FULL SPOILER DISCUSSION…you have been warned!
The narrative crawl faded into the distance, the theme music died, and the ride began…and what a ride it was. The sweeping opening battle sequence was indescribably incredible. As Obi Wan and Anakin’s ships dove towards the large battleship below I felt my stomach drop like I was on a roller coaster ride and my excitement level for this movie was close to overwhelming. The entire opening sequence was like a full on demonstration of just what can be done with today’s digital technology. I loved the way the large ships pulled alongside each other and fired broadside laser cannons, a nod to the pirate ship battles of old.
This is not going to be the type of structured review that I usually do of movies, it will be more of a discussion, as I said above. I hope you’ll add your thoughts in the comments section.
I thought the writing in this movie was closer to the level of writing in the original series, particularly Empire Strikes Back and was much better than in Episodes I and II. The seduction of Anakin towards the dark side by Chancellor Palpatine was paced very well. The way that they wrote the Jedi doing things that appeared to violate their principles and the way this added to Anakin’s confusion was terrific. I also felt that the relationship between Anakin and Padme was much more believable. The mental torture that he was undergoing and the anguish of his dreams made Anakin a less wooden character than in previous incarnations….and wouldn’t you have known that the creation of Darth Vader had something to do with a woman! 🙂 Just kidding, ladies! I also enjoyed the fact that, despite plenty of action, there were long stretches of dialogue that addressed the political manipulations of Chancellor Palpatine and advanced other parts of the story. Lucas actually seemed to take the time in this one to tell a story! I’m not big into politics but one of the things I was surprised about in episode I and have enjoyed in all 3 new episodes is the part that politics played in the downfall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire, the Emperor, and Darth Vader.
I touched on it in the opening, but the special effects in this movie were just incredible!!!! I mean, WOW!!! The planet designs, the creatures, and especially the ships were amazing. My first detailed memories of space ships are from Star Wars and I’ve always loved the ship designs of the Star Wars universe more than any other. It was fun to see ships that more closely resembled the ships of A New Hope…I especially enjoyed seeing Bail Organa’s ship, a precursor to the Rebel Blockade runner in the beginning of episode IV.
I understand why many parents will be frustrated with the dark tone of this movie, I really do. On the other hand, this movie really had to be dark. Up until his rescue of Luke in ROTJ, Darth Vader is a mean and heartless Sith. He strangles people on a whim, tortures Princess Leia for information, carbon freezes Han, has his Storm Troopers torch Uncle Ben and Aunt Beru….his creation could not have been anything but dark. But man, I didn’t expect it to be like that! From the time that Anakin killed Mace Windu until the time Obi Wan cut off his legs and he got torched I don’t think I took a deep breath! I was sooo tense during that whole moment. And maybe its just because I’m a parent but when Anakin killed the young padawans I was just sick! I’m so glad Lucas didn’t pull any punches with this one.
I realize this is super disjointed, but there were so many things I loved about this movie. I enjoyed the R2D2 and C-3PO moments…they seemed so much more like the original trilogy. On that note I’ve talked with people whose kids love Jar-Jar and I’m thinking that he is to today’s kids what R2 and C-3PO were to me when I was a kid…fun, loveable characters that I couldn’t imagine not having in the Star Wars movies. I was thrilled with the way that Anakin was already wanting to overthrow the Emperor, it tied in so well to what he tries to do with Luke in the later movies. I thought the way that Chancellor Palpatine aged during the fight with Mace Windu was terrific and when he stood up and pulled the cowl over his head I actually let out an audible “Oh, Wow!” as the transformation to the Emperor was so perfect!
I liked the way they handled the birth and distribution of Luke and Leia although it did feel a bit rushed. I enjoyed the way that they brought up early in the movie that there was a potential to cheat death, albiet on the dark side, and then the way they ended the movie with the knowledge that Qui Gon had found a way to come back…very nice answer to that question of why some Jedi don’t “die”. I thought the end battle sequence between Anakin and Obi Wan was spectacular. It was long enough to be a true “battle” but didn’t drag on forever…..have I said yet how great this movie was??? 🙂
And I thought the whole ‘balance to the force’ prophecy was interesting. Any interpretations? I told Mary last night that if all the Jedi were dead except Obi Wan and Yoda and there were only 2 Sith…Anakin and The Emperor….that’s pretty balanced, isn’t it?
