Rate Revenge of the Sith *SPOILERS*

[Wayside]

i asked a question, that I still didnt get an answer to.

Before the prequels were released, did you really WANT (or even expect) Anakin to be a whiny brat as opposed to a cool bad guy? I still believe that the vast vast vast majority answers this question NO.

If you think my wording implies that if you DID want him to be a whiny brat that I'm belittling you... youre taking offense at things unsaid.

It wouldn't be belittling, it would be more like utter confusion or maybe some sympathy.

You aren't going to like my answer, as it consists mostly of the fact that Anakin is only a whiny brat in your interpretation, and not in, say, mine. Anakin is actually cool and badass a number of times. You can generalize from the scenes where he is rather immature, and inflate your generalization rhetorically, calling him a whiny brat, but that, of course, isn't the whole story. Just like based on the scenes where he is rather awesome I could generalize and say that Anakin, in the entirety of his character, is One Badass Dude. But again, that wouldn't be the whole story. Reducing the full complexity of a character to that sort of generalization strikes me as unfair. There's a lot going on with Anakin, part of which is that he is a badass, part of which is that he is immature and arrogant. Every character is a multiplicity of characters, in that sense. You can't really "get" the story without appreciating them all. So I don't think that you're wrong, only that your view is myopic.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

We cannot and should not blame the actors [for the poor dialogue].

This quote is several pages back, but I saw it and wanted to say something. I think Portman and Christensen are as much to blame for the terrible love scenes as Lucas. Not that I'm say it was Christensen's or Portman's "fault," but their chemistry was absolutely nonexistent. They always looked and felt awkward together. McGregor and Christensen, that worked out well. And both of them had some really stupid lines together (McGregor's "I thought we were smarter than this" comes to mind immediately). And yet they still have chemistry. There's communication beyond the words: a gesture here, a facial expression there. Hell, if you told me Anakin and Obi-Wan were in love I'd be more willing to believe it, based on the actors' chemistry.

Take the balcony scene, for instance. The writing is terrible. I agree 100%. But the pair really make us aware of that poor writing when they come together. The line "Then love has blinded you?" could have been funny, a lover's joke kind of thing, had it been delivered differently. But it came out like Portman was reading from a teleprompter.

It just doesn't make sense to me to "blame" the whole thing on Lucas. There were hundreds of people involved in the making of this movie, and I believe the actors have a big responsibility to work with what they're given. If you can't develop some kind of rapport with your fellow actors and their characters, than that is a big problem.

 

[John Crichton]

Yep, that's a big one, but I had to stop somewhere. Almost every negative emotion you could imagine exuded in one mangled form. Hate, agony, rage, jealousy. And then Obi-Wan's heartbreak. One of the most pivotal scenes of the entire saga, and it was executed outstandingly. What an achievement.

Certainly. I really didn't think that this movie (no matter how much I love Star Wars) would have been as moving as Return of the King was. But it certainly left a mark.

Then there's Anakin using the Vader choke trick for the first time *on his wife*.

I nearly forgot about that part. It must have been overshadowed by what came afterwards.

Nute Gunray pleading for his life, utterly confused as to why he was about to be executed. No "ha ha, you've been tricked, your usefulness is over," just a merciless killer that shows up and slaughters his entire entourage and Gunray himself in one ruthless stroke. I actually felt half sorry for him.

Same. Seeing the clueless pawn get slaughtered certainly was a nice stroke and helped what came after it hit home even more.

And don't even get me started on Anakin tempting Padme to rule the galaxy together. Ah! What a great movie! I'm an excited nerdy kid all over again. I'm even thinking of what dorky Kenner toy I can get from the movie and display on my desk at work. Good times.

Yeah, it's moments like that, when they tie subtly back to the OT that really work. All Anakin really wants is to be loved and have a partner. He tried and failed with Padme and tried and finally succeeded in the bitter end with Luke.

 

[John Crichton]

And yet, if someone posted and said, "I thought this film was lame, and I'm ignoring all the posts by people who didn't think it was lame," I imagine that would result in some kind of negative feedback.

As someone who did think the film was lame, I'm even reading the posts that disagree with mine. I'm reading with a mixture of surprise, incredulity, and disappointment, but I'm reading nonetheless.

I have zero problem with folks posting their opinions, good or bad about it. However, the posts that are bashing it I'm ignoring simply to milk the feeling of bliss that I feel towards the film as long as possible. I did it with LotR, too. Star Wars has always been one of the consistant pleasures in my life and I'll be damned if I let that get rained on. I'll eventually want to debate merit, quality and such but I'm not ready yet. The most I'm willing to do is debate plot points in the movie and if they are or aren't consistant with the OT.

Some wonderful moments, some excellent visuals, a good setup for Anakin's fall, and then a massively disappointingly thuddingly clunky script that provoked more unintentional laughs than tears in the theater when I saw it.

Nevertheless, all matters of enjoyment are inherently subjective. I'm glad the movie worked for most folks. I just wish I'd heard less glowing praise beforehand. I would have gone in without huge expectations and been much more satisfied overall.

The praise did nothing for me either way. The great thing about art is that thoughts and opinions can change over time. You may like it more upon a future viewing and my enthusiasm may be diminished (as it was for Episodes I & VI) over time. The best part is that now everyone can view all six films as a whole. There's no more guesswork.

Either way, I'm still riding the high and will continue to do so as long as possible.

 

[John Crichton]

Slacker, I saw it twice on opening day, of course the second time was with family and seeing as how my brother came all the way from Vermont, how could I not?

Guilty as charged!

I'm so ashamed. By this time, when I & II came out, I had already seen TPM 6-7 times and AotC about 4-5. Maybe I'll go tomorrow. That sounds like a plan...

 

[Krug]

Has the top 10 day opening ever... shows that it has legs.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Shows that it has legs.

Very true, and it does so by a pretty wide margin, but Titanic isn't even on that list. (Which might be scarier)

 

[Darth K'Trava]

Guilty as charged!

I'm so ashamed. By this time, when I & II came out, I had already seen TPM 6-7 times and AotC about 4-5. Maybe I'll go tomorrow. That sounds like a plan...

Some friends I know were talking about seeing it tomorrow while all are off work.

If I go, it'd make my 3rd time seeing it!

The most for any movie at a theater.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Has the top 10 day opening ever... shows that it has legs.

Its killing records pretty much every day. It'll be very interesting to see how this Memorial Day weekend ended up, with Madagascar and Longest Yard releasing. I've seen reports that Star Wars is still #1, but I'm more curious as to how close it is.

 

[EricNoah]

On a second viewing, it doesn't quite hold up as well in my opinion. Still a strong film, still the strongest of the prequels, but Anakin's fall feels much too "steep" this time. So I would re-vote an 8 if I could.