Star Wars!
On May 19, 2005, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released. On July 9, 2005, I finally got to see it with my wife. My wife set up the whole thing from arranging for child care (Paul and Sarahlynn volunteered to watch Oliver while we went to see the movie) to picking out a theater and show time. Because of a delay in dropping our stuff off at my mother-in-law's yard sale, we ended up going to a 7:05 show instead of an earlier show as planned. We thought the theater would be empty because it was alsomst two months since Star Wars had been released. But the theater was suprisingly full.
On to the movie itself. I could have told you the net result of the story before it began - Anakin turns to the Dark side, hunts down the Jedis, loses a duel to Obi-Wan, and becomes Darth Vader while the Republic becomes the Empire and Padme gives birth to Luke and Leia. The question becomes Does Lucas tell the story in a satisfying way? The answer is a resounding Yes.
Spoilers follow... But really it has been months...
The visual aspect of the film is absolutely stunning. From the opening rescue sequence to the climactic fight on the lava world, Lucas knows how to create interesting and visually engaging worlds. But everyone knows that Star Wars has always produced outstanding eye-candy. That it has been elevated to another level is to be somewhat expected.
The story is tightly plotted. Each scene ties into the story immediately and later on. For example, since Obi-Wan is out tracking down General Greevous, he isn't there when the slaughter of the Jedi happens on Coruscant. The story also contains several scenes that shocked me. In one scene, Anakin gets to the Jedi Council Room and finds the younglings hiding there. As they ask for his protection, he ignites his lightsaber. The story hit all of the plot points that it had to and I was satisfied with how Lucas got from Episode II to Episode IV.
Lucas has never been known for his dialog so it doesn't come as any surprise that there are some clunkers. Witness the awkward declarations of love between Anakin and Padme. Listen to the "subtle" seduction of Anakin by the Chancellor. As tightly written as the story is, you just wish that he'd hand over the story to an accomplished screenwriter to clean up his dialog.
Similarly I wish that Lucas would let someone else handle his actors. Hayden Christiansen does a good job with Anakin and Yoda was done well. Ian McDamarid does a good job portraying the two faces of the Chancellor. But the other actors come across as flat. It is not great surprise that Empire still ranks at the highest of the Star Wars movies and that is the only one that Lucas did not direct.
So my final Star Wars ranking is
1) Episode V: Empire Strikes Back
2) Episode IV: A New Hope
3) Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
4) Episode II: Attack of the Clones
5) Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
6) Episode I: The Phantom Menace
On to the movie itself. I could have told you the net result of the story before it began - Anakin turns to the Dark side, hunts down the Jedis, loses a duel to Obi-Wan, and becomes Darth Vader while the Republic becomes the Empire and Padme gives birth to Luke and Leia. The question becomes Does Lucas tell the story in a satisfying way? The answer is a resounding Yes.
Spoilers follow... But really it has been months...
The visual aspect of the film is absolutely stunning. From the opening rescue sequence to the climactic fight on the lava world, Lucas knows how to create interesting and visually engaging worlds. But everyone knows that Star Wars has always produced outstanding eye-candy. That it has been elevated to another level is to be somewhat expected.
The story is tightly plotted. Each scene ties into the story immediately and later on. For example, since Obi-Wan is out tracking down General Greevous, he isn't there when the slaughter of the Jedi happens on Coruscant. The story also contains several scenes that shocked me. In one scene, Anakin gets to the Jedi Council Room and finds the younglings hiding there. As they ask for his protection, he ignites his lightsaber. The story hit all of the plot points that it had to and I was satisfied with how Lucas got from Episode II to Episode IV.
Lucas has never been known for his dialog so it doesn't come as any surprise that there are some clunkers. Witness the awkward declarations of love between Anakin and Padme. Listen to the "subtle" seduction of Anakin by the Chancellor. As tightly written as the story is, you just wish that he'd hand over the story to an accomplished screenwriter to clean up his dialog.
Similarly I wish that Lucas would let someone else handle his actors. Hayden Christiansen does a good job with Anakin and Yoda was done well. Ian McDamarid does a good job portraying the two faces of the Chancellor. But the other actors come across as flat. It is not great surprise that Empire still ranks at the highest of the Star Wars movies and that is the only one that Lucas did not direct.
So my final Star Wars ranking is
1) Episode V: Empire Strikes Back
2) Episode IV: A New Hope
3) Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
4) Episode II: Attack of the Clones
5) Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
6) Episode I: The Phantom Menace
posted by mypetrock at 8:46 AM
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