STAR WARS: EPISODE III Official Review Thread

[AndyDursin]

Just got back (from the final pre-release screening at 7pm) and am working on my review. It's awesome. A grand, old-fashioned, rollicking matinee. Perfect? Probably not. But who ever said STAR WARS was perfect?

There's not a scene in the wrong place, not a wrong note struck. Ewan MacGregor absolutely dominated this film with a confident, charismatic performance, far more impressive than either of his Episode I or II appearances. Christensen fared far better, though it's a tough role and some of Lucas' dialogue is still clunky. Portman has less to do but delivers two moving scenes. Yoda rocks (we know that), Jimmy Smits was The Man, though I had a problem not with Samuel L.'s performance but rather the way in which he........okay no spoilers, but let's just say his character motivations were somewhat odd to me.

Fortunately, after a somewhat talky first 30 minutes, SITH works spectacularly well. Great action, terrific editing, and a superb Williams score. It seemed to be dialed down again at times (could have been the theater) -- but it's far more operatic and subdued than you might expect to begin with. Perhaps he tried to stay out of the major effects sequences knowing the music would be cut down anyway. Needless to say it works great in the movie, and the End Credits worked just fine to me.

I did have a few quibbles but even the problems I saw in the film were entertaining -- namely, the somewhat over-the-top performance of Ian MacDiarmid with his glowing eyes. Reminded me of something out of Bela Lugosi -- I didn't find him really menacing or spooky, which I think is probably for the best since the subject matter is relatively "down" anyway.

Anyway, I have to get going on the review, but post your thoughts once you've seen the film...the reaction going out of the cinema was one of great elation, applause over the credits and many people I was with thoroughly satisfied (to say the least) with what they saw.

[Eric W.]

This film is better than the previous two. I think we all probably could have banked on that.

Your review definitely makes me want to see it now, in the theater, right away.

You have me jacked about the ending, to be sure.

I think when the dust has settled, a lot of people will probably write off the first two prequels as glorified prologue and build up to this part III.

I'll be seeing it REAL soon!

Like the past Star Wars films, though, I've noticed this: A lot of people come out with fairly postive remarks like you did, Andy. Then a month or two goes by and people start digesting it after several repeat viewings and you start to hear something different.

I'll be interested to see how you feel about part III a couple of months from now, after the buzz and hype have worn out. (Same goes for myself.)

[AndyDursin]

Eric that's a fair point.

But I was down on CLONES from the moment it came out -- and you're right it didn't get any better on repeat viewing....I read my original review for the first time in a while and I do think it's even worse than I originally wrote. PHANTOM MENACE I admit to enjoying and I still do think parts of it are very entertaining. That movie truly IS a prologue. To me the bar was raised in terms of plot in CLONES and that movie failed utterly to advance the story as much as it should have been.

But despite the quibbles I had with SITH (which I listed in my review), the bottom line is this film has its act together in a way neither of its predecessors did. Like I wrote, I still never became fully attached emotionally to Anakin and his turn to the Dark Side, yet at the same time, the film was tremendously entertaining and had a sense of fun and confidence about it that neither Episode I or especially II had. The performances all seemed so much more confident and comfortable as well, especially McGregor, who actually became the leading man we thought he could have been when he was initially cast.

Another good thing was that this movie truly felt like a legitimate prequel -- the story, the way it tied up loose ends and made it come together, actually felt like this movie WAS connected to the Original Trilogy. I didn't get that feeling so much from its predecessors.

What I sensed from the crowd was one of great satisfaction and enthusiasm for the movie. My expectations weren't astronomically high, but I did expect more from this movie, and I think it totally delivered. I'm even going to go back and check it out again sometime in the next few weeks too.

Again, it's NOT perfect -- and the liberal media that's attaching these "comparisons" with President Bush is rubbish, simple left-wing propaganda that you really, REALLY need to stretch to apply it to this film -- but as entertainment goes, it's great fun!

[AndyDursin]

Comingsoon.net just posted the Midnight box-office numbers:

$16-$17 MILLION alone from the first group of shows!

At one local theater which my fiancee went to, the place was packed like it was a Friday night at 7pm....every show was sold out. I didn't get this kind of enthusiasm from audiences, not even when MENACE or CLONES came out.

