Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Christopher L wrote:

I just caught the end of this on TV again the other day, and my God, it's even more excruciating than I remember. Watching the extraordinarily competent Natalie Portman being reduced to strenuously pulling her cheek muscles in all sorts of directions to fill up the time between the lines "You've changed!" and "Ani, you're breaking my heart!" is tragic.

mrbiscuit wrote on IMDB:

When I asked the reviewer sitting next to me to sum up Revenge of the Sith, he simply said "great!" That seemed to basically be the consensus of virtually everyone in attendance at an advance press screening of the final chapter in the Star Wars saga.

There was an exuberant mood leaving the theater, as if everyone was in collective agreement that Lucas had finally done it. That he had gone out on top, with a stunning, rock-solid coup de grace. And from all the feedback I've heard from that screening, my sense of that collective mood was right.

There are no real spoilers in ROTS. Everyone basically knows what happens in Episode 4: A New Hope. We all know Anakin becomes Vader. We know Obi Wan lives and we know Luke and Leia are born. What we don't know is how Lucas weaves those story lines into the large, six-part opus and better yet, why?   [ show more ]

No, it's not a perfect movie. There are those moments that make us cringe. Bad dialog and High School drama class acting make for a few awkward moments where you can hear audible moans and giggles in the audience, but we have come to expect this from modern Star Wars films. The upside is that these moments are rare in Episode III.

OK, get ready. Take a deep breath. No Jar Jar! Yes, you read that right. You can let out that deep breath now.

Fortunately, we have one savior to rely on for stellar acting. Mr. Ian McDiarmid as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. McDiarmid brings the elegance of an Alec Guiness back to the franchise in a knockout performance that leaves the audience riveted and exhausted. He is the lifeblood of the film.

As someone who saw the original 30 times in it's first month of release at the age of 13, I currently consider myself a Star Wars moderate. I don't have volumes of SW merchandise, nor can I debate whether or not carbonite contains enough oxygen to make it float. All I know is that magical feeling Star Wars gave me in the original 1977 release and that I'm happy to say, after a disappointing pair of prequels, has been finally restored and reinvigorated.

Here's to Mr. Lucas for giving us all something spectacular to remember for our entire lives that embodies the whole point of going to the movies in the first place, to escape and lose ourselves in another world. [ show less ]

actorman_us wrote on IMDB:

For several years now, it's been a rather uneasy proposition to be known as a STAR WARS fan. First, we had to put up with the great embarrassment of the clownish Jar Jar and the gut wrenching "acting" from the muppet known as Jake Lloyd in PHANTOM MENACE. Then came the laughably stilted dialog and the clumsily told love story from ATTACK OF THE CLONES. Fans far and wide were wondering what George Lucas had done to their beloved STAR WARS franchise! Something that once was so rollicking and without peer was being transformed into kiddie-pandering, muppet populated, CGI over-loaded dreck!

Mr. Lucas, all is forgiven. Welcome back. REVENGE OF THE SITH is the prequel installment we've been hoping for all along. Gone is the overly wooden acting and the ridiculously petrified dialog. In there place is a logical and believable storyline. Anakin's transformation is inexorably sensible. It is natural and not forced into shape by wooden dialog. Scenes between Anakin and Padme, are heartfelt and honest- a far cry from their nearly unwatchable scenes in ATTACK OF THE CLONES.   [ show more ]

The same can be said of scenes between Anakin and Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor is legitimately great in this film. He gives Kenobi real depth and the viewer thoroughly believes that he grows up to become Alec Guiness). There exists a real bond of deep feeling the viewer can feel between master and apprentice thus making Anakin's fate all the more tragic, as he slowly becomes more and more entangled in Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid, in a joyfully malevolent turn) web of deception and evil.

Visuals have never been an issue in the prequel films and this is most certainly the case with REVENGE OF THE SITH. The opening sequence is a jaw-dropping collage of ships in movement, dazzling colors, and frenetic combat. Additionally, the technology used to create Yoda seems to have grown exponentially over the already impressive wizardry used to animate Yoda in CLONES. Front to back, the vistas Lucas shows us are entirely believable and staggering joys to behold.

George Lucas goes right for the jugular in this film (the PG-13 rating is well earned! Parents be advised!!). This is a very well-told story of a fall from grace told in an unflinching manner. And yet, the hope for the future is so firmly in place as this film rolls to an end, a tear will roll down your cheek if you've lived with this series of films as long as I have. STAR WARS is back. It's cool to be a fan again. [ show less ]