Posted on 06/06/2005 11:32:51 AM PDT by quidnunc
What can you say about a movie whose most engaging character is a two-foot tall, pointy-eared, green alien? "Star War III: The Revenge of the Sith" is heavy on special effects but sparse on drama, romance, and emotion.
Its also filled with director George Lucass muddled thinking. And, yes, its science fiction in the service of Michael Moores worldview.
Despite its record-breaking opening, the last Star Wars installment is bad cinema, because it is a poor narrative. The light-saber duels are fun. The alien creations are cool. The attempts to portray passion or the corruption of the human spirit (how a man loses his soul) are pathetic.
In Christensen and Portman, Lucas has found a romantic duo who belong in a remake of "Beach Blanket Bingo." As Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen is a sulking, pretty boy who scowls a lot and attempts to project angst. His transformation from the basically-decent-but-flawed Jedi Knight to the evil Darth Vader is Faust Light.
As former Princess, now Senator, Padme (Anakins secret wife), Natalie Portman seems perpetually bewildered. (A condition that probably results from reading too much Jedi philosophy "Thus Spake Yoda.") Her expressions span the spectrum from looking moonstruck to being perplexed over her husbands increasingly erratic behavior.
Then theres Anakins less-than-credible conversion to the Dark Side of the Force. The sinister Chancellor Palpatine seduces our young Jedi by promising to give him the power to save his beloved wife from death (of which Skywalker has graphic premonitions). Then, in the climatic scene believing Padame has betrayed him Skywalker/Vader tries to strangle his pregnant spouse. "Luke, Im your father and Im confused as hell!"
Thats about all the space the plot deserves.
-snip-
shit this hits
Try Cinderella Man and Layer Cake.
That is the fatal flaw in the entire Star Wars series.
I saw the movie this weekend and while I enjoyed it, I thought that Lucas' rationale for why Anakin converted to the dark side was very weak.
The story line behind why Anakin converted to the dark side has to be the most important element in the success of the movies as a package and Lucas fumbled.
It is obvious that Lucas never had a master plan that tied all 6 movies together. When it came to 1, 2 & 3, he was making it up as he went along and he failed to make it what it could have been when he failed to come up with a brilliant conversion story for Anakin.
The most damning thing about is, apparently Mr. Lucas did.
I agree the dialogue needed work but Ewan McGregor did fine with it. Anikin and Padme didn't.
I liked the Obi Wan duel and this movie really tied the other 5 all together. I've not been that interested in the continuity of them until seeing this movie.
Where in the World is Carmen San Diego Syfo Dyas ?
Actually, it was a government contract and they went through several redesigns and rebids over the years.
Basically, after 17 years they were right back where they started from.
Of course he doesn't have a clue about evil. He's a liberal. They don't recognize evil, except possibly for pro-lifers and other conservatives...
Mark
I am an OT fan. The series went from ' I want to make a modern myth' to ' this is a kiddie movie'- and it shows.
Lucas has NO concept of normal human intimacy. He was a failure at marriage, he adopted his children. He admits he would rather not deal with actors( or people in general, I would imagine). So, of course- he attempts depth, angst, emotion and intimacy and refuses to let competent script writers get involved.
The heart changed in 20 years. The idea behind the series changed drastically. When you go from a mythical viewpoint to a merchandising one, it shows.
Of course big money is being made- but if that was an indication of quality the porn industry would sweep the Oscars every year.
Another reason I loved the first movie was that I saw it as good vs. evil, and good won out, the same way the last episode probably would have affected me had I seen it. Since I didn't see it, I'll never know.
I think the politics stuff is just hype, Lucas's cashing in on the Farenheit 9-11 type of movie.
Great movie it was. I can understand though how someone who wasn't a big Star Wars fan to be surprised how Anikin was drawn so easily to the dark side (and blame it to bad acting). Maybe we should have been given a refresher course on the powers of the dark side prior to his conversion. It was a different kind of movie compared with the original three. There was no likeable Hans Solo character. But, the movie had a story to tell and that type of character would not have fit in. I was very impressed by the imagination it took to produce the story and scenery.
I prefer real men and chocolate cake.
I believe an anagram of "Sith" in the title "Revenge of the Sith" well sums up the descent into lunacy of the Star Wars series - bad acting, bad plot and characters which try ones patience (Jar Jar Binks, the Ewoks, etc).
And Faust has been done so often, I'm sure that is why Lucas avoided it. Anni's turn started with the slaughter of his mom's killers in Episode II. It continued with his breaking of his training to have an affair with padme. Further along when he killed Count Dooku, which is something even Dooku would not have done.
After 9-11, my first thought was to nuke the bastards and if we had, we would have irreversibly gone over to the dark side. I'm glad for our compassionate, and christian president who had the morals and good sense not to do that.
Lucas did not want Faust. I think he wanted to show the difference between Christians bringing down the Roman empire and becoming the dominate religion for centuries and Hitler almost conquering the world. There were two very different paths to power.
LOL!
And you can't blame him for the silly laughter while the Emperor was fighting Yoda. ;)
LOL! I'll have to rent Clerks to watch that.
However, major defense projects like that will likely use local labor. The Empire must have been orbiting Endor for some reason. Why? They were using Ewoks for the contracting jobs - Ewok electricians, Ewok plumbers, Ewok zero-gravity welders. Thus only Ewoks were killed, and they were so annoying that I really don't mind. Further research shows that Ewoks were likely nearly wiped out as a species in the few months following Return of the Jedi.
See Endor Holocaust for an explanation.
I'd stay away from Jar Jar then. He doesn't seem too real - or very manly.
First, George Lucas is a libertarian, not a full blown liberal. If anything, his attack is against the Homeland Security Act/John Ashcroft. Ron Paul would have loved this movie for that reason alone.
Second, Hayden Christensen could not act his way out of a paper bag in this movie. I've seen Natalie Portman in other roles, same with Jimmy Smits, Samuel Jackson, and Ewan McGregor...all 4 are fine actors/actresses but only McGregor did anything worthy of the role. Thus, my blame has to go to Lucas's directing and writing.
Third, the 'conversion' of Anakin to Vader was corny, to say the least. "Oh my god, I helped kill Master Windu. Oh, well, I guess I'm an evil b*st*rd now...lets go kill some children." Please. Then at the end, after his first mission, he's already ready to toss the Emperor overboard along with Padme? Not even Hitler turned that evil, that fast. In approximately a week's time, he's gone from "We must try the Emperor in a court of law" to "I am a god, worship me."
Fourth, Anakin didn't slice and dice JarJar. JarJar survives the movies. That should bring some people nightmares...
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