We'll see how the numbers fare but I would anticipate truly good things for this movie financially -- and it's the kind of film that will scare up repeat business as well.

[Eric W.]

By all inputs, it sounds like Lucas came a lot closer to delivering the goods this time around.

I'm looking forward to seeing it!

[AndyDursin]

Incidentally the box-office grosses are in: $50 MIL. on Thursday, setting the all-time single day record (of any kind!). This movie is going to make a fortune. People will go back -- unlike Episode II and more than I as well.

I should also mention that, while I thought the movie was great but had some problems (not enough to say it's not a fantastic entertainment), the dissenting view is going to be in a very small minority this time.

I've been on a few message boards I lurk in, and I can't believe the amount of people who WANTED this film to fail still trying to find solace in the comparatively few negative reviews the movie has received. Tellingly, almost NONE of them have even seen it, and yet they're STILL ragging on the movie and how much they hate George Lucas. (Hey, I still admire the guy, despite his refusal to give us the original cuts of the first trilogy -- producing six films in a series spanning 30 years is damn impressive, and at least he finished it off terrifically...something that will rectify the wrongs of the previous films, to a degree at least).

Go, make up your own mind, and try to enjoy it. Obviously the miserable people who hate STAR WARS in the first place will be even more miserable after this film cleans up at the box-office around the world for the next six months.

[Harry Chen]

Saw it on opening day and a second time two days later. Now that I've found out that it is being projected digitally in one lonely cinema in town (not advertised as such though), might see it a third time. No doubt better than the previous two, but as we are all wont to do, could have been a bit better. The dialogue is at times atrocious. There are lots of cameos (Jar Jar's is two short appearances) including Boss Nass and a young Tarkin (with a Peter Cushing lookalike). I expected more violence, i.e., even more dismemberments, during Anakin's first "mission" in the lava world. From a technical point of view, I hated the wipes the editor used to go from one scene to another; just because their editing software has a zillion different effects doesn't mean they have to use them all, a bit amateurish there.
Man, I hated the boga, the parrot-headed iguana beast that Obi-Wan rides in Utapau. If you're spying on people, do you bring along a squawking beast along? No, no, no. No doubt amazing CGI, but annoying noise it made.
SPOILERS ALERT!!!
Living in this concrete jungle that is Hong Kong, I thought that having the not-a-moon-but-space-station-thingy at the end of the film was slightly illogical, as it's sort of a secret weapon when episode IV takes place, and I was left wondering why it took twenty years to build, especially since a brand new skyscraper is usually built here in Hong Kong every other month. Maybe they should have hired Chinese workers! And didn't Yoda give up too soon when battling Sidious? Some fans commented that the still-smoking Jedi Temple shot was reminiscent of the WTC on 9/11, and I also thought that when Grievous' starship enters the atmosphere of Coruscant, it breaks up in flaming, streaking pieces, like the space shuttle disaster a few years ago...
(Spoilers end!)
I wasn't particularly impressed by the score when I first listened to it the day it came out, but it grows on you and I enjoy it much more now. Unfortunately, as it has been the case for six years now, a complete score double CD is still missing. I don't think Andy has mentioned that the music during the credits is different from the Finale theme in the CD. None of the Throne Room music appears. I thought that the credit roll was much shorter than all other SW movies too, not that I was timing it.
In the future, the best way to see the SW movies will be 4-5-6, followed by 3, and throw in 1-2 as optionals. I don't think the saga works well if seen chronologically, since all the surprise stuff is revealed in the prequels.

May the Force Be with You All!

Harry Chen
Hong Kong

P.S. Check out the Millennium Falcon, appearing just below the sky taxi ferrying Palpatine, Anakin and Obi-Wan back to the Galactic Senate (the mushroom building).

[AndyDursin]

SPOILERS AS WELL...

Harry,
Valid points and thanks for your post! Here are some of my thoughts, because I've been reading some of the same things...

Some fans commented that the still-smoking Jedi Temple shot was reminiscent of the WTC on 9/11, and I also thought that when Grievous' starship enters the atmosphere of Coruscant, it breaks up in flaming, streaking pieces, like the space shuttle disaster a few years ago...

