Matt's Movie Blog

Friday, June 17, 2005

Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Seen Thursday, May 19 (12:15 AM show) at Loews Boston Common; Monday, May 30th at AMC Fenway
* * * 3/4 (out of 4)

It took seeing it twice, but I'm sold. As cool as it is to see a movie at midnight, as soon as possible after it's released, it's not necessarily the best way to see it. After working all day, going out to dinner for my girlfriend's birthday, and standing outside on Tremont Street for about 2 hours, I have to admit I was a bit cranky when I finally got into the theater. It didn't help that I got in there at about 11:15, with a full hour to wait until the movie would begin, giving myself plenty of time to get tired as well. After the second viewing, I fully blame these circumstances for my hesitations about the 6th Star Wars movie, something I've been waiting to see for nearly 15 years.

I understand my 15 years isn't as impressive as the near-30 years some people have been waiting, but that's still a huge chunk of my life that I've been in love with something that had no resolution, no closure. That's exactly what RotS provides. The end (in the form of the middle) of the story. All those little tidbits that had been alluded to in the original trilogy materialized; everything that has been building in the prequels came to fruition. It is the missing piece that ties the two sections of story together.

That's not to say it's perfect. Far from. It's long been evident that George Lucas should be kept as far away as possible from anything involving romance, because he simply doesn't know how to keep it from being awkward. At least in this installment, Anakin and Padme seem sincere about their feelings. Even still, Hayden Christensen still plays Anakin pretty stiff... but everyone in the world has bemoaned his portrayal since day one, so I won't reiterate what's already been said. I will give him credit that once Anakin turns toward evil, he does well to keep it a pretty consistent descent into villainy - given his first act as a Sith, it's hard to see him as anything else ever again.

Performances are where this comes up a little short. I blame it on the green screen. The reason Lucas made these prequels now was because the technology had become available to give them the look that he wanted. Unfortunately for actors, that means a lot of work in front of green screens, and I can tell you from personal experience that it can be very hard to give a full-blown performance when you can't see the majority of what you will eventually be interacting with. This is most evident in the first 20 minutes, during which Obi-Wan and Anakin are in the midst of maybe one of the most frantic, exciting, and entertaining space battles ever fought, and yet their tones of voice and demeanors are akin to people on a leisurely drive. Something doesn't quite fit.

On the other hand, Ian McDiarmid, gravely underpraised for his work in any of the films he's graced, solidly cements himself as one of the most heinous villains on film. In this installment, his Senator Palpatine finishes the dark side seduction of Anakin, and despite the serpentine, demonic quality McDiarmid gives him, I can almost understand why. He's evil, but he's that dangerously charismatic kind of evil. McDiarmid absorbs everything, and I think it's a shame he never showed up in more films than he did.

Everyone can say what they want about the prequels. I personally get a tad bit offended by people who say that Lucas is taking them in the wrong direction. I'm not sure how he can take something he created and take it in any "wrong" direction; if this is the direction he intended, then it is the correct one. Regardless, Revenge of the Sith completes a thirty-year story, and solidifies Lucas's world. I think that is what has always amazed me about Star Wars. Lucas was able to do what very few people in the world have the creative capacity to do: he created an entirely separate world. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis did in in literature, and Lucas gave film it's own entirely independent universe, allegorical though it may be. Many fans have lost themselves in it before, and more than the other two prequels, Sith will ensure that many others get lost for a long, long time.

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