Thursday, May 19, 2005
Episode III
WARNING!
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
I have to say, without reservation, that this was by far the best of the prequels. I loved it, and George Lucas has redeemed himself to me. It still wasn’t as good as any of the originals, but it was damn good despite that.
That said, I must say that I did have problems with the movie. There are a few things I found to be annoying. I agree with my esteemed colleague Fogelmatrix in the assertion that the acting was horrible. Ewan McGregor seemed to be the only one who could act. This didn't surprise me, however. While George Lucas is a decent director on a technical level, I never thought he could direct actors. The reason the acting paid off in Episode IV is because of the talent he had. Harrison Ford owned the role of Han Solo. Alec Guinness could make an Ed Wood movie Oscar-worthy. Peter Cushing, James Earl Jones, and so on.
I can see a lot of people taking issue with the fact that Chewbacca was in it. I understand that, but I'm okay with it. Chewie is 200 years old, and all we know about him was that he was a slave under the Empire, and that Han freed him. What happened before that? We know he lived on Kashyyyk. It's not like he was a major character who was in on the whole Luke/ Leia thing. So he met Yoda once. He was a guy in a room. Big deal.
Anyway, I used to have a big problem with the first two movies with the droids. I mean, until last night, it looked like this: How big a coincidence was it that the droid that Darth Vader happened to build as a child ends up on the farm of his long lost son, and happens to be with another droid that has the most vital information in the galaxy? How big a coincidence is it that they just came from a ship that carried Vader's long lost daughter? How was it that they knew Luke and Leia's parents and never said anything? Well, it's usually the simplest explanations that are the best choices, and they made it. Assigning the droids to Bail Organa's ship, which would become Leia's ship, makes perfect sense.
Anyway, these are trivialities. The big story involves Anakin turning to the Dark Side. I can see how one can think that he turned too quickly. To me, I don't think it was a question of him turning quickly. He was on the verge ever since Episode II. When he married Padme, he took his first step because he put himself and his desires before anything else. The dark side is focused on passion and desire, while the light side is concerned with peace and serenity. I think the problem was that Hayden Christensen didn't portray the conflict within very well. I blame Lucas for that, more than Christiansen. It's his job to make sure that the acting conveys everything.
Here's how it happens. Anakin has been having dreams about Padme's death. This scares the hell out of him because he had the same dreams when his mom died. Padme is everything to him and he knows she's going to die. He becomes desperate. He goes to the Jedi, but he can't tell them everything because marriage is forbidden. The Jedi's advice is, "Well, people die. Better get used to it. Suck it up."
They offer no help, so he goes to his other source of council, Palpatine. Palpatine, knowing full well what's going on, uses Anakin's situation to his advantage. He tells him that the Sith can save people, bring them back from the dead. This gets Anakin interested. Palpatine also begins to put doubt in Anakin's mind when it comes to his loyalty to the Jedi. He plants the idea in Anakin's head that the Jedi are trying to take over the Republic.
Look at it from Anakin's point of view. On the one hand, he's got the Jedi. These are people that he could not confide in totally. They are the ones who would deny him the one thing that is most important to him (Padme). When her life is threatened, they offer no solutions. They tell him to learn to accept it. He is made to feel that he is not trusted. He is put on the Jedi Council, but they will not make him a Master. The Jedi want him to spy on the Supreme Chancellor, his mentor, and it seems treasonous to him. He doesn't trust the Jedi. The only thing that still holds him to the Jedi is Obi-Wan.
On the other hand, he has Palpatine. Palpatine has always had the appearance of being totally committed and loyal to the Republic. He offers Anakin a way to save Padme. He’s always been someone Anakin could trust, even more than Obi-Wan.
So, we come to the final confrontation. The war is about to end. The Jedi do not believe that Palpatine will give up his emergency powers. Palpatine finally reveals himself as the Sith Lord to Anakin. Anakin is torn. For his whole life the Jedi have been telling him that the Sith Lord is evil. But this is the only person that he could ever trust and rely on.
His loyalties send him back to the Jedi, though. The Jedi tell him to wait at the council and Mace and crew go to confront Palpatine. There’s a lightsaber battle. Mace seemingly defeats Palpatine and tries to arrest him. Anakin walks in and sees Mace over a prone, defeated Palpatine.
Then, Palpatine launches a lightning attack. Mace blocks the attack, but realizes that Palpatine is too powerful, too dangerous to live. He must die or else all is lost. It’s at this moment that Anakin’s worst fears are realized. To him, the Jedi do want to take over. Mace is not interested in justice, just power. Anakin snaps, and attacks Mace. Palpatine finishes the job, and kills him.
So, why have I rehashed everything? Because it all comes down to this pivotal moment. Anakin is losing it. He has just betrayed everything he has ever known. He has gone down the path of no return. The problem with the scene is that he just kneels on the ground and accepts his fate. Truthfully, all the scene needed was a couple more seconds of indecision. Remember when Luke was presented with the same choice on the 2nd Death Star? They had a moment where he looks from the battle out in space, back to his lightsaber, and back to the battle. This is a way of showing that he’s in conflict. Vader does the same thing when he saves Luke. It’s simple, but effective. Anakin didn’t have this, and that’s why the scene fell flat.
All in all, I really enjoyed it. To me, it was a Star Wars movie, where the other two prequels weren’t. I loved the lightsaber battles and the story. Almost everything was good. The final battle between Obi Wan and Anakin was awesome. Watching Anakin be destroyed was really disturbing. Even more so, being rebuilt into Vader actually creeped me out, especially when the mask is being lowered onto his face and you see his tortured, terrified face as it is covered.
Also, Jar Jar doesn't talk!
Comments:
<< Home
Like I said, George Lucas can't direct actors.
Ever notice that "Sith" is an anagram of "Shit"?
Then again, "Mother-In-Law" is an anagram of "Woman Hitler."
Ever notice that "Sith" is an anagram of "Shit"?
Then again, "Mother-In-Law" is an anagram of "Woman Hitler."
Lucas even admits that. have you seen the commercial where they flash across the screen "Sith Happens"
While we're being honest let's face the fact that the man can't write dialogue either.
Post a Comment
While we're being honest let's face the fact that the man can't write dialogue either.
<< Home