I think some viewers are really, really stretching to read things into this film that aren't really there. Part of it is that the movie debuted at Cannes and naturally the French read all sorts of anti-Bush sentiment into the movie. I don't buy it, nor do I believe that the movie's political element is some kind of commentary on the Iraq war. These movies were essentially plotted years ago when Bill Clinton was still in office (if not even earlier than that). I remember when Clinton ordered a military strike on what turned out to be an empty factory basically just to divert attention from his on-going Lewinsky scandal. One could say the movie offers more a commentary along those lines -- but I don't buy that, either. Anyone who believes there's a really heavy political context in the STAR WARS films has to be stretching (after all, the Ewok battle is supposed to be a reference to Vietnam in RETURN OF THE JEDI!).

My feeling is that years from now, once you're removed from the present-day politics and world situation, viewers won't get those readings from SITH, whether it's 9-11, Bush, the shuttle, or what have you.

I expected more violence, i.e., even more dismemberments, during Anakin's first "mission" in the lava world.

Well, I think the movie was just grizzly enough. The scene where Anakin sees the "younglings" was chilling -- I expected the entire sequence to be done off-camera with only bodies strawn here and there, or just references made to it. But for that scene even to start before Lucas cut away, was surprising to me. You're right, the rest of it was comic book violence, but hey, this IS STAR WARS we're talking about. It's still family friendly as it can be, which is the point of what Lucas was doing all along in this series.

As far as comments about the dialogue go, I agree some of it's bad. My fiancee noted the line about Padme wanting to steal away to the "lake outside Naboo" to raise the children (or something of that sort), but who was expecting Shakespeare or even David Mamet? The roots of STAR WARS are in the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials of the '30s. I think a lot of viewers forget that when watching these movies.

I'm not trying to excuse it -- sure some of it's terrible (and none of it is as crisp as what Kasdan did with Leigh Brackett on EMPIRE and even with Lucas on JEDI), but for me it's far less of a concern when the action and central story of SITH are so compelling. In CLONES it was a very large issue, and that's because the movie was so talky and relied on dialogue so heavily. In SITH, the movie works on every other level for the most part, making it a secondary issue.

As far as the editing goes, I thought it worked pretty darned well. Lucas is a far better technician than a director of human actors, and I thought he was at the top of his game in terms of the visual energy and design of Episode III.

P.S. Check out the Millennium Falcon, appearing just below the sky taxi ferrying Palpatine, Anakin and Obi-Wan back to the Galactic Senate (the mushroom building).

Now that I missed -- I'm going for a second viewing tomorrow most likely and will be on the hunt for it!

[Harry Chen]

I read on CNN's or Reuters' site that there are politically conservative organizations in the US asking people to boycott Episode III because they are accusing Lucas of making a movie with plotlines that seem to mirror George Bush's current administration. I thought that was funny.
By the way, Lucas appears in the movie as an extra (actually named Baron Papanoida, according to the making-of book). He's light-blue-skinned, wearing a dark purple hat and outfit, and can be seen far left in the scene where Anakin arrives at the concert hall where Palpatine is enjoying some performance (actually, according to the aforementioned books, a dance by Mon Calamari, not that we can tell!). He's in the foyer outside the performance hall, far left of the screen. No dialogue. Rather. Pointless.
And was that Lucas' adopted son as the teenage Jedi killed by clonetroopers during the scene when Senator Organa (Jimmy Smits) arrives to the Jedi Temple?
I'm going through the making of books before seeing it again.
I wonder which bits were filmed in Thailand.
The Wookiee world was partly shot in China, the wide shots.
I was 14 when I saw the first original Star Wars, way back when!
For the past three days, since Episode IV was recently on TV here in Hong Kong, I've had friends calling to ask whatever happened to Obi-Wan after Vader cut him down in the Death Star duel? Did he die?
Oh God, when I was 14 years old, it was obvious what was going on...! What's wrong with these people?
Finally, thanks to George and ILM for a mostly, very enjoyable 27 years.
Now, if I only can get the wife to sit with me through the original trilogy!

Harry Chen
Hong Kong

[AndyDursin]

For the past three days, since Episode IV was recently on TV here in Hong Kong, I've had friends calling to ask whatever happened to Obi-Wan after Vader cut him down in the Death Star duel? Did he die?
Oh God, when I was 14 years old, it was obvious what was going on...! What's wrong with these people?

I liked the reference at the end of SITH that directly alludes to it. I guess some people still didn't get it -- and at least it explains it.

