussion afterward, not much sleep last night, and then a whole lot of walking around today).


First things first: Run, do not walk, to the theatre to see this movie.

Worried because you've been burned by the last two movies? So was I. I've only seen Attack of the Clones once (and while I actually remember enjoying it, I've never felt a burning desire to see it again. However, while I know that mileage may vary, "Revenge of the Sith" is *exactly* the Star Wars movie I've been wanting to see.

We were discussing it after the showing last night and came to the conclusion that George Lucas has finally written a movie that is aimed at the fans of the series and not at children -- there was not one single sight-gag or joke about passing gas or manure (thank heavens). There's still some incredibly stilted dialogue (Mr. Lucas should no longer be allowed to write the stuff), but it's easy to overlook because the story is just so incredibly good.

While it's visually stunning (the space battle scenes, in particular, almost took my breath away), even more than that, I would describe the overall storyline and action as horrifyingly beautiful.
I really don't want to give too much away, but let's face it... if you've seen the other movies, you know the basic outline of what happens in this one. And if you don't, well, you probably aren't going to be heading out to see it anytime soon, anyway.

Palpatine is such an effective, intelligent villain, as we've glimpsed already in the other films -- this is something I'm always looking for and rarely in fiction, an ultimately effective villain. I just love how he sets everything up, moving people into place and manipulating things so that there are always choices, but no matter which road is taken, they all lead to his ultimate goal.

I was very impressed with how Anakin's fall was handled -- okay, maybe not with everything, there were a very few scenes I thought were a tad awkward and there was the occasional clunky dialogue. (and I had more written here and just deleted it, because I don't want to give too much information away here -- I think I'll have to write a real spoilery post later.)

As has been mentioned repeatedly elsewhere, this is not a movie for young children. At one point, about half-way or so through the film, I remember thinking "Hey, I don't see what's so bad about this... most kids should be able to handle it." Then everything hit the fan, and yeah... I'm joining the chorus saying that parents should probably view the movie first, before taking young kids.

I really can't wait to see it again... we may try to go again this weekend, or perhaps early next week. If I get the chance, I'll type up some more about the movie... though tomorrow is the drive back up to Utah, so I'll be internet-less for most of the day again.

Comments

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

Yep, it sounds like I will break down and see this one in the theatres. My little ol' Star Wars fennish heart is starting to get bouncy again, as it hasn't been since my general disappointment with "Menace." :) :) Yay!

[jen-nsync-landl.livejournal.com]

Saw it yesterday, going back to see it tonight. I'll try to be non-spoilery, too, but my God, it was just so damn TRAGIC. I wasn't really expecting that, given the emotional level of the first two films. I thought Anakin would turn psycho, and we'd have some good Darthy fun. And you know what? Didn't happen at all. I was sitting there, hoping he wasn't going to do the things he did EVEN THOUGH I KNEW HE DID. And I don't care what anyone says, Hayden blew me away. He was awesome. I couldn't believe how well he played things. All of the moral ambiguities! I loved how non black and white it was, although that's what made it so gutwrenching.

[laurashalo.livejournal.com]

I loved it too. The last 45 minutes or so just made the last two movies worthwhile for me. It was some very simple and very strong emotions that made Anakin slip so easily towards the darkside. I appreciated that beforehand he wasn't portrayed as an obviously bad person or inherently evil, just filled with anger and afraid of loss. Complex evil, my favorite kind. I'll definetly be seeing it again ASAP.

My former boss said he was taking his 5 years old son. I warned him that the reviews said it was really dark, but this is a man who let his daughter watch rated R movies when she was 5, so there's no warning him. If the kid doesn't just fall asleep for the lack of cutesy Jar-Jar Bink-ishness, he'll be upset. Either way, maybe former boss will realize that he should be more cautious and not let the kid's excitedness govern his parenting choices.

[tomte.livejournal.com]

If you find you have the time to spare, come by and see us!

[ayinhara.livejournal.com]

I really can't wait to see it again... we may try to go again this weekend, or perhaps early next week.

That's how I felt about the original film. We then proceeded to see Episode 4 at least 7 times in the theater. When VCRs became common we taped the film from HBO and then watched it some more. We also bought a tape whenever it finally became available. Episodes 5 & 6 were ok, but I probably didn't watch them more than twice. As for Episode 1 and 2 I don't plan on watching them again.

I'm really encouraged by both the newspaper reviews and feedback that I'm getting from you and others. I'll try to see it next weekend.