Revenge of the Sith
May. 27th, 2005 09:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaOkay, so I'd forgotten going in to the film last night that you have to read the entire intro…
Having heard this film advertised so much recently, and read so many widely differing reviews, going to see it was something that had to be done. I thought it was kind of endearing that the opening sequence uses the same wobbly effects for the writing as way back when the original trilogy was made. I also thought that overall the film works well as a backdrop to what I remember of the original trilogy, setting up all those scenarios we know so well. There are plot holes you could drive a truck through, of course, the dialogue is really bad and the acting shaky in places, but overall it worked better than I'd hoped. I enjoyed it, and I don't ask more of a night at the cinema than that.
I was very distracted all the way through, however, by the fact that the actor who plays Chancellor Palpatine also played Mickey Hamilton in an episode of the Professionals. I probably already knew that, but it had never sunk in until I recognised him, and then I sat through every scene he was in going, "That's Mickey Hamilton!" Having watched the episode so recently probably contributed to that. And he had a few very Mickey Hamilton-esque moments.
Anakin was a lot less the sullen teenager in this one, and I liked him the better for it. And yet he was still enough of a sullen teenager for his storyline to work. Because that is the whole point about Anakin, surely? That he is too young for the power he has, and therefore can't cope with it, and is vulnerable to corruption. But Padme was horribly drippy - what happened to the kick-ass Padme of the first film? His fear that she would die in childbirth didn't convince me. What? They can put Anakin back together with no arms, no legs and practically no skin, but women can still die in childbirth? And what kind of a wuss dies of a broken heart, anyway?
If Anakin and Padme's marriage and relationship was so secret - how come they were so openly living together?
Viridian5 said in her review that Obi Wan was horribly sadistic in the aftermath of his battle with Anakin, and I've got to agree. If he loved Anakin as a brother, then what was with just leaving him to die slowly in agony, armless, legless and burning? Even though I knew Anakin survived to become the Darth Vader of the original trilogy, I still kept expecting Obi Wan to deliver a mercy blow – to finish him off, make sure of it. But he didn't. That was cruel, and not what you'd expect of a Jedi. Torn apart by his emotions, maybe – after all, losing Anakin to the Dark Side and having to fight and kill him was painful, sure – but I thought Jedi weren't supposed to be governed by their emotions?
I'm not sure it helped or not knowing exactly how the film would end, and who would survive or not, just by already knowing the old trilogy so well.
But overall, I liked it better than the first two.
Having heard this film advertised so much recently, and read so many widely differing reviews, going to see it was something that had to be done. I thought it was kind of endearing that the opening sequence uses the same wobbly effects for the writing as way back when the original trilogy was made. I also thought that overall the film works well as a backdrop to what I remember of the original trilogy, setting up all those scenarios we know so well. There are plot holes you could drive a truck through, of course, the dialogue is really bad and the acting shaky in places, but overall it worked better than I'd hoped. I enjoyed it, and I don't ask more of a night at the cinema than that.
I was very distracted all the way through, however, by the fact that the actor who plays Chancellor Palpatine also played Mickey Hamilton in an episode of the Professionals. I probably already knew that, but it had never sunk in until I recognised him, and then I sat through every scene he was in going, "That's Mickey Hamilton!" Having watched the episode so recently probably contributed to that. And he had a few very Mickey Hamilton-esque moments.
Anakin was a lot less the sullen teenager in this one, and I liked him the better for it. And yet he was still enough of a sullen teenager for his storyline to work. Because that is the whole point about Anakin, surely? That he is too young for the power he has, and therefore can't cope with it, and is vulnerable to corruption. But Padme was horribly drippy - what happened to the kick-ass Padme of the first film? His fear that she would die in childbirth didn't convince me. What? They can put Anakin back together with no arms, no legs and practically no skin, but women can still die in childbirth? And what kind of a wuss dies of a broken heart, anyway?
If Anakin and Padme's marriage and relationship was so secret - how come they were so openly living together?
Viridian5 said in her review that Obi Wan was horribly sadistic in the aftermath of his battle with Anakin, and I've got to agree. If he loved Anakin as a brother, then what was with just leaving him to die slowly in agony, armless, legless and burning? Even though I knew Anakin survived to become the Darth Vader of the original trilogy, I still kept expecting Obi Wan to deliver a mercy blow – to finish him off, make sure of it. But he didn't. That was cruel, and not what you'd expect of a Jedi. Torn apart by his emotions, maybe – after all, losing Anakin to the Dark Side and having to fight and kill him was painful, sure – but I thought Jedi weren't supposed to be governed by their emotions?
I'm not sure it helped or not knowing exactly how the film would end, and who would survive or not, just by already knowing the old trilogy so well.
But overall, I liked it better than the first two.
