Monday, May 30, 2005

Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (rob review)

Watching this made me finally appreciate the rich story and characters of the Star Wars Universe. I've always been lukewarm about anything Star Wars. I liked the original trilogy, found The Phantom Menace boring, and enjoyed Attack of the Clones. But with this one, I finally 'got it'. I had fun from beginning to end, watching the story unfold, seeing the master politician Palpatine manipulate both sides, observing Anakin's final transformation to the dark side.

Lots of good action, the story was interesting. I think George Lucas would have been better served to let someone else write the screenplay, but I guess wooden dialogue will always be a part of Star Wars, no big deal. My main issue with the movie was that I found some events to not be believable and consistent. I found Padme annoying. Some of Anakin's actions were not logical. I understand this is a fantasy movie and all, but I believe the plausibility of the events leave much to be desired.

Best characters: Obi-Wan and R2D2! That little droid had a lot of good scenes. Palpatine too, almost forgot. Hey they didn't give Jar-jar one funny line?

Despite all its flaws, I had a good time, and you don't need me to tell you to go watch this if you haven't already. For a surreal experience, try watching Episode IV 'A New Hope' again after seeing Revenge of the Sith. Mr. Lucas sir, can we have some more?

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars * * * *
Best movie among the prequels both action and story-wise.


--- SPOILERS BELOW ---
Don't read any further if you haven't watched the film. I'll discuss some of the parts I didn't like, plot holes, and the plot elements I didn't find believable.
---o---o---o---o---o---



- The whole 'Anakin wanting to save Padme's life so he had to give in to Palpatine' was kind of lame. I would have preferred if it were more of a slow descent to the dark side as Anakin is seduced by power and out of frustration with the Jedi Council.

- Max and I debated this issue. Was Palpatine's disfigured face a result of his battle against Windu? Or was Darth Sidious wearing a Palpatine mask all along. From the movie you are led to believe that his face changed from the battle. What I didn't like was that immediately afterwards, he addresses the Republic in his disfigured form, and receives cheers? The transformation was too sudden.

- I found it too convenient that Obi-Wan would leave Anakin to die in the lava. A better way is for Anakin to either get saved by Palpatine in the nick of time. Or perhaps the lava gets in the way of the battle, preventing Obi-Wan from finishing him off.

- C3PO's memory getting erased at the end seemed like an afterthought by Lucas.

- I found this to be utterly unbelievable, it almost spoiled the movie. The scene where Padme 'loses the will to live' was just too precious. I mean, wouldn't giving birth to twins give you a new reason to live?

- Yoda acknowledging Chewbaca was entirely unnecessary. I liked the scene with the Wookies but it just felt too convenient. And I always thought Chewie was more of a trader/smuggler rather than war hero.

- Max mentioned this (which I didn't find to be a big deal), the proud Jedi were too easily defeated after Palpatine's double-cross. You'd think they would have given a better fight. Only Yoda was able to fight back.

- A minor gripe: Count Dooku's role was too limited. I actually felt bad that he went down so quickly.

- I liked the ending, I thought it was perfect. But I found it unnecessary for Darth Vader to shout out after learning of Padme's death. It seemed out of character for a Sith Lord.

- And lastly... what happened to Jar-jar? Just kidding.

7 comments:

rmacapobre said...

jaded response .. i didnt enjoy it as much as i would have thought. im getting too old for good vs evil stories. these ideas (of absolute good and evil) mimicked in a "reality" that is suppose to exist (outside of a fairy tale). was probably too much for me. no wonder young people are more capable of appreciating it.

i did enjoy the politics of the republic, of the sith and the jedis. although, it was shallow. the sith was better off reforming the jedi church rather than the pursuit of absolute power.

i am fascinated with the technology they used to make the film. the special effects. no question about it. its amazing.

rmacapobre said...

> jarjar

when he starts to speak (and his language being slightly similar to ebonics) is what put me off. i even enjoyed his species. water technology vs mecha. i was cheering for them esp since its evident .. the odds were against them.

> amidala

i thought from the early episodes she was all woman. but she seemed to have lost it when she got married. i was hoping shed play a more active role besides child labor .. (for example, rally the opposition against the chancellor) .. bakit parang walang opposition sa senate floor ..

robdelacruz said...

That's probably the reason why I got annoyed with Padme in this one. She was the weakest character in the movie and eventually the cause for Anakin's fall to the dark side.

Cris said...

yeah, whatever happened to jarjar binks??? star wars is never complete without this annoying character! I miss jarjar! :(

Cris said...

family is used as an excuse to get greedy, true enough in the real world, that's what happens.

but I have to agree with Rob that the whole "be evil to save Padme" thing was lame. I didn't like that part either. I mean, come on, this is afterall a movie and a more dramatic turn on how Anakin became evil would have been more welcome.

Lightning said...

Cris, rob, I didn't think Anakin became evil, he just sold his soul to the devil in exchange for keeping Padme alive. He did say something like "I will do whatever you say just to save Padme."

Question: If you guys where in his place, you love Padme very much, and your eager to have your child, then you had a premonition that they will die, what will you do? Will you allow them to die?

robdelacruz said...

If my wife looked like Natalie Portman I would sign up with the dark side in an instant :)