Watching Revenge of the Sith I got the feeling that writer/director/producer George Lucas was a very tired man trying desperately to just get this whole marathon over with. The movie feels like a stitched together collection of obligatory set pieces, each presented in its own neat little wrapper and connected with randomly inserted wipes (the editing process, not a personal hygiene product).
In an atypical style for a review, I feel I should start with a brief description of my Star Wars background. Coming in to the sixth movie in a series stretching over nearly 30 years, we all carry a massive personal history and bias before ever starting the film. I was in high school when the first (fourth?) Star Wars movie came out in 1977. I saw it in a first-run theater of course (no videotapes, laserdiscs, or DVDs, kiddies!) I enjoyed the spectacle and sense of fun, but honestly, I wasn't that big a fan. I was a "hard science" science fiction fan, raised on Asimov, Heinlein, and Niven. Star Wars may have been set in space, but it hardly gave a passing nod to the "science" part of the genre.
I was in college in Los Angeles when the sequel burst on the scene. I was lucky enough to score passes to an exclusive pre-screening in the fancy theater 20th Century used for such events on their studio lot. I was mostly blown away by the sound editing — I still remember the shock and awe of the initial pod audibly flying over our heads from the back of the theater to the screen in front. I thought the storytelling was a little richer and more dramatic this time, with grander action sequences. And the big Darth/Luke revelation was so fun coming completely out of the blue. But I still had trouble figuring out why it was such a massive pop culture phenomenon. It wasn't that great a movie!
The third film in the series was the turning point for me. With the introduction of fuzzy little Ewoks, silly one-liners, and cheese pouring out of every line of dialog, I simply stopped caring. (Great steadycam forest speeder race though!)
I have watched the "prequel trilogy" of the past few years with little enthusiasm or sense of urgency. As they came out on home video, I eventually added them to my viewing list and noted that each release was still seen as a pop culture event even though all aspects of quality cinematic production had been dropped in favor of a single-minded concentration on digital effects work.
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments
1 - Nadir Ali Rahman
I am a strong fan of Star Wars which include the 2 Ewok adventure movies along with the Original Trilogy.
I agree with you on the Darth Vader part.I felt he turned too easily and too quickly to the dark side.And what's more after learning of his wife's death,why did he continue serving Sidous.Why not just overthrow him and rule the galaxy or abandon him rather than being a slave.
I think the prquel trilogy was the worst mistake George Lucas ever made.However,3 deleted scenes in Revenge of the Sith had an atmosphere of the original trilogy.The scene with the senators plotting to stop the chanceller,the second scene of the same plot but ina different location,the scene where they present their peition to the chanceller.