Revenge of the Sith

[juldea]

**1/2 andor B-

The action sequences were quite awesome.

But I've reread The Invisibles this week, and so I think I was just tuned in for cerebral stories. Which this wasn't. This was an Action Film.

I didn't really get Anakin's motivations. I didn't FEEL them. I guess that's just Hayden Christensen's acting, though. Or maybe my lack of seeing enough of the animated Clone War series. Like, how can one go from protesting how good the Jedi are, to killing kids, in a matter of days? It just didn't reach me.

I did cry. During the slaughter of the Jedi, during Padme's revelation of what Anakin has become, and especially sobbing during the final scenes with the placement of the children. The Tattooine imagery was too much of a connection to Episode IV... *sigh*

Yoda remains awesome.

Dude, the fights were just great. And often. ;)

I was especially pleased with the final battle between Anakin and Obi Wan, and Obi Wan's emotional outburst at the end. THAT, I could feel. "I loved you!"

Also, great line:
"This is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause."

Comments

[invader-haywire.livejournal.com]

Anakin has previously killed women and kids. He killed an entire tribe of tuskan raiders in the second movie.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

They were "those guys" though. Not his own people.

[tlluria.livejournal.com]

i believe my biggest peeve had to do with a conversation between Luke and Leia at the Ewok village about Leia's "real mother."

i loved the interactions between Yoda and Chewie, especially where Yoda scampers up Chewie's outstretched arm onto his shoulder. there was something wonderfully touching about that.

and yes, Kenobi's last words to Anakin were heartwrenching.

i just came from watching it, i'm still digesting it ...

[juldea.livejournal.com]

i believe my biggest peeve had to do with a conversation between Luke and Leia at the Ewok village about Leia's "real mother."

nodnodnodnodnod that bothered me a lot too, I just forgot to post about it. I remembered when I was lying in bed but didn't want to get back up and edit my post. ;)

checkin my facts ...

[tlluria.livejournal.com]

I mentioned this in my less and less cohesive post about ROTS . . .

Princess Leia: Luke, what's wrong?
Luke: Leia, do you remember your mother? Your real mother?
Princess Leia: Just a little bit. She died when I was very young.
Luke: What do you remember?
Princess Leia: Just... images really. Feelings.
Luke: Tell me.
Princess Leia: She was... very beautiful. Kind, but sad. Why are you asking me this?
Luke: I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her.

Okay. Now based on my refreshed memory of the actual dialogue, I believe that a force sensitive child (especially one with a dad like Anakin) could register these types of memories from Mom.

Why Leia and not Luke? Well, why not? We never really know how powerful Leia could be in the force as she chooses not to pursue it the way her brother does.
She does however become a skilled senator and diplomat and one could speculate that she was always using her force abilities in that sense, she wasn't just following Bail's (and unwittingly, her mother's) footsteps. Her ability to read other people no doubt helped her seal deals and possibly also enabled her to read her mother either in utero (which later Jacen and and Jaina did as well) or in those few moments that she was held for Padme to see and name.

Or, not stretching quite so far, Leia was the one who actually grew up with someone who knew and helped Padme. When you're young that sort of information can easily be assimilated as "memory."

Anyway. I'm more okay with that now. I want to see it again so that I can see it without the frustration of "yeah, but Leia said . . ."

Re: checkin my facts ...

[flyingindie.livejournal.com]

I think this is probably correct, but a possible alternative could be that Leia's adopted mother died young. Of course her adopted mom would be sad; her daughter's real father was out killing people and taking over the galaxy.

I had that thought too

[tlluria.livejournal.com]

And it was accompanied by the thought as to whether George Lucas gave that particular detail as much consideration. ;P

Re: checkin my facts ...

[juldea.livejournal.com]

But Leia knew she was adopted... or at least she knew she wasn't Bail's daughter.