Anyway, I’m sure I could go on forever but I’ll end this long, geek ramble and let you guys talk about the movie. I’m so excited that we all can share this phenomenon together.
I loved the movie! It was great being there at the midnight showing. There was so much energy from all the hardcore fans. My young nephew came dressed in a padawan outfit that he had made himself. He also had his padawan “rat tail” that he has been growing for the last 8 or 9 months.
The movie was great and really tied up some loose ends. It is sad to think that this was the last movie. Of course, we did watch Episode IV tonight.
I must add that Yoda was magnificent!
Thanks again for babysitting for us. The movie was incredible. I enjoyed every second of it.
You’re welcome. Forgot to tell you that your bathroom remodel is looking great!!!
i loved it, despite hating Christensen’s lousy performance.
but i got bigger chills watching the Narnia trailer. lol
I’m really disappointed that we didn’t see that. James and Julie got it at their showing and said it was great.
I loved the movie but was left with an empty feeling. Sitting there, watching the credits, the fact that there will be no more SW movies kind of left me sad.
The visual effects were stunning and I am looking forward to seeing it again very soon. I agree it is better than the last two but it did feel very rushed in a lot of places. Lucas didn’t really have a choice when you look at all he has been trying to accomplish with these three movies. All three of them would have needed to be 3hrs to get everything in.
Portman, McGregor and McDiarmid are the only good actors and I think Lucas tried to give them as much talk time as he could knowing everyone else was weak.
The strangest part for me was when Vader asked for Padme from inside his suit. I’m used to him being a cold blooded killer and that moment of passion seemed so strange. I guess he gets the next 20 years to get really grouchy.
yeah, we had Narnia, Fantastic 4, and some movie i haven’t heard of & don’t remember the name… something with planes i think.. i had to get up & go get a friend from the entrance during that preview. lol
Carl, we definitely saw the same movie. Yours obviously had adequate sound. I was breathless throughout the whole chancellor arrest scene and Anakin’s indecisiveness or indecision ( I can’t decide) anyway I don’t know if the emporer was faking his weakness at that point or just playing Anakin. Yoda definitely met his match fighting the emporer. I was glad to see he is vulnerable. Did you catch Jimmy Smits say “erase them” about the droids? Did you also notice Ewan McG. talking more like Alec Guiness? I still don’t know why Obi Won in IV appears to not recognize the droids. I was hoping for a cameo of Liam Neeson. I almost teared up when Anakin killed the young-lings. I’m glad they didn’t show it except in the security video. They trusted him and idolized them. They came out of hiding and oh my there goes my tears… I got my make up tickets Thursday and plan to see it again this weekend if babysitting allows. I totally agree with everything you said and glad of it because I always feel I miss interpreted something. Fantastic movie!!!!
I think James and I are going to try to see it again during the week next week. Maybe we can work something out. I’m going to call ahead and make sure I pick a time that is in theatre 12.
Hollywood Reporter dot com reports that Ep. III grossed an estimated 17 million at the midnight showing and 50 million in its first day…both new records!!!
Tom, only C3PO got his memory erased.
That’s right because R2 giggles.
Ok, folks, I saw it this morning with a big group. Groupls always make movies more fun for me.
Tom, let me ask you, which would you rather have:
1) no sound for the first 5 minutes, or
2) 70% sound for 100% of the movie?
Yep, our surround sound was whacked out, I’m sure of it! Can you believe that? We only had sound from the front channels. All the big ship battle scenes were oddly muted and made the action seem flat. I just couldn’t get it out of my head. What a disappointment.
A big weakness in my head is with Anakin’s turning. I buy that he could be swayed by Palpatine under the belief of “saving” Padme. But he goes from revenge killing (the Tuskin raiders in 2) and protective killing (Windu) to multiple infanticide. I don’t get it!
But like James said, it was rushed so maybe that’s why.
Angela, I thought Hayden’s performance was much better in this episode. No way was Padme pregnant with twins at the end! She barely showed.
I loved the ship designs. James, what are those small walkers from Empire and Jedi called? I liked the ones that were similar in Sith. Oh, and the speeder bike troopers on Kashikk (sp?) was a nice tie-in too. That whole Wookie battle was righteous.
