I saw the new Star Wars movie earlier today. (spoilers)

[nickgutierrez]

My review, in disjointed bullet-point form:

- The dialogue sucked. You knew that beforehand, though - it's a Star Wars movie, the dialogue is never good. Take, for instance, this gem:

"You've become evil!"
"Well from my perspective, you're evil!"

Beautiful, ain't it? Makes my ears hurt just thinking about it.

- There are some interesting things to be said about the distinction between good and evil, in terms of rhetoric (very similar) and appearance (very dissimilar). Also, there is a distinction to be drawn in terms of the rhetoric of republic vs. empire (freedom, liberty, democracy vs. safety, security). I still need to work with this a bit, though.

- The city design was unimpressive. Why is it that just about every tall building in the entire movie was shaped just like a penis? (Or is that the English major in me talking?)

All in all, it wasn't a bad movie (not nearly as bad as I expected, anyway). It had some interesting plot points, and the fighting was cool, even if it was somewhat repetitive. What do you think?

[autorank]

1. The fighting was the only part I liked.

You didn't spoil the movie but the director sure soiled all over it.

Could Aniken (sic?) have been played by a worse actor? I can't imagine. He has the same affect talking to his babe as he did after killing all the little Jedi.

What a waste of film and money but, hey the previous films were like this too, and they made money. Who am I to say?

I did like the fighting. The chace scene in that canyon with the multicolored lizard was mildly amusing. Somehow they got the sword thing really right this time. I actually enjoyed that.

I'd give it (and I'm being generous here): :thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown:

[nickgutierrez]

2. Not to mention his one facial expression.

His eyes changed color more than his face changed expression. How screwed up is that?

He's a terrible actor, you'll get no argument on that from me.

[autorank]

4. God I'm glad you told me that! I thought I was having "problems" (lol)

That's totally screwed up.

OK, want a good movie with gratitutious violence and a great story line:

"Unleashed" with Jet Li & Bob Hoskins. I went just for fun but I thoroughly enjoyed it. And Morgan Freeman has a major role.

Li rocks. He should have been Aniken, kicked everybody's ass in an "Ultimate Jedi Fighting" tournament. That would have been worth the $9.00!

[nickgutierrez]

5. This movie managed to make Samuel Jackson into a piece of cardboard.

Sam Jackson! Do you know how hard that is to do?

[autorank]

7. Amazing, I kept thinking, nah, that can't be Jackson LOL

[AgadorSparticus]

9. lol, so true. never thought you'd look forward to the masking of annikin

for that reason, huh?

[Celeborn Skywalker]

10. I liked this movie a lot but

Hayden Christensen (Anakin) just wasn't a good actor for this film (although he wasn't as bad in this one as he was in Ep. II). He had the right look but was too fake sounding. It's funny because he was a hell of a lot better in the movie, "Shattered Glass".

[nickgutierrez]

11. Maybe it's George Lucas.

Sam Jackson had the same thing happen to him in this movie. Even Natalie Portman had a few awkward moments. George Lucas can write with the best of 'em, but he needs to leave dialogue and the role of acting coach to somebody else, IMO.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

12. Agreed.

I've always thought he should write a detailed plot outline and give it to a professional screenplay writer who could make the most of it.

[GOPBasher]

17. I completely agree. His plots are amazing, but

the specific screen plays suck. Although, this one was much improved from the first two.

[autorank]

13. Thanks for reminding me. That's a hidden classic.

Same guy, wow.

[Swede]

3. It completed the cycle nicely.

I liked it. :thumbsup:

[Cannikin]

6. I thought Palpatine was great, and it was nice seeing Vader again

[nickgutierrez]

8. Creepy, wasn't it?

Just hearing him scream in horror and pain as he is attached to his new outfit is enough to give someone nightmares for a week. :scared:

The mechanical hand seems important, at any rate - it was what saved him in the end, and also seemed to reveal itself at the points in the movie where foreshadowing was evident.

[nickgutierrez]

14. Shameless kick.

:kick:

[MissMillie]

15. I saw it last night too

and marvelled over the lines that seemed decided anti-Bush to me (Annikin saying, "You're either with me, or you are my enemy!" and Padme saying "So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause."

[Celeborn Skywalker]

16. Yes,

it seemed to be very much a parallel to our current situation.

[nickgutierrez]

22. "Only a Sith deals in absolutes."

Yeah, there definitely were more than a couple timely lines in there. George Lucas said they weren't intentional, but that may just be down to him not wanting to abandon part of his potential audience.

[bleedingheart]

18. The Frankenstein-ish scream of "NOOOOOOO" at the end made me laugh

[DerekG]

25. What was he supposed to say?

I don't understand the negative fan reaction to this line: this is a 23-year old Vader, not the Nubian god of the original trilogy. He just discovered that he "murdered" his beloved and unborn child, what was he supposed to say?

And the body language was gloriously melodramatic--it was, after all, intended to be an homage to the cinematic renditions of Frankenstein.

[bleedingheart]

26. it just seemed so weird....

don't get me wrong...I really liked the film and will buy it..BUT...first you have this strong willed woman who fought monsters and shot droids....and she ends up a cardboard cut out in this movie...then she and he are "in-love" but his great fear of losing her is enough to submit to the dark powers of the dark side? okay...so if that is the case...when she even steps in to tell him that he is "losing it"...he force chokes her???? I assumed at that point...his heart was black...he was a dark side minion.... but then when he is all suited up...he asks about Padme??? it might just be me...not sure..but it seemed a bit off...