[isaiahblake.livejournal.com]

Obi-Wan's outburst was particularly touching given the slight shift in his character between episodes II and III - he'd become, basically, the best Jedi ever. Virtuous, harmonious, compassionate, understanding, accepting of Anakin's behavior while still caring for him... I understand, of course, that his character made this change purely to create a foil for Palpatine, but still. He's so peaceful and calm throughout the movie, and then he lets loose with this heartbreaking speech. I think that moment alone was worth the price of a ticket.

I also enjoy the fact that, indirectly, Mace Windu is responsible for the corruption of Anakin.

[sandrylene.livejournal.com]

Oh man, exactly.

If Mace had just said, "oh, wait, you're right - I *am* defying the Jedi rules" and arrested Palpatine, then the whole dark side thing would have been diffused. And while yes, something else could have prompted the switchover, the fact that Padme soon after gave birth, and wouldn't have died if not for the whole "my husband just became evil" thing (oh, we love irony, yes, it tastes like smoked gouda :P), he'd have gotten his main worry out of the way there.

Stupid Mace. :)

hmmmmsmokedgouda

[tlluria.livejournal.com]

I think that Padme might have been able to bring Anakin back when she went to visit him on Fireyplanetwhosenameidon'trecall if ObiWan hadn't suddenly been looming in the doorway.
Even if she had not been able to bring him back fully, she would have kept him on edge long enough - I believe - to bring him back around.
As she said at the very end, there's still good in him.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed the Mace/Palpatine lightsaber fight. Go old guys!

[eustacia42.livejournal.com]

Dude, I am about to make a MONSTER post regarding that line, and how that is TOTALLY NOT THE ORIGINAL LINE, in my journal, so be ready.

[eustacia42.livejournal.com]

And yes, i sobbed too, and agree with all the things you said in this post, btw. :)

[sandrylene.livejournal.com]

I loved the egregiously large hand loss count.

"duel duel duel.... hand loss.... duel duel duel.... two hands lost.... duel duel duel.... arm off...."

It was patently absurd. As were the love scenes, my god! Anakin and Padme, can we get any more stereotyped dialogue?

Also, the defeat of the Jedi by a handful of soldiers in each case? Not that believable, IMO. Yeah, they weren't expecting allies to turn on them, but they *are* in the middle of a war, and that has to mean heightened alert for a group of people who are already supposed to be pretty attuned to the feel of things. I just can't quite buy it.

And I am *totally* with you on Anakin Goes Evil. He goes from "oh, I can't kill this evil dude! We have to get him to trial." to "oh, maybe he can help me save Padme. I just want to save my wife!" to "these bratlings... who needs 'em?" in the blink of an eye. I just... no.

Oh, and final comment. Why did we wipe C3PO's memory, but not R2D2's? I mean, other than plot consistency. :P Because so far as I could tell, that was totally bloody arbitrary.

Erm. I'm glad I saw the movie. Really I am. There were lots of pretty things in it. :P

oh come on

[etherial.livejournal.com]

That final one is obvious: C-3PO is a blithering idiot.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm glad I saw it too!

As for the jedi, I can rationalize it to myself. They're at a hightened sensitivity - that way. They're not looking to feel what their allies are thinking. Only Yoda did that, after feeling all the Force ripples, and he managed to defend himself. :) But yeah, the fact that I have to rationalize it to myself means that it's a little far-fetched... ;)

3PO is a protocol droid, R2 is a... what do you call him? A battle droid? They don't actually spend that much time together... and 3PO saw a lot more politics. ...also rationalizing. ;)

[diego001.livejournal.com]

R2-D2 is technically an astromech droid.

[alendres.livejournal.com]

1) I need to do a 'lost hand count' across the entire series.
2) The love scenes were short
3) There's only so many laser blasts you can deflect (try playing Jedi Knight with sabers against 15 gius with guns.
4) I dunno. I guess when he broke, he broke. C'mon, 18 years later, he's blowing planets up just to piss people off...
5) Shiny annoying git deserves all he can get.

