Thoughts on EPISODE III ***SPOILERS***
POSTED BY: Static
UPDATED: Monday, June 20, 2005 07:52
VIEWED: 17034
PAGE 2 of 6
Ahhh...but, while Darth Vader did kill Palpatine, did Luke not, in fact, bring balance to the force by reawakening the good in his father?
When Darth Vader takes his first breath in the suit...straight goose bumps on the skin it raised!!!
And, I thought the "I know' line was an ad lib from Ford!?!
There were other goose bump moments in Episode 3, and I'll give it credit for that alone...
The very end of the exchange between Paplpatine and Anakin right after Anakin pledges his allegiance to the Dark Side...I thought it was brilliant.
When Senator Organa is protected from the clone troopers by the one youngling...I thought it was great...
Yoda lays the smack down! The two troopers that came after him never had a chance!!! My friends (and I use that term very loosely...it'll be covered in a flylog)were pissed that Yoda seemed to give up so easily...All I could say is that they didn't seem to be watching the same movie I was. Yoda did what he had to do. He went to stop Palpatine, and couldn't do it. I think I was the only one in the theater who actually felt the line "Failed, I have."
Oh MY GOD!!! The opening camera...CGI work I guess...with the swooping POV in the space battle was fantastic...it took the very awesomely done stuff in the space battle scene from Return (one of its best aspects, I think), and then improved head and shoulders above it! Those long graceful swoops were just so...Shiny!
I saw a lot of criticism about The Emperor...I didn't think it was overacted in the least...It was very much in keeping with how he is presented to us later. And the scene where's he's talking to Anakin before he has reveal who he is...Ian McDiarmid goes into the voice for just a few words...and then back out again...That's F___n' METAL!!!
The scene between Yoda, Oragana, and Kenobi near the end was brilliant, I thought. The whole feel of let us go our seperate ways was beautifully done, I thought. But also the presentation of the twins. My God the scenes with the babies on Alderaan and Tatooine were so great...Which leads me to my final point.
Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on Tattooine. Holding little baby Luke...I didn't tear up at it...But it was so pretty. I mean, I can't think of another way to describe it. Music Swells and all!!!
One more negative, though...Who thought that Padme's delivery scene...and her whole cause of death was total bullshit!!!...Because, I had given the character credit for being stronger than "My husband choked me, and now I'll just DIE"...It was crap!!!
Man, I'm drunk!
Kaylee: "What's so damn important about being proper? It don't mean nothing out here in the black."
Simon: "It means more out here. It's all I have..."
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Just got back from this. One thing is clear to me. Serenity is far, far, far better in terms of script, humour, story, acting, direction, photography, message and pacing. Far better.
I'm sorry... This may be better than the first two, but you know - is this a film you'll look back and remember all the funny lines in, in five years time? Or the character relationships? Or the lighting, photography or direction?
TheInside.org - Firefly Producers NEW TV series
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Was Episode III perfect? Nope. I know they'll be parts of the film that my friends and I will mock for years to come. But hey, we do that with all five of the other films.
However, I will say that I loved this film. Saw the midnight showing and was so emotionally drained and tired, that I knew I had to see it again to get the full impact. I fell in love with the film my second viewing.
Aeradia, I adored your analysis of Anakin. It was spot on. During the final duel, I remember thinking of him as a spoiled child because of the things he was yelling at Obi-Wan. Of course, I always felt that the dysfuction was on both sides. Look at Padmé. Got into politics at the age of twelve. Queen of an entire planet at fourteen. Never a chance for a normal life. Her sister has got these amazing kids. She meets up with Anakin, who as a boy saw her not as a Queen, but a loyal servant handmaiden. He's someone who's after her not because of her position or her power, but because of her.
ManWithPez, agree with your entire post. The ending was perfect. I was so afraid the final scene would be of Vader, so I was so excited with the Lars and Luke looking out over the horizon. The music during those final minutes were perfect. The minute they did the Leia's theme and Force theme when talking about the twins' future, I started crying.
Also agree with your negative. "She's lost the will to live"? Huh? Hello! You've got two babies who need you. Live for them, dummy! Would have much preferred to have a "We can't figure out what's wrong, but she appears to be dying." Mysterious and doesn't make Padmé look weak.
So happy I've seen both Episode III and Serenity. Both amazing films yet very different. Both with things I didn't care for and both with some weak points. Both films I adore!
