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Star Wars Episode III- a Freeper Perspective, and a family friendly review
a review after watching a midnight screening ^ | 5-19-2005 | myself

Posted on 05/19/2005 12:32:37 AM PDT by timtoews5292004

I just thought I would share a few thoughts about the latest star wars epic with my fellow freepers before I crash completely. Its a little after 3am ET here as I write this. I attended a midnight screening of the film, in lexington, KY. In my opinion it is the best of all six. It finishes off both trilogies completely, and leaves nothing to be desired. I give the film 4.5 of 5 stars, with minor points taken off for slightly wooden dialogue, and a few over the top FX. The over the top FX may be too much for the children of some freepers to handle, thats what makes it a 4.5. I will try and keep this review spoiler free, for those yet to view it, or if you have not followed the film's development.

As far as the Prequel Trilogy, after watching all three, I can honestly say that Episode III is done well enough that you could probably actually do without Episode I and II and you could pick right up. It dovetails perfectly into the original trilogy, and all the loose ends presented in the first two prequels are tied up. With the exception of one line from Chancellor Palpatine, you could walk in off the street having never seen the other two films, pick up at the start of this one, and easily see how all the films fit together. The acting is excellent, the dialogue is well written, and except for one drawn out line from Padme, is concise and too the point.

The scale of this film simply blew me away. Everything was so BIG. The expansive environments, the detail, everything. If you can, see this film on a digital projection, as it will show things that normal film cannot.

Anakin's turn to the dark side begins altruistically, but turns tragic. The Jedi Purge sequence is one of the most heart breaking in ANY war film, I think. The saber fight scenes are a lot more brutal than the other 5 films, and result in several beheadings, a couple disembowlings, and about a half dozen sets of hands/arms being lost. From that angle, the combination of the blunt nature of the way the purge was carried out, with the saber scenes, is what makes me think it might be too much for a younger audience. It is PG-13 for a reson after all. If you have kids 10-under I'd watch it first yourself before deciding whether you'd take them to it sight unseen.

The theme of a progression from a democracy to dictatorship was a heavy handed undercurrent, although that theme has been woven through all six films. Just about every major society has corroded from within, and the same happens in the star wars universe.

I think that is all I can say without spoiling it for those of you yet to see it. freepmail me if you want to know more details, spoilers and such. I've got the day off from work tomorrow. Or is it today. either way, I'll be around.


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Computers/Internet; Hobbies; Miscellaneous; Music/Entertainment; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: episodeiii; moviereview; revengeofthesith; starwars
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1 posted on 05/19/2005 12:32:38 AM PDT by timtoews5292004
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To: timtoews5292004; KevinDavis

A possible topic for the scifi ping list?


2 posted on 05/19/2005 12:33:29 AM PDT by timtoews5292004
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To: timtoews5292004
I don't know, I just came back, and I must say, I am extremely disappointed.

There were a few segments of this movie that were absolute home runs- the last 30 minutes among them- but there were many, many areas that were done hastily. This film could have been made much more dramatic, and it really seemed like the entire first half was filler space for some video game promotion or something.

The way the Jedi fall and the way Anakin turned were too hasty, lacked drama, and could have been much more than they were. The movie was a skeleton, when it could have had all sorts of meat on it. I'd give it 2.5 out of 5 at best.

Oh, and Hayden Christenson is the worst actor ever.

Also, on a political note, I have no clue how the media tried to portray this as anti-Bush. They GROSSLY INFLATED that...especially the French over at Cannes. They're absolute morons if they thought this film was anti-Bush.

3 posted on 05/19/2005 12:39:18 AM PDT by SunnyD1182
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To: timtoews5292004

It is simply the greatest movie I have ever seen, EVER!!!


4 posted on 05/19/2005 12:55:29 AM PDT by Momaw Nadon ("...with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.")
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To: timtoews5292004

Just saw it.

Most of the acting was awful, and Anakin's fall to the dark side was so half-assed that it nearly made me laugh out loud in the theater.


5 posted on 05/19/2005 1:16:46 AM PDT by Sofa King (MY rights are not subject to YOUR approval.)
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To: Sofa King

Sofa King wrote:
Just saw it.

Most of the acting was awful, and Anakin's fall to the dark side was so half-assed that it nearly made me laugh out loud in the theater.

--> I guess Howard Dean does a better job at showing his dark side huh? They should have put him in the film LOL


6 posted on 05/19/2005 1:30:51 AM PDT by 1FASTGLOCK45 (FreeRepublic: More fun than watching Dem'Rats drown like Turkeys in the rain! ! !)
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To: timtoews5292004
The film was good 3/4 I would give it. The evil turn was rather quick but remember we saw glimpse of Anakin's turn in Episode II. I was expecting a depressing end and was not surprised I won't say anything further beyond that. As far as comparing the Senator to President Bush it's laughable I saw the Senator as more of a Adolf Hitler type. Coming to power in a democracy then becoming a tyranny. The Bush comparison is an attempt by leftie Sci-Fi fans to claim the series as part of their 2nd grade Michael Moore logic. Those are my 2 cents on this early morning.

Rob
7 posted on 05/19/2005 1:50:19 AM PDT by halosfan2002 (Moral Clarity is a sign of good Character.)
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To: halosfan2002

I'll probaly go see it when the nerds stop going to see it but i'll take a John Wayne movie over a Star Wars movie any day of the week may I recomend SpaceBalls.


