Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
05/24/2005 14:52 Filed in: Movies and Television
The ultimate question: how could one individual with so much promise...be such a lousy actor?
Wow. I feel like a kid again. Why? Well for three reasons: there's a new Star Wars movie out, it actually doesn't stink, and I've already seen it twice in less than a week's time.
I was one of the millions who saw the first showing at midnight of opening day. There were lots of folks there in full costume of their favorite Star Wars characters. I've never seen so many nerds in one place in my life. Rob, Matt and I were the only cool people there. However, it's fun seeing a movie at a showing like that. These are the true fans. They applaud at all the appropriate times. No one talks during the movie (except me when I was making comments to Matt and Rob). Then, Kathy and I went to see Revenge of the Sith on Friday night. We had to endure crying babies, but the sound system was better at the theater we attended.
The good news is that Lucas finally got it right with the last of the prequels. If you remember, The Phantom Menace was on one hand annoyingly childish and on the other hand overly complicated (find me one person who can explain the political subplot of the first and second movies after only one viewing). Attack of the Clones was not only complicated, but just plain long and boring.
Over the last couple of weeks before Revenge of the Sith (from here on, simply ROTS) was released, Kathy and I re-watched the first two prequels since I had not seen either since their theater showings, and she had never seen the second one at all. I will say this... they "stunk less" than what I remembered, especially Phantom Menace. I think that's because back in 1999, I was looking SO forward to the movie that I was incredibly disappointed. And now, watching it six years later, perhaps because my expectations were so low, I suppose it wasn't quite as bad as what I remembered. Maybe it just ages well. Hmmmm....no, it doesn't age well. I was right the first time--my expectations were just lower.
Anyway, ROTS is indisputably the best of the prequels. If you loved the original movies but felt burned by the prequels, go see ROTS. This is the first of the new movies to bring back the original drama and spirit of the originals. There's even the trademark Star Wars brand of humor (you either understand that, or you don't). The characters, with the exception of Anakin and Padmé, seemed to have a little bit more depth. In fact, Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobe), Ian McDiarmid (Chancelor Palpatine/Darth Sidious), and--dare I say it--R2D2 carry the movie.
McGregor has made it no secret that he studied Sir Alec Guinness' work from the original Star Wars flims, and also Guinness' other films to prepare for the role of Obi-Wan. He wanted to capture Guiness' unique inflection and dramatic timing. He did a fairly decent job with this in the earlier prequels, but in ROTS, he has it down pat. His first lines sound exactly like a young Alec Guiness. For the first time, the younger Obi-Wan becomes a likable character that you can relate to.
And if McGregor carries the movie for the good guys, it is definitely McDiarmid who moves things along for the dark side. McDiarmid was fun to watch because you knew he was pulling the shots behind the scenes and manipulating young Anakin. However, at times, I felt like McDiarmid looked a little bit too much like Montgomery Burns from the Simpsons.
Palpatine & Burns: separated at birth?
Another standout--but overlooked--character was R2D2. Finally, we have the R2D2 of the original movies: free-spirited, independent, and exhibiting a great sense of humor. I give credit to Lucas for taking this garbage can-looking robot and giving "him" a distinct personality. However, R2D2 has now developed abilities not seen in the other movies, such as flying. He never flew in the original movies...
Of course, the heart of the movie is the transformation of Anakin Skywalker into the villainous Darth Vader. What can I say about Hayden Christiansen? Well, I can't say that he's an accomplished actor. I've been told he's very good in Shattered Glass. I don't know because I haven't seen it, but I know he's pretty flat in the second and third prequels. Kathy pointed out that there's a huge distinction in the opening scene between Hayden's and McGregor's reactions. Maybe this has to do with an actor's maturity because in reality, they are acting in front of a blue screen and they can't see the images around them that we see. But when you watch the film, McGregor seems to really be interacting with his surroundings. Christiansen is not very believable.
Natalie Portman returns as Skywalker's love interest, Padmé, but this is the weakest of her three prequel performances. There's really not much for her to do here other than worry about Anakin, give birth to Luke and Leia, and die (oh stop it--I have NOT given away any plot points you didn't know about). Lucas proves again that he cannot write romantic dialogue. The love talk between Padmé and Anakin makes you want to hurl into your Junior Mints.
As I said, this is the best of the prequels, and I genuinely liked this movie. But it's not without its faults, including the dialogue referenced above. It's also the most violent and the only chapter of the six to receive a PG-13 rating. Get ready for lots of dismemberment and beheadings, and even a disturbing final solution for the Jedi younglings.
Further, Anakin is too easily manipulated by Palpatine. I mean, how naive can a person be? And I was disappointed with the reasons behind Padmé's death. It just seemed a bit too simple and convenient. They have so much technology in the Star Wars galaxy. However, not only can they not perform a simple ultrasound so that the Skywalkers know they're expecting twins, but they can't (and don't) do anything to try to save Padmé. Put her on life-support or something. Sheesh.
Fortunately, this movie doesn't need life-support. It's doing quite well and deservedly so. If you're a Star Wars purist and have either avoided the prequels or were disappointed like I was, ROTS will probably please you. Too bad all three of the prequels couldn't be like this.