Missed sitcom opportunity: she's a pregnant Galactic Senator, increasingly disillusioned by politics. He's a compromised Jedi, embracing his new role of taking politics into his own hands. And they're secretly married! How long can they get away with it?
My sister, parents, and I saw Episode III today, and I'm still taking it in. I didn't have to go on an immediate defensive like I did for Episode I, nor did I get the instant gratification of the more crowd-pleasing Episode II. This film answers a few questions, but leaves me wondering about a few unasked ones.
This is the first film of the Star Wars series that felt like a much bigger film was made, but then was cut for time. I can't elaborate. Suffice it to say, there was a lot about the film that made me focus on Palpatine, the present chancellor and future emperor. If anyone were to deal further in this universe, that character would be the one worth exploring. Lots of backstory.
By the way, I bought tickets over the phone yesterday, picked them up shortly after I parked, and then we walked into the screening room immediately, 20 minutes before the movie started. No waiting. And did I mention this was one of only two screens in Las Vegas with digital projection? This calls for a quote!
LINDSAY LOHAN: Tina, you admitted to me that you used to have sex with a guy 'cause you thought he would help you get into movies.
TINA FEY: Yes, but that was before Fandango made everything so easy!
4 comments:
Not sure where to start...Hmmm.
First, you thought II was crowd pleasing??? You must run with a much different crowd than I.
Thirdly, you think it was cut for time not Lucas' questionable script-writing skills? I'm sure he's got the backstory in his head but it should have been in his actors' instead. I'm impressed with his ability to cast great talent and then coax horrible performances from them. Ewan being the exception. To just about every rule.
Sixth and lastly, I called in sick opening day. Slept until 11... my dad called at 1 and said he fandangoed tickets for 2...we drove into the lot at 1:40...bought Starbucks and sat in our 4th row aisle seats at 1:50. It was fab. And in one of the 4 THX theaters in Portland no less.
And to conclude, I thought this one had the best pacing since Empire. I was able to flow with it through almost everyhing but the horrible "hold me like you did in Naboo" moment.
K: Episode II was crowd pleasing. After the somewhat inert Episode I, people were starved for that Obi-Wan-jumps-out-of-a-window Coruscant chase sequence. The action sequences were better, Kamino was a good location, fans got their Fett fix, the heroes fought beasts in an arena, Mace Windu saw some action, and Anakin fought with two lightsabers. And oh yeah, Yoda.
Episode III was definitely cut for time. I got the feeling that they filmed a scene with Liam Neeson, for example. They must have had more in mind for Chewbacca early on. And that funeral scene at the end lacked a bit of explication.
It's amazing how our generations gives the acting of the original trilogy a free ride. Sure, Harrison Ford, Peter Cushing, and Alec Guinness are terrific, but the other actors in on-screen human roles are average at best. Episode III made the Anakin character neither whiny nor simple-minded, and Hayden Christensen showed some improvement. Ewan McGregor did not get to be nearly as entertaining this time, early Tom Stoppard sarcasm notwithstanding.
I'll agree with you on the pacing, but unlike Empire, it lacked a certain amount of revelation. Nice to see the Captain Antilles scene, but the ending made the pieces fit.
So while I'd like to see Episode III again, I'd really like to see the eventual Special Edition.
Oh we don't give the original actors free rides - there's a reason Mark Hamill's career went nowhere. And I'll take Harrison's average ANY day!
And perhaps Anakin wasn't whiny but he sulked...that's barely better. How can you say he isn't simple-minded when every other line was "I can't lose Padme"...Basically he 'yadda yadda yadda'ed over his whole choice of the Dark Side.
The part I was surprised by was that I didn't really care. It looked good, it sounded good, it answered the questions we had after the originals and all with no Ewoks or Jar Jar.
I do look foward to the DVD but I doubt that even after I see any extras I'll care any more then I do now.
I said Harrison Ford was terrific. Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher were notably average.
As for Anakin, saving Padme did make him singularly motivated, but I think he took a complex situation and rationalized it to Palpatine's advantage about 95% of the way, then fully converted thanks to Mace Windu's actions. (I'd love to discuss what that character was all about.)
That Ahmed Best got any billing tells me that Representative Binks originally had lines. I join the collective annoyance regarding Jar Jar and C-3PO, but I've always liked the Ewoks. Were they a thinly-veiled merchandising opportunity? Probably. But they were also a nice representation of how much help the rebels needed at the end.
Han Solo said it best: "Short help's better than no help at all." Oh, Lawrence Kasdan, how I miss you.
Post a Comment