On falling to the Dark Side

[shogunhb.livejournal.com]

The thing is, the more Dark Side you get, the more it controls and influences you. Technically, he should've been completely consumed and murdering babies for fun after wiping out an entire Sand People village, but eh. Losing faith in the Order (due to Mace Windu being a dick), saving the Chanceller from Dick Windu (a true lightside action if there ever was one... probably his last), and then standing by while Palpatine killed Mace Windu with Force Lightning is kind of enough to send anyone over the edge. Besides, he'd already killed Dookie in cold blood and god knows how many Jedi he had to kill just to get to the Younglings. By then, he's not really Anakin anymore, just a conduit to the Dark Side.

read the book!

[crimson5.livejournal.com]

Ok, call me bookworm, super geek, whatever, but I took the time to read the book before watching the movie. The full seduction and reasons behind Anakin's decisions was covered in it. Stop reading now if you dont want the book spoiled. Basically, Anakin was afraid of death, for himself and for Padme. Palpatine offered Anakin eternal life. There were a few other scenes completely missing, including one in which Palp. stated if a Sith lord walked into the room right then, he would ask the Sith if they knew how to stop the war. Cute lies and half truths all over. Palp. managed to outthink the Jedi at every step, manipulate and twist thier every word/deed and actions to his own advantage. As for the executions of the Jedi, it was a minor detail mentioned in the 2nd book. Jedi's anticipate attack based on the feelings given off by the aggressors. They can not feel the clones in the manner in which they can feel other life forms. In the book, the Jedi never anticipated any of the attacks and were just cut down. I still kinda like the way it was done in the movie. There is just so much more in the book. Including a line by the stormtrooper who was given order to kill Obi-Wan. "Would it have been to much to ask that you gave that order BEFORE I handed him his lightsaber back..."

Re: read the book!

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Heehee, I like that last bit.

Hrm, maybe I should read the books...

[etherfinker.livejournal.com]

I was pleasantly surprised myself. Far more dramatic and "meaty" than the previous two - then again, it had to be; every thread of the past five movies had to be tied up in it. In a sense, they all (IV-VI followed by prequels) built up to these moments, making the depiction of Anakin's transformation that much more climactic.

I bought all the changes in character like Anakin's, and Kenobi's shortly thereafter, as consequences of the plot and their own personality; I think what might make any of it unconvincing is Lucas' chronically weak dialogue. Our two heroes both face the loss of something, or everything, they love dearly, but George gives us precious little clue as to what they should be feeling about it; the dialogue and direction often tell us much less about their state of mind than what the plot tells us to expect. I.e., Anakin must be terrified and in immense heartache to find he experiences the same kind of premonitions of Padme's death as he once had of his own mother's. (The guy was clearly obsessed and additionally emotionally damaged by his past. "Like, dude, Ani, seriously, get some therapy, smoke a few doobies at the end of the day, take yoga classes - you gotta relax, man!") But by the unimaginative lines Christensen is given, and evidently being directed to remain rather stilted and stoic in delivering them, you'd think he was worrying about whether he was going to get his tux back from the cleaners in time for the prom. That kinda thing was all over this movie, emotion not being conveyed well by the dialogue.

Even so... Maybe it's just been too long since I've seen the original trilogy, but this seemed to be the meatiest, most dramatic, and obviously darkest of them all. Lotta pain and tragedy - good stuff, dramatically-speaking. Vader and Obi-Wan's duel upon the river of lava, maybe the asskickingest thing of them all. Nevermind the fact they should have died quickly from exposure to the heat and deadly gases one would experience in such proximity to volcanic activity... Oh well. It's space opera; what's a little physical law in comparison to the demands of stunning action sequences?

[etherfinker.livejournal.com]

Oh, I almost forgot - just a little hidden gem I happened to notice, and am wondering if anyone else caught.

Just after Anakin and Obi-Wan have rescued the emperor from Gen. Grievous, in the CGI shot where their little executive transport is landing at what I could only presume was the Galactic Senate, at the landing pad just below and to the right of them, anyone else see that YT-1300 freighter coincidentally landing at the same time, coincidentally the same kinda ship as the Milennium Falcon? A tip of the hat to the "later" episodes, perhaps? Or am I just a really big nerd?

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I didn't see it, so I can't comment!