I really liked the whole concept of Grievous, but I wish he were tougher. Here’s why: he has a collection of light sabers, presumably from fallen Jedi that he’s slain. So how come Obi Wan seems to dismantled him with relative ease? Maybe Grievous killed only the wimpy Jedi? That’s another thing, seems like some of the Jedi get taken out like Red-Shirted Ensigns. What’s up with that?
Carl, our girl Ms. Allen got waxed without much of a fight. That sucked!
I’m going to have to watch it again soon to really appreciated it.
Yes, I was disappointed that our blue girl had about 2 seconds of air time!
Man, that sucks about your sound…the first part of the movie needs to have surround sound to make it work! Hopefully you’ll do better the next time.
Just like the first 2 movies, there were problems with this one…just not near as many in my opinion. I still like all 3 original movies better but I think Lucas benefited in those as he was telling a much less complex tale and not trying to do so much. I don’t have a big problem with the kid killing thing only because Lucas showed the kids in Ep. II so he had to off them in Ep. III. Plus it helps make Anakin the monster that he needs to begin being to truly be Darth Vader. In some ways it would have been better if Anakin had been more evil from the start…more manipulative and more sneaky, but it wouldn’t really gibe with Lucas’ desire to have a morality element to the story…the idea that you have to choose to give in or not give in to the “dark side” of your humanity.
All in all I still really like this one and if all 3 had been at this level I think Lucas would’ve taken much less heat. But the original trilogy are still the best and watching them now I don’t believe its just nostalgia talking…they work much better and overall had better actors.
The guy who played Palpatine (in all 5 that he was in) was excellent throughout though…quite an amazing performance.
As I was thinking about the movies this weekend I had a memory recalled from childhood and realized that, up until Attack of the Clones, I had this idea that the “clones” would actually be clones of the people that they were fighting…sort of like an army of doubles or dopplegangers, people of equal strength and talent, that took ages to fight and defeat.
I probably would’ve like that better!!!
In my mind I always imagined Anakin taking years to kill off all the Jedi.
Anakin sucker punched Windu and killed a bunch of kids. Other than that he didn’t kill a single Jedi. It would have been nice to have seen him fight at least one member of the council and beat him.
The clones killed off the Jedi and it wasn’t even hard.
Lucas should have focused on Anakin’s desire to be a master and made that the reason he changed to the dark side.
Good points, Jimmy. I think I agree.
Good points all around. Rob yeah compared to you I feel lucky. Glad I wasn’t the only one that got the sound shaft. Grievous said he was trained by Dooku, but all 6? light sabers against Obi should have been a little intimidating considering Dooku mopped him fairly easy in II. I didn’t see Anakin lose his limbs in that jump. Maybe I just wasn’t expecting it. Someone made a comment earlier about hearing Vader ask about Padme under the mask. That was weird. His voice is so crisp. I always imagined the Jedi dispersing and Anakin hunting them down and assuming more power with each kill ala Highlander.
Grievous only had 4 arms, Tommy Joe.
We would have really hated the movie if it would have jumped months ahead showing Anakin killing tons of Jedi. They needed to show him fight at least one or maybe two at a time and winning. That would have helped.
Don’t get me wrong, of the last three this one is for sure my favorite. There are just some things that ‘die hards’ like us didn’t care for.
Carl and I are talking about going to see it again this week, Tom. You want to join us?
Do we know for sure at the end of this movie that all the Jedi are already dead? I need to see it again but didn’t Bail Organa and Yoda go back to change the Jedi council beacon so it would warn the other Jedi that hadn’t returned to stay away? Like I said, I need to see it again cuz I can’t remember if they said anything or not.
I don’t have a real problem with Anakin being manipulated into making poor choices and the way he was led to the dark side. After all he’s still just a kid essentially…he has another 20 years of badness ahead of him before the events in A New Hope. I think it makes him even more of a monster that he didn’t really take on any Jedi but attacked and killed a bunch of kids and defenseless humans and aliens…shows the beginnings of the disregard for life that can be seen when he’s choking people for making mistakes or questioning his powers. It also makes lends a great deal of weight to the Emperor that we see in the original trilogy to see just how smart and powerful he was right from the start.
I too would’ve liked to see the Jedi put up more of a fight but let’s face it. Lucas was running out of time and there were already several light saber battles in the movie already…one of the things the critics complained about was too many long saber battles, they really would’ve griped if there had been a few more.