8 posted on 05/19/2005 2:39:21 AM PDT by Johnny Allright ((Republicans are a Heavy Metal Rock Group Democrats are a Boy Band))
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To: 1FASTGLOCK45

They did. He's Palpatine. Or, if you're a Dum, Palpatine's Cheney.


9 posted on 05/19/2005 4:06:30 AM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: halosfan2002

I've always seen Palpatine as more Stalin,the bureaucrat who would be (and does become) Czar. No charisma. Say what you will about Hitler, he had charisma.


10 posted on 05/19/2005 4:08:22 AM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: PzLdr

The last "Starwars" i've probably ever sat and watched aand understood , probably was the one where they destroy the deathstar ( i thnk, it's been sooo long).

Do you think i'd be able to follow the movie if i just watched it without seeing any of the previous "Episodes" that they showed in the theaters ? I basically know, Darth is bad, Luke is "good". ewoks, jubba da hut, basic stuff like that, i'm not a 'hardcore' War's fan at all. Is it worth seeing it just for the effects? lol


11 posted on 05/19/2005 4:48:48 AM PDT by 1FASTGLOCK45 (FreeRepublic: More fun than watching Dem'Rats drown like Turkeys in the rain! ! !)
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To: SunnyD1182
Also, on a political note, I have no clue how the media tried to portray this as anti-Bush. They GROSSLY INFLATED that...especially the French over at Cannes. They're absolute morons if they thought this film was anti-Bush.

Actually I think that was a calculated move done in order to get more people to see the movie.

12 posted on 05/19/2005 4:55:56 AM PDT by mewzilla
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To: mewzilla
However, given the schism between the Red States and Blue States, Lucas could have cost the movie some US$40-US$50 million in first run box office revenues by making those remarks. Is it small wonder why Americans have a distaste for the entertainment community?
13 posted on 05/19/2005 5:35:06 AM PDT by RayChuang88
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To: timtoews5292004
IMHO Episode III rates a 4 out of 5. The effects however are 2nd to none, even better than ROTK.

To me this will rank as the 2nd best Star Wars, closely behind The Empire Strikes Back.

14 posted on 05/19/2005 6:53:46 AM PDT by sleeper-has-awakened
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To: timtoews5292004
Took our 11 yr old twins to the midnite premiere (A tradition started with the last Harry Potter film -and yes, they went to school today!) I liked the film -I agree that Anakin's turn to the "Dark Side" is abrupt, but they had a lot of ground to cover in 2 1/2 hrs.

All things considered, I believe Lucas did a good job of putting the pieces together. It makes me appreciate how the saga ultimately ends, something I must say I was very disappointed with when I first saw "Return of the Jedi".

What surprised me was the tepid applause at the end in the theater I attended. Granted, it was past 2:30 a.m., but I got the feeling that most of the "faithful" were disappointed by this film.

15 posted on 05/19/2005 7:22:23 AM PDT by Mygirlsmom (Celebrating 20 years of wedded bliss on 4/20/05. I have much to be thankful for!)
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To: PzLdr

The way I see it, Palpatine's charisma is not the "look at me! look at me!" type, but rather the, "I feel your pain" kind.


16 posted on 05/19/2005 8:25:44 AM PDT by Mygirlsmom (Celebrating 20 years of wedded bliss on 4/20/05. I have much to be thankful for!)
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To: PzLdr

To me, Palpatine's "charisma" lies in his ability to appear to have absolute empathy. I can almost hear him now, "I feel your pain...."


17 posted on 05/19/2005 8:33:25 AM PDT by Mygirlsmom (Celebrating 20 years of wedded bliss on 4/20/05. I have much to be thankful for!)
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To: Mygirlsmom

sorry for the double post! I thought the first one didn't work....too little sleep!!!


18 posted on 05/19/2005 8:34:14 AM PDT by Mygirlsmom (Celebrating 20 years of wedded bliss on 4/20/05. I have much to be thankful for!)
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To: timtoews5292004
I agree with your review. I thought the film was great, very satisfying for those who have seen all of the movies--probably interesting as well if you haven't seen them, though more depressing for sure. One thing about the time frame of Anakin's turn to the dark side since others here have said it was too quick: The turn to the dark side begins in Episode II when his mother dies. I believe that is the first time we hear the Darth Vader theme music. Also I think that things take longer in Episode II than it may seem. The time frame is not really clear, but there is enough time elapsed for Padme to go from being barely pregnant to delivering full-term (very large!) babies.

My favorite scene was when Yoda eludes Order 66, kills his two attackers and then jumps on the Wookie's back. Yoda is so cool in this one.

SPOILER ALERT: The only apparent inconsistency I saw was that Leah is separated from her mother at birth, whereas in RotJ she tells Luke she remembers their mother and that she was "very beautiful, but very sad." Before this movie I had thought that Padme dies later on, not in childbirth. If I had to explain this away I would say that Leah was confused in her memory and was really remembering her adopted mother. Extreme and tragic irony it is that the killer of his wife Anakin turns out to be.

19 posted on 05/19/2005 8:52:19 AM PDT by Elvina
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To: timtoews5292004

How did Hayden Christenson ever get this role? He is a BAD and annoying person. I refuse to call him an actor.

This could have been a great movie.

Special effects were super. Will wait for DVD before seeing it again.


20 posted on 05/19/2005 9:28:53 AM PDT by FatherofFive (Choose life!)
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