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All my life, I’ve looked away, to the future. Never my mind on where I was, what I was doing.
And why not? There was always the prospect of a brand new Star Wars movie on the horizon.
Well, two weeks ago, that all changed.
After seeing Revenge of the Sith (four times, so far), I can finally say that after 27 years, I (and everyone else paying attention), know the story of the Star Wars saga.
Like all my other first times seeing Star Wars movies, I had a great and memorable time, even if I must live up to my secret shame- losing a game of Star Wars Trivial Pursuit (hey- I was answering two sets of questions at the same time!). The wait in line (and later in the theater) wasn’t really that bad and the excitement was there once the Twentieth-Century Fox logo popped up on the screen.
I have a small issue with the flick, but overall, I think Revenge of the Sith is a great movie. The movie concentrates on the saga’s (and George Lucas’) strength- visual splendor, especially during the action sequences. The worlds and aliens really come alive, and watching the movie, I felt immersed in the galaxy far far away.
The movie also blends the two sagas together and gives an understanding of why things are the way they are. To wit:
-Why Vader turns on the Emperor in ROTJ- he missed his chance once when Mace had Sidious on his back. Vader sees a second chance at redemption and no better time to take it.
-Why everyone fears the Emperor- Those aren’t just throwaway lines Yoda gives as Luke is about to take off for Cloud City.
-Why Obi-Wan and Yoda are in hiding- they need to regroup, because even if they had Sidious and Vader beat, there was no way they could take on the whole Empire themselves.
There’s a lot more. But those are a few of the biggest- and that leads to my one small problem with the movie. After recovering from the 3:00 a.m. show, I read the script online. There were many cut scenes and even dialogue out of existing scenes that should have stayed. Some of these cuts included:
-A meeting leading to the beginning of the Rebel Alliance
-Yoda and Obi-Wan discussing the significance of the twins
-Palpatine suggesting to Anakin that Obi-Wan has fallen “under the influence of a certain female Senator”
-Yoda landing on Dagobah
-The spirit of Qui-Gon appearing to Yoda and discussing how to maintain one’s soul after death.
I’m hoping these scenes (and some others) will be on the DVD.
Regardless of these cuts, the movie fits the complex Star Wars puzzle perfectly. Sure, the acting could have used some help, but who watches Star Wars movies for the acting?
Some things I really liked:
-Yoda chilling with Chewbacca. You got a problem with that?
-Yoda, period. He kicked even more ass than I expected. And during my first viewing, I totally missed where he killed the Stormtrooper by throwing his lightsaber through the trooper’s chest, then jumping on the trooper to retrieve it. Who thinks of this stuff?
-The Millennium Falcon. Blink and you’ll miss it.
-Obi-Wan. Wow. Remember what I said about the acting earlier? Well, it doesn’t apply to Ewan. You can feel his disappointment immediately as he views the tapes in the archives and it just gets heavier from there. I know it’s in all the trailers, but my favorite moment is when he’s screaming at limbless Anakin. Obi, I feel for you, bro.
-Anakin. Anakin felt real through the choices placed before him. Who wouldn’t sacrifice it all for the person they love, especially when everyone around you isn’t listening to you. Mace Windu might be the most badass Jedi, but that doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a dick. “If you’re right, you will have earned my trust.” I don’t blame Anakin for chopping off his hand!
-Palpatine/Sidious. Ian McDiarmid is evil. Just unnaturally evil. Sidious was beat twice and somehow, after all that planning, still managed to rule the galaxy.
-The Jedi beatdown montage. It sucked to see the Jedi beat so easily, well, except for Ki Adi Mundi (aka Beldar the Jedi), because I’ve always hated him. Still, it was nice of George to give us some views of other worlds that we otherwise wouldn’t have seen.
I could probably go on and on about what I liked about this movie. ROTS really sheds a new point of view on the whole saga. In fact, that definitely is a whole other column, one I’ll write after I’ve seen all six back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back.
Added to the Word Dictionary: Sith, Dagobah, beatdown
WinAmp Playlist during the transcription of this article:
Presidents of the United States of America- Tiger Bomb
Spinal Tap- The Majesty of Rock
Weezer- In The Garage
Lisa Loeb- Stay
Blues Traveler- Run Around
Frank Sinatra- Theme From New York, New York
The Pixies- Debaser
Weezer- Hold Me
McVaffe- Final Fantasy Kaoss OC Remix
Ozma- Rain of the Golden Gorilla
Pedro the Lion- Options
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- The High Party