Finally, thanks to George and ILM for a mostly, very enjoyable 27 years.
Now, if I only can get the wife to sit with me through the original trilogy!

I'm lucky, Harry, that Joanne is a bona-fide Star Wars fan. Now, if I could only get her into 007 and Star Trek (I'm asking for the original cast and their movies, nothing more!), I'd be all set [/quote]

[Eric W.]

I liked this movie but the poor script and poor acting cost this movie a lot of emotional resonance and pay-off for me. That's also a consequence of the last two films not really doing much for me, either.

I just wasn't made to care enough about the characters. I've never been satisifed with how Luke and Leia's mother to be was portrayed in these prequels. She was supposed to be someone strong and special. Not some wimp that faints and then "dies of a broken heart." Give me a break.

These three prequels will be remembered for awesome visuals and lightsaber fights. Not much else.

I'm glad it's over. I doubt I'll ever watch any of the prequels ever again.

[AndyDursin]

These three prequels will be remembered for awesome visuals and lightsaber fights. Not much else.

I think this movie is going to be remembered as the film that justified Lucas' prequel undertaking-- time will hold the answer, but I think this movie is going to go down as, if nothing else, a superior escapist entertainment at least deserving of a mention with the classic trilogy. On balance I also found it more consistently entertaining than RETURN OF THE JEDI, which has some great moments but an amazing amount of dead, leaden spots.

Emotionally I do think the movie is a bit odd, but that's because the whole character of Anakin is tough to relate to. He's heavily flawed -- he can be a good guy, he can be a jerk, he's supposed to be, so you don't have that rooting interest in him that you obviously had with Luke in the original trilogy. When I saw the movie a second time, I felt that you really weren't supposed to feel overwhelming tragedy for Anakin...he made his own bed, so to speak.

I do agree with you about Padme. I think that's Lucas' fault, the character keeps changing tone and mood and was never really consistent. Portman is OK but I couldn't help but thinking -- had Lucas made these movies say 20 years ago -- that a young Jennifer Connelly would have been ideal. She made a lot of oddball movies when she was a teenager and would have sold the character's beauty...had he made gaps inbetween them she would have been perfect as she matured. Oh well...

[Eric W.]

These three prequels will be remembered for awesome visuals and lightsaber fights. Not much else.

I think this movie is going to be remembered as the film that justified Lucas' prequel undertaking-- time will hold the answer, but I think this movie is going to go down as, if nothing else, a superior escapist entertainment at least deserving of a mention with the classic trilogy.

That's as far as I'd be willing to go with it. Again, I want to see how you feel about it a couple of months from now after the hype and buzz have gone away and you've really had a change to digest this.

On balance I also found it more consistently entertaining than RETURN OF THE JEDI, which has some great moments but an amazing amount of dead, leaden spots.

Ewoks notwithstanding...no. I have to disagree with you 100 percent on that, although yes, Jedi has some weak/slow points in it.

Emotionally I do think the movie is a bit odd, but that's because the whole character of Anakin is tough to relate to. He's heavily flawed -- he can be a good guy, he can be a jerk, he's supposed to be, so you don't have that rooting interest in him that you obviously had with Luke in the original trilogy. When I saw the movie a second time, I felt that you really weren't supposed to feel overwhelming tragedy for Anakin...he made his own bed, so to speak.

All true, but you're kind of making an excuse here: Poor script, zero acting = no pay off.

I do agree with you about Padme. I think that's Lucas' fault, the character keeps changing tone and mood and was never really consistent. Portman is OK but I couldn't help but thinking -- had Lucas made these movies say 20 years ago -- that a young Jennifer Connelly would have been ideal.

I know Portman is a better actress than this, although I'm not blown away by her like some others may be.

She completely took a turd in these three films, no way around it.

Connely seems to be the new flavor of the month, so to speak. She's a solid enough actressl, I guess. I have no idea where she was 20 years ago.

She made a lot of oddball movies when she was a teenager and would have sold the character's beauty...had he made gaps inbetween them she would have been perfect as she matured. Oh well...

"Oh well..." That's my final sentiment on a lot of this. Even great actors can't salvage horrible writing and questionable directing skills.

Lucas is a good director as far as visuals and technicals go. He's a horrible "people" director and he's a hack for a writer.

