Soccer Dad

Return of George Lucas

I just saw "Revenge of the Sith" and don't have a lot to say that hasn't already been said. However, a couple of bloggers have identified the elements of the movie that worked for me.
Chayyei Sarah wrote:

The thing that surprised me the most was how emotionally invested I'd become, by the second hour, in Anakin not turning to the Dark Side. It's a very good sign, in terms of the storytelling, that even though we all know that Anakin becomes Darth Vader...

Vodkapundit had a good overall summary of the movie:

Admittedly, my standards are low. As I've said here and many other places, I expect only three things out of a Star Wars movie. I want to see some cool stuff I've never seen before. I want to see some wicked lightsaber action. (Really, I just have a weakness for any kind of Hollywood sword fighting.) And I want to see some stuff blow up real good. Sith delivered on those counts, and then some.

He also talks about the effectiveness of a specifc segment of the movie:

The montage sequence when the Clone Troopers turned on their Jedi leaders was one of those, and one I haven't seen discussed much. It was brutal, heartbreaking, and effective. Watching warriors cut down by their comrades without warning or explanation… that was tough. Every one of those Jedi died with the same expression: Utter confusion. Is there a worse way to die?

My only quibble here is that some of the special effects seemed overdone. The cantina scene in "A New Hope" worked because, well, no one had really seen anything like that before. But odd looking aliens appearing incongruous in everyday situations don't elicit the same chuckle they once did after all those Star Wars, Star Trek and Men in Black movies.
There was a real story here and it was told well enough to maintain suspense where there was none. There was some real excitement here even if a little was overdone.
Continue to read possible spoilers ...

IIRC "The Return of the Jedi" was originally titled "The Revenge of the Jedi," but I can't figure out why. Watching the battle between Mace Windu and Palpatine recalls (or anticipates) the battle between Luke and Palpatine in RotJ. The parallelisms are remarkable and the reaction to each by Anakin/Vader is key. This just reinforces what my friends and I thought that the Jedi who returned was Anakin/Vader.
There were a number of lines that were uttered in "Revenge of the Sith" that were taken from other movies. There was "I've got a bad feeling about this." and then there was a line spoken by Anakin that just seemed off. It was used to show his growing arrogance. Maybe it's just not as convincing coming from Hayden Christenson as from James Earl Jones. Still it seemed a little off.
I remember years ago that a friend told me that Lucas had originally written 3 sets of trilogies, of which movies 4, 5, and 6 were the middle. From everything I've read "Revenge of the Sith" is the last movie he's making of the galaxy far, far away. So I guess 7, 8, and 9 will be Lucas's little secret.

Posted by SoccerDad at June 1, 2005 6:52 AM