Personal Episode 3 Reviews

[Mike Ciance]

I guess i'll be the first one to say this here, i thought episode III was terrible

one the positive side, the special effects were very impressive, and there were a few good battle moments (yes, only a few). the scene with obi-wan and grievous COULD have been an awsome battle, but it was terribley done. yoda and R2 had a few cool parts, but they were the highlight. the acting was good at some times and shameful at others. the dialogue was worse. the last scene, where anakin emerges as darth vader, started out good, but was then ruined by corniness - especially in the closing seconds of the movie. i wasn't the only person laughing out loud at moments that were meant to be serious or dramatic.

i really like the other movies, but this one has left me very disappointed. this is worse than the middle-movie in your average trilogy, and her it is the ending to what was supposed to be one of the best

EDIT: I left this sitting for a while before i posted it, looks like Andy A. agrees with me on the dialogue.

[tiffany34990]

i loved it personally b/c i love yoda and R2D2..they are my heroes

it did tie everything in pretty well..so i was happy about that one

jar jar binks was like only seen twice but not hearing his crazy voice..lol

[Dorienne]

Originally Posted by tiffany34990

jar jar binks was like only seen twice but not hearing his crazy voice..lol

One of the many blessings given to viewers from the movie...

[George A.]

I've seen the ending to episode III about a bizillion times since I have to clean every theater for my job.

I have to say that when Darth Vader gets off the table and goes "NOOOOOOO" that ruined all intergrity the movie had.

The montage at the end could've been done a lot more dramatically but it was ok.

I was really upset in the manner that the Jedi was killed off. It was just pathetic.

I give it an average rating at best, it was a good movie, but I'm glad I didn't have to pay for it.

[Yan Wang]

Draft... final copy due Wed for newspaper (www.myihigh.org):

In the first twenty minutes of Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas presents the viewer with an overwhelming dream of beauty in cinematic animation. The film begins with Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) racing through a space battle to save Chancellor Palpatine, who has been captured by the droid, General Grievous (Matthew Wood). The screen is layered in the detail and glory of special effects. For a moment, I felt bombarded with visual information, but then I sat back and watched as the choreography expertly complemented Anakin Skywalker’s downfall in the final chapter of the Star Wars saga.

Episode III has no equal in terms of visual entertainment. It is made for viewing in the theater or IMAX. The lightsaber duels are the best since Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader clashed in the shadowy, looming corridors of the cloud city Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back. In fact, to pay homage to that tragic fight, Lucas seems to have used it as a model for the final duel and emotional dialogue between Obi-Wan and Anakin. The narrow hallways, dark rooms, and long planks of the lava planet base seem oddly familiar as Anakin cries out betrayal like Luke denying his true father’s identity. Other notable duels include Yoda fighting Palpatine, Count Dooku in a rematch against Obi-Wan and Anakin, and General Grievous wielding four (yes, four!) lightsabers. The pace of these duels is like the movie – extremely fast and well done. All of the fight scenes were a marked improvement over Episode I and II’s stunted and choppy choreography.

Space and land battles are also more elegant than in previous films. Although there is something to be said about the beauty of the original X-wing models and such settings as Endor, Lucas and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) seems to have learned the tricks to make the audience drool. The introductory space battle is merely the appetizer before the film introduces the teeming Republic metropolis, a gigantic land assault on the Wookie’s home planet, Kashyyyk, and a CGI lava planet that completely incinerates Return of the King’s finale in both magnitude and realism. These are just some of the spectacular set pieces created by ILM, whose visionary work in special effects raises the bar for all future movies.

That said, Lucas still suffers from his inability to write credible dialogue. The plot of Revenge of the Sith is one that most people will know before entering the theater or is mostly revealed anyway by the numerous spoilers in the trailers that preceded its release. Thus, the movie’s dark plot is not the mystery, but instead whether Lucas is able to convincingly illustrate Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader. Unfortunately, the rookie actors only make it worse. Hayden Christensen tries hard to work with the emotionless Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), but the poorly written romantic scenes are completely shattered whenever they open their mouths. Anakin’s love for Padme is what eventually forces him to join the dark side, but it is slightly hard to believe that when the two cannot create any onscreen magic.

When the film finds laughter, it is because R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) has torched many hulking droids or because Yoda (Frank Oz) reveals his dominating presence. It is certainly not because the droids have incredibly annoying, cutesy voices or because of the poor attempts at humor. The dialogue is never as funny as intended, which is always evident when Ewan McGregor tries to impersonate Alec Guinness’ original role as Obi-Wan with a stream of one-liners. Similarly, C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) doesn’t seem to have any memorable lines nor does Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) seem capable of changing his facial expressions. There is enough cringing in the audience to make Revenge of the Sith B-rate, but overall, they pass by quickly enough to not affect the overall experience.

Emperor Palpatine, played by Ian McDiarmid, is extremely creepy, but undoubtedly the star of the film. Not only does he have the uncanny look of the part, he has the slithery and poisonous voice as well. Listening to him play with Anakin’s emotions makes for some of the best non-action scenes in the entire movie. During an opera, he toys with Anakin’s nightmares of Padme dying in childbirth and his uncertainty of spying on Palpatine for the Jedi Council, luring him through his fear to learn about the dark powers of the Sith. Before the scene is over, it is clear that Palpatine is an awesome villain. Soon afterwards, Anakin has pledged his loyalty to Palpatine and the movie segues into the darkest moments of the Star Wars films.

Lots of people die in Revenge of the Sith. Jedi, aliens, and children all fall to the wrath of the dark side. More specifically, they are shot with blaster rifles by the soldiers who have fallen into Palpatine’s control and cut down by Anakin’s lightsaber. At one point, Anakin enters the Jedi Temple to wipe out the future of the Republic. When the movie returns, there are only the corpses of Padawans strewn across the floor. Scenes like this are gut wrenching and adds to the film’s powerful storytelling. It is not humor that works here, but the reality of the Jedi’s destruction. The best scenes all involve a dark destiny such as when Obi-Wan pleads to Anakin to save himself from Palpatine. When Darth Vader rises from the crippled body of Anakin Skywalker, the allusion to Frankenstein’s creation is spine tingling.

Before Episode III’s premiere, I watched all the other Star Wars films. The latter three (IV, V, VI) were able to do something that the first two could not: prevent me from feeling like I was sitting down for a long time, wondering what the hell Lucas was doing. Revenge of the Sith achieves this feat again through a return to the core of what fans want. Corny lines still exist, but lots of spectacular choreography on all levels and a compelling, dark plot keeps it moving. I came out of the theater with a few complaints that made this movie less than perfect, but my first thought when the credits began to roll was how badly I wanted to watch it again.

[xzvrw2]

i think it is the third best star wars behind return of the Jedi and the empire strikes back. sure it had its corny parts (loves scenes made me want to stick pencils in my ears) but all in all i loved it. i got goose bumps when *spoiler kinda* the music cuts out and you here the breathing of Vader.


i cant believe they changed the end of the return of the Jedi on the DVD version of the movie. check it out. you will notice some one different at the end that should be there.