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May 22, 2005
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
I've tried not to include any spoilers in this, but I do talk about the movie's structure some, so there's your fair warning.
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), George Lucas:
Yeah, so despite my better instincts, I was really excited over this. All the geek rumblings indicated that this was by far the best of the new trilogy (plausible) and if AO Scott can be believed (which he generally can), perhaps as good as The Empire Strikes Back (implausible).
It doesn't hold a candle to any of the original series but at times comes tantalizingly close (unsurprisingly most powerful when it starts the segue into Star Wars). The first half or so shows almost no improvment over Episodes I and II; the second half is markedly better, but at times still seems undeniably stupid.
I know everyone keeps saying the acting in the original trilogy wasn't great either, but Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen are absolutely terrible here. Even barely competent would've been ok. (Also, Keisha Castle-Hughes? What's she doing here?)
My other huge issue with this trilogy is still with Lucas's obsession with CG. It's ok if you make a lava planet, but a computer-generated coffee table is not (speaking of lava planets though, it kept reminding me of this). Instead of marveling at the grandiose sets, I was staring at the actors' feet; everyone seemed to be almost imperceptibly floating off the ground. Maybe it's more noticeable for our generation which grew up with CG, but Mr. Lucas over these last three movies has consistently been on the wrong side of technical prowess versus technical ingenuity.
8/15
Posted by bing at May 22, 2005 10:28 AM