I really wish the studio had insisted on some real checks and balances for Lucas, like he had on Empire and Jedi. A real director, some other writers, some other people behind the scenes besides Lucas and a bunch of his "yes-men."

I'm not a big fan of prequels usually, for just the reasons you've seen with these three films:

You take away too much of the mystery and thus, you lose a sense of epic scope.

I much preferred it when it was just the Trilogy and Luke and Leia's mother was this huge mystery that you could run with anyway you want vs. what these prequel films made her out to be.

Midochlorians, anyone?

The list is endless. You really take a chance when you decide to make a prequel to something, but especially something like Star Wars. IMHO, they botched it and I wish the prequel films as we know them had never been made.

[AndyDursin]

The list is endless. You really take a chance when you decide to make a prequel to something, but especially something like Star Wars. IMHO, they botched it and I wish the prequel films as we know them had never been made.

That's fair Eric. There will be some fans that feel that way. I was totally satisfied with the performances in Sith. In every way the performances blew away the uneven acting in the previous installment. For me, all the performances were at least solid, Christensen included. McGregor was great. Even McDiarmid with his over-the-top shenanigans was bombastic in a good way. Portman was fine, I didn't find her as uneven as she was in the earlier films.

You take away too much of the mystery and thus, you lose a sense of epic scope.

I got the complete opposite feeling. For me, once you see how the pieces fall into place, I think Lucas has completed a remarkable achievement: six films with an interlocking story, particularly connected in Episode III, that lead right into the classic trilogy...all made over a span of 28 years. If anything the epic scope was increased with this movie. I absolutely loved how the film ended and I think Lucas deserves kudos for that, plus the action sequences which were far more coherent and thrilling in this installment.

As far as hype goes, I don't really feel it as an influence on what I do. I didn't like Episode II right off the bat and that was after hearing people rave about how great it was, from one of my friends down to various net critics. I'm always going to have my problems with Clones, but I didn't hate it, and I think once the dust has settled these films will be viewed more positively as the years go on and they can live on their own terms. I just have the opposite feeling as you do on this. These movies have been held to an obscenely high standard by some viewers (and no surprise, it's STAR WARS as you said), but Sith for me anyway was certainly deserving of a place in their company.

Connely seems to be the new flavor of the month, so to speak. She's a solid enough actressl, I guess. I have no idea where she was 20 years ago.

Guess you never grew up on CAREER OPPORTUNITIES and LABYRINTH then!! Oh, I shouldn't have done that...might have to go back and watch the former for her scene on the rocking horse

[Eric W.]

The list is endless. You really take a chance when you decide to make a prequel to something, but especially something like Star Wars. IMHO, they botched it and I wish the prequel films as we know them had never been made.

That's fair Eric. There will be some fans that feel that way. I was totally satisfied with the performances in Sith. In every way the performances blew away the uneven acting in the previous installment. For me, all the performances were at least solid, Christensen included. McGregor was great. Even McDiarmid with his over-the-top shenanigans was bombastic in a good way. Portman was fine, I didn't find her as uneven as she was in the earlier films.

McGregor and Ian did good acting. I should have singled them out as you did here.

I got the complete opposite feeling. For me, once you see how the pieces fall into place, I think Lucas has completed a remarkable achievement: six films with an interlocking story, particularly connected in Episode III, that lead right into the classic trilogy...all made over a span of 28 years. If anything the epic scope was increased with this movie. I absolutely loved how the film ended and I think Lucas deserves kudos for that, plus the action sequences which were far more coherent and thrilling in this installment.

Come talk to me in a couple of months.

As far as hype goes, I don't really feel it as an influence on what I do. I didn't like Episode II right off the bat and that was after hearing people rave about how great it was, from one of my friends down to various net critics. I'm always going to have my problems with Clones, but I didn't hate it, and I think once the dust has settled these films will be viewed more positively as the years go on and they can live on their own terms. I just have the opposite feeling as you do on this. These movies have been held to an obscenely high standard by some viewers (and no surprise, it's STAR WARS as you said), but Sith for me anyway was certainly deserving of a place in their company.

Heh, well, we'll see how I feel in a couple of months. I'll need to see it again soon.

Guess you never grew up on CAREER OPPORTUNITIES and LABYRINTH then!! Oh, I shouldn't have done that...might have to go back and watch the former for her scene on the rocking horse

WOW! That was her?!