Still loved the movie but I was hoping for this...

...Padme gets pregnant...Anakin however is pleased but keen on furthering himself as a Jedi (power angle)...she turns to Obi Wan as her confident...she and Obi become close...she confides in Obi and appears to become "close" to Obi since she finds herself questioning the situation she and Anakin are in..... Anakin happens to walk in on them a few times where Obi and Padme seem to be too close for his comfort... (nothing sexual..but remember Anakin and Obi have a love/hate father/son relationship...)...and since he feels that Obi is "holding him back" then it would make him distrust the Jedi...and Padme...setting the scene for him to severe himself completely from the life he knew for life as a Sith..

Nothing like the fierce love of a woman to make a man turn to the dark side.....so then...you get the picture...I am sure I don't have to write a screenplay for ya...

;-)

[DerekG]

29. I do agree with your "force-choke" qualm

What Lucas should have done--and someone told me this was how it transpired in Stover's novelization--is to show Anakin blindly clenching his fists in anger, so that it is implied he doesn't know he's assaulting her. But then, notice that Anakin *is* surprised when he releases her from his grip.

And I assume that Lucas, in following through with Padme's arc, went for the "feminization" approach that might befit a woman who had spent her life struggling for freedom only to find herself pregnant. Still, I confess it doesn't sit well with me that she lost the will to live; one so strong as Padme would surely find consolation with the prospect of raising two children.

[bleedingheart]

30. it has been a long time but I was hoping for the Padme/Mon Mothma

angle to surface....
I recall a rumor that Padme bears the children but then gives them up to protect them and then goes underground to work with the rebels...coming out later under a different name..

[DerekG]

31. It wouldn't work

After all, wouldn't "Mon Mothma" have a thing or two to say to the young man who identifies himself as Luke Skywalker in ROTJ?

On edit: No, this "died of a broken heart" revelation might have resonated, had we seen, with far greater intensity, the withering of Padme's character; she was, after all, being assailed by the fall of the Republic and her husband's descent into madness. That "so this is how liberty dies..." quote should have been delivered with horror, not resolve.

[bleedingheart]

32. a mother protecting a child will go to great lengths to do so...

even if it means not acknowledging him....and hell...once Vader dies...well then we can just guess that she does....

(can you tell I have put way more time into thinking about this than I should...)

[DerekG]

33. Hey, it's elemental to our cultural mythos

I've had three hour conversations about "The Grand Inquisitor" of THE BROTHERS KARAMOZOV, and I've had three hour conversations concerning Darth Vader-is-Cronus and "Is Count Dooku *really* on the side of the Sith" (I was on the losing side of this latter debate).

Let go of your shame. Do you want to be just another boring consumer and talk sports?

[Mizmoon]

34. You're right

Now THAT I would have believed ...

:)

[LynneSin]

19. I never went to Star Wars movies for the acting

Even re-watching the original triology outside of Cushings & Guiness, the acting was pretty lame too.

But I loved the new Star Wars, the acting was what it was but if you leave your thinking cap at home you have a great movie in your hands!

[bleedingheart]

20. that is it in a nutshell....I go for the glitz

although sometimes it is hard not to giggle...

[Mizmoon]

21. anakin/padme had no chemistry whatsoever

Damn, they were like wax statues. I didn't believe that they were in love to begin with. I didn't believe that she felt betrayed by him. I didn't believe that he gave a rat's ass about the baby (babies).

Wow ... I guess they'll have to comfort themselves with their millions.

[bleedingheart]

27. read my post #26 to see if you like my "screenplay" better....

hahahaha

[Felix Mala]

23. Same as earlier two films -- convoluted...

The politics were more complicated than the Italian parliament. Story was cumbersome to the point of collapsing upon itself into a black hole, which is what I think was happening in the last hour. The original three films were light and airy. Whatever happened to the Lucas who wrote those stories? The trouble is, Lucas thinks he's too important to be rewritten. Wasn't Lawrence Kasdan available?

Anakin turns to the dark side because he's a moron? Anyone could see how phony Palpatine was. There was no need for that "Noooooooo" line at the end. That took it down to the next lower level of Shoddy.

The whole last half was so depressing I felt ill afterwards.

Go figure, Hayden Christianson looked much hotter the more he turned to the dark side, at least until he caught on fire!

The only scenes I'll want to see again is the opening space battle.

[DerekG]

24. "Sith" is the first Star Wars film since "Empire" that's worth a damn

Although one could hardly call this film perfect, it is, in actuality, a qualified success: McDiarmid, McGregor and Christenson(for the most part) acquit themselves very nicely; the story is laden with subtext and worthy of deconstruction (which can not be said for any other Star Wars film, excepting "Empire"); and the camera-work is occasionally inspired (the Order 66 montage; the duel between Yoda and Sidious in the Senate; the birth of Vader). If ROTS doesn't resonate, then the blame should go to its antecedents (with those underwritten characters and a courtship that should have given us Dante and Beatrice, and not, lamentably, Luke and Laura).

Mark my words: in ten years time, Episode III will be regarded as the second best of the series.

[gulfcoastliberal]

28. Just one word: "Youngling"

Need I say more?