Andé
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I liked it. Well, I liked the second half. I was falling asleep during the first half, but it was also one in the morning.
I prefer to think that Padme died from complications in childbirth that arose from being choked nearly to death and then thrown around. I choose to ignore the line about her being perfectly healthy.
And for Franken-Vader, I really didn't like the scene, until a friend told me that supposedly when they were putting him in the costume, Christiansen (or whoever it is behind the mask,) pointed out that it didn't fit right. Lucas supposedly said, "I want it to look like it's something you're not used to wearing. I want it to look akward." Now the looking up to the heavens and screaming, "NOOOOO!" was lame. It would have been more well done if he'd let that out while he was stil strapped to the table. Then perhaps he could have been released, staggered a few steps, then fallen to his knees in grief.
But hey, I'm no George Lucas.
"Just because I choose to wander, it doesn't mean that I am lost..."
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Gorramit. Double posted.
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Greetings, ma famille:
Just got back from seeing "SW Ep III: The Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal" with the kids (aged 15 and 12). We saw it in an amphitheater, middle row, middle of the aisle.
I had heard great things about it and was hoping against hope that the franchise would be redeemed, even if I knew Anakin wouldn't. I have seen every episode starting with IV in the theatre and consider myself a (long-suffering) fan.
A couple of days before the movie premiered, I predicted that it would "look fantastic" with lots of light saber battles, but that it would prove ultimately devoid of characters, have dubious plot points and just enough story to move the special effects along.
Unfortunately, I was proved right on all points. The fact that so many Browncoats seem satisfied by this atrocity in storytelling makes me very concerned about the validity of glowing reports of the Serenity sneak preview. I mean, I know there are lots of folks in the world who really just want to see things get blown up and heads get chopped off, and who would really prefer it if the story would stay out of the way.
...But I truly thought Browncoats were more discerning than that. My only hope is that this is one of those "my movie, right or wrong" type of things that will blow over. Or at the very least, that this effect is not the sole reason for glowing Serenity reviews.
Would any of those who "got it" about Anakin suddenly and without nearly enough justification turning to the Dark Side (except that the first three movies kinda forced him to) care to explain the totally screwed up time lines we're left with? The Death Star could not possibly be at least 18 years from completion, and we know that the first use of its planet-buster weapon was on Alderaan. How did Darth and Obi-Wan get to be so old in Ep IV when Luke was not more than 20?
There's entirely too much wrong with the writing in these last three episodes. This story would never get accepted at a publishing house. It's swiss cheese.
The whole thing reeks of "Okay, we have half of a beautiful bridge on the other side of this yawning chasm (i.e., Eps 4 - 6). Now we just need to build this other half to meet it." Sadly -- for the greatest movie franchise ever -- Lucas is a disastrous engineer. The ends meet, but the construct won't bear its own weight, let alone the weight of its fandom.
Hate me if you will; but I am deeply disappointed by the ending of this once magical story. Now, somebody please tell me that Serenity actually has a story, not just action sequences with convenient plot and characterizations glommed on haphazardly...
Respectfully,
zoid
P.S.
I am really depressed. I just need somebody to hold me and tell me everything will be alright...
P.P.S.
I got a guilty 'kick' out of the Peter Cushing impersonator (Grand Moff Tarkin, alongside Vader and Palpatine overseeing the Death Star's construction). A little heavy on his prosthetics though, don't y'all think? I wonder how the late Mr. Cushing's family feel about the caricaturization?
_________________________________________________
"Sure as I know anything, I know this: I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDM'
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Just wanted to say that as a Sociology/Psychology student who works with at-risk juveniles, your analasys of Anakin's character is right out of the textbooks and DSM IV.
That's a compliment, by the way.
I wonder if Lucas just got stupidly lucky, or if he bothered to look into it?
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Now, somebody please tell me that Serenity actually has a story, not just action sequences with convenient plot and characterizations glommed on haphazardly...
Fear not, brother zoid. I will tell you.
Damn, but if you don't have such a poignant manner of expression. Nearly breaks my resolve not to spoilerise. Nearly, but not quite. And I won't.
Having seen the flick, IMHO: Serenity actually has a story, and is not strictly made up of action sequences with glommed on characterisations and plot sequences. It has plenty of action and lotsa characterisation... and is one damn fine story.