The original trilogy will always be my favorite, but I would throw this movie in as a close competitor and could leave the first 2 off all together!
Man you are sexy when you talk sci fi!
I really liked the story of Palpatine’s master, Darth Plagus. That was really fascinating!
Having watched it for the second time on Saturday night (braces for sudden influx of hatemail), I think it can safely be said that warts ‘n all, George held up his end of the bargain. Yes, it wasn’t perfect, but I enjoyed the anticipation and as a suprising change, the movie actually lived up to expectation.
What I’d like to know is:
“So this is how liberty dies – to thunderous applause”…….debates on Lucas’ comments on the Bush government aside, where did he spring that one from? That’s a great line!
Thank you Jimmy! 😉
I liked that line too…wish all his dialogue was that inspired! 🙂
I think that was my favorite line from this movie.
Oh don’t lie James, you know that the “hold me like you did on Naboo…” was your favorite line!
Its a new 3 and 4 day record! 158.5 million dollars in 4 days! Sure would be nice to have a cut of that!!!
I need to see it with Karen first. I have a free movie pass. I thought Grievous had 4 arms but when he starts spinning it might as well have been 12. I thought padma looked horrible the “morning after”. I really thought their beginning dialogue was pure cheese, and I thought oh man… We did a little MST-3k when anakin was on fire. I said “quick someone get some butter” it cracked several people up. By then we were all in better moods.
butter, rofl!
Tom you’re hilarious!!!
Tom, I thought the continuous coughing of Grievous was supposed to make his defeat believable. He seemed to be in failing health which allowed Obi wan to defeat him???
Some interesting insight from FilmThreat.com:
“In a way, Palpatine/Sidious fulfills the same role for Anakin that Obi-Wan Kenobi did for Luke in Episode IV. But in the case of Palpatine, the advice he imparts is the opposite of the path one would wish for a hero.”
some more…
“Who arranged the Trade Federation blockade of Naboo in Episode I? Sidious.
Who ordered a million Clone Troopers on Kamino? Sidious.
Who orchestrated a war between the Republic and the Separatist’s battle droid army? Sidious.
Who hired a bunch of Sand People on Tatooine to kidnap and torture for a month Shmi Skywalker, Anakin’s mother? Sidious!
Who murdered Master Darth Plaugues and learned the secret to create life then using it to immaculately conceive Anakin? Sidious!!
Who leaked the location of the second Death Star and the shield generator on the Endor moon to the Rebellion luring them into a trap? Sidious!!!”
“He’s got the whole (Star Wars) world, in his hands. He’s got the whole (Star Wars) world, in his hands”. Sing it with me….
Nice stuff there, Rob.
I liked this quote at Film Threat and agree 100%.
“You know, this is George’s movie, it’s the story and direction he chose and I’m cool with it.”
And bottom line you have to respect a guy who makes a movie for himself and tells the story that he wants to tell.
Hey, great review. I realy felt that this was a great improvement over the previous two.
I do think, however, that Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side wasn’t handled as well as it could have been. It was well paced, but there was something just off about it. And Darth Vader’s long-drawn out no was, imo, a real let down.
Apart from those few quibbles, I have to award RotS a thumbs up
Glad you popped by my site. I love your layout 🙂
Just saw again with karen. Two things: Did anyone see the Millenium Falcon land on the platform just under where Palpatine landed near the beginning? Also there was discussion about Padme looking pregnant on her death cart. Karen came up with of course so everyone would think the baby died with her, without knowing the truth. BTW we were in theater 5 this time and the sound was CRAP!!! I never thought I’d say this but I might go to Lee’s Summit Dickinson to see my movies. Again only front speakers and alot of cutout. I’ll have to rent it to hear it at my house with decent surround.
How hilarious, James and I were in theater 18 for the 8:30 show tonight. Sound was okay…not near as good as in 12 the other night. I saw the Padme pregnant thing the first time and figured it was a purposeful ruse. Missed the Falcon but will look for it next time.
Great movie! I totally enjoyed it, even though the sound was off in parts.
I thought that Annakin’s turn to the dark side was a little abrupt, too. Yet, I loved the movie.
I am glad that the last of the movies was sooo good. I was sort of prepared for a let down like the last Matrix movie, but this proved to be excellent.