Mark Steyn - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

The Spectator ^ | June 1, 2005 | Mark Steyn

[ocr1]

"The Empire Strikes Back" rules over them all.

[theFIRMbss]

>I'll never understand the Star Wars thing

You say black I say white
You say bark I say bite
You say shark I say, "Hey man
Jaws was never my scene
And I don't like Star Wars!"

You say Rolls I say Royce
You say God give me a choice
You say Lord I say Christ
I don't believe in Peter Pan
Frankenstein or Superman
All I wanna do is...

Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my--

Bicycle races are coming your way
So forget all your duties oh yeah!

Fat bottomed girls
They'll be riding today
So look out for those beauties oh yeah
On your marks get set go!

[myrabach]

I did like the movie, but the acting was a hoot! We laughed our way through many of the lines. However, it was fun, certainly not meant to be taken as serious theatre.

I do say that Anakin was not believable at all. He was a cute little kid and it ended there. I don't think I will be able to take Darth Vader seriously ever again!

[quidnunc]

In case you missed it, in the wee small hours of the morning I posted a Steyn article from the NY Sun here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1414217/posts

[prairiebreeze]

‘If you’re not with me, you are my enemy.’ Uh-oh. Anakin seems to be transmogrifying into Darth W. Bush.

I've read that Lucas vented his anti-Bush opinions with this film. I don't plan to see it. The first two were good. The third, with the furry bears, was OK but not as good as the first two.

Lucas should've quit while he was ahead.

[LS]

I always wanted to see Yoda, in this episode, saying "Many sequels I see. Much money we'll make. Toys there will be."

[BenLurkin]

Spot on if you ask me!

[TeenagedConservative]

It was a good movie. Except that absolutes line ruined the scene. Not just because of my conservatism, either. The whole audience let out snickers and snorts of derision at this contradiction. It destroyed an otherwise moving moment.

[Xenalyte]

Presumably actors say yes to Lucas because they figure Star Wars will do for them what it did for Harrison Ford. Instead, Lucas turns everyone he touches into Mark Hamill.

Ooooh, snap!

[Semper Paratus]

I'll always like the bar scene in the first movie which I saw on my honeymoon.

[Schwaeky]

No, b/c if Lucas does 7, 8, and 9, Hayden Christensen will be back as a Force Ghost (remember Obi Wan in episodes 5 and 6 after Vader already killed him), and likely since Alec Guiness is dead, so would Ewan McGreggor.

[kaylar]

Well, we'll never have to see Hayden Christensen in a movie again.

That's exactly what I thought about Leonardo DiCaprio after seeing Titanic.

[js1138]

Should read: Much sadness in you I sense.

[Xenalyte]

Now get on your bikes and RIDE!

[Romish_Papist]

Agreed.

[Kirkwood]

"The only movies I can watch more than once or twice are comedies, and darn few of them."

I know I'm crazy, but I've seen Groundhog Day dozens of times. Which is kind of ironic since the movie is about living a day over and over and over.

[ProudVet77]

I'll always like the bar scene in the first movie which I saw on my honeymoon.

Coastie, we have to talk about priorities.
Navy ;)

[ProudVet77]

No, b/c if Lucas does 7, 8, and 9, Hayden Christensen will be back as a Force Ghost (remember Obi Wan in episodes 5 and 6 after Vader already killed him), and likely since Alec Guiness is dead, so would Ewan McGreggor.

I worry about you too, that you know this level of detail. ;)

[AmishDude]

ping

[The_Reader_David]

Oh, see it.

C'mon, the Jedi were shown to be faux Zen Buddhists from the moment Yoda made his screen debut. Escape from the distinction between 'this and that' is Buddhist stock and trade. You expect them to go for sharp distinctions?

"If you're not with me, you're my enemy" is contextualized by Vader proposing to establish himself as Galactic Emperor, and Obi-Wan appealing to democracy. (If it represent Bush, it represents Bush dueling with himself, and whether you're for or against Bush's policies, the tension between the necessity of empire we've had post-9/11 and maintaining a democratic republic is worth thinking about, even if it's being called to mind by comic-book characters rendered larger than life on the big screen.)