Granted, I'm not big on faith, and my credentials are, at best, spotty, but I'm just saying, if you have any faith in the storytelling qualities of Serenity, your faith will be rewarded.
Well, okay, potentially condescending of me to speak for anyone else. Such is not my intent. How else can I put this? Amongst other attributes, I'm a mass entertainment cynic. My job involves watching lots, lots of movies. Including SWep3, natch. Almost all of them rapidly fade into memory's oblivion, such that I pay attention only to the technical details relevant to my job (timer). Serenity drew my attention... completely. It still rings true: I'm drawn to remember each detail that my wee brain can hold. Can't think of many other flicks made me wanna do that.
Just this one other (subjective) observation: there's a certain honesty to Serenity. The kind that makes me want to abuse italics.
Right. End o' rant.
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I know that he looked into it, because Lucas couldn't realy understand why people had a problem with Anakin in Episode 2. He thought people would understand that that is the way a "misunderstood" youth would act.
But that's no excuse for bad acting.
And, let's be honest...Did you ever go to a Star Wars movie to see good acting...Of course you didn't. At least, I didn't. Star Wars represents the ultimate escapism. Or at least it did. I remember going to the drive in as a very small child to see Episode 4. I remember my father taking us multiple times to see Empire. I remember waiting with glee for Return of the Jedi. Even going so far as to know that whatever bullshit they're feeding us now, Revenge of the Jedi was the original title, and not something else. I mean, Lucasfilm even admits the Blue Harvest was the fake name for the movie, so why try to start some horse shit now?
So, being the film buff that I am now, do I look back at my youth and consider it misspent because I wanted to see Star Wars...Hell NO!
I mean there truly is no original story in Star Wars...anywhere. It is a series of film written by an editor(at best), directed by a bunch of second unit people (except Kasdan...I'm convinced that Lucas is a fantastic second unit director), and acted by professional actors that found out it was okay for them to no longer try to even look like they were acting.
Does this make me not want to see a Star Wars movie any less...Of course not. If they said there was going to be another one in three years..I'd go see it. In a heartbeat.
How does this affect Serenity? Not in the slightest. I think that Browncoats are discerning enough to know shit from Shinola. We see what we want to in Episode 3. And we don't argue the worst points like continuity, bad editing(and there's loads of it, truly). We keep true to heart, because, let's face it, if you like Sci-Fi, then you have to accept that there is a stigma that goes with, courtesy of fans probably a lot older than whoever is reading this now.
Serenity will succeed or fail based on its own merits, and not what the current picture of Sci-Fi at the time will be, I think. We all want to see it succeed. And we already know that the writing will be better, because it's written by a WRITER. Not a director, and definitely not by an editor!
We have a much more talented cast, and in roles that they know their way around. We have a supporting cast that is almost above top knotch. And, we have a core audience that isn't waiting for a three foot tall special effect to whip out a laser sword and attmepts feats of derring-do that we haven't seen or even known they were capable of. That's is why Serenity will be better than anything I've seen lately. Joss Whedon has already proven that he uses special effects as part of the story , and not as the driving force.
George Lucas can make no such claims.
By the way, I'm drunker than I was before I wrote this!
Word to your mutha!
Kaylee: "What's so damn important about being proper? It don't mean nothing out here in the black."
Simon: "It means more out here. It's all I have..."
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Greetings, ma famille:
There's entirely too much wrong with the writing in these last three episodes. This story would never get accepted at a publishing house. It's swiss cheese.
Sadly -- for the greatest movie franchise ever -- Lucas is a disastrous engineer. The ends meet, but the construct won't bear its own weight, let alone the weight of its fandom.
I feel ya Zoid. I have to walk on eggshells around folks because they loved it and I didn't. I keep trying to find things about it that I liked. The best i can say is that it wrapped up most of the story. The acting, eh. The dialogue, eh. The emotional range, eh. I felt more love between Organa and baby Leia than I did with Annie and Padme. Does that seem right to you? anywho. I did enjoy myself. it was a lovely day, I was Kaylee-ized, and I was surrounded by friends.
Quote:
P.P.S.
I got a guilty 'kick' out of the Peter Cushing impersonator (Grand Moff Tarkin, alongside Vader and Palpatine overseeing the Death Star's construction).
I thought that was great.
www.thatweirdgirl.com
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