The Episode III entry
This is the bitter entry. Maybe, once I've slept and rethought the movie, and seen it again or read others' opinions of it, I'll rethink some of this -- but right now, 15 minutes back from the movie theater, here's where Mr. George Lucas and I stand.
My childhood memories of what made the original trilogy great -- the characters, the action, (dare I say it) the sheer magic of filmmaking -- are virtually absent from Revenge of the Sith. The original movies are, now that I think on it, possibly the earliest basis for my interest in film: I was fascinated by all of the behind-the-scenes details as much as what happened on-screen. Amazing new worlds were created, but still anchored in our own. Much has been made of the gritty reality (or as near as we could get to it) of life on Tatooine, of the beat-up and broken-down ships, and the clunky, messy, futuristic vision of a retro galaxy. Little, if any, of these elements remain in the prequels. The problems are not limited to RotS, although they may seem more acute because of its position as the final piece of the puzzle and the bridge between the trilogies.
I'll come back to my issues with the plot later (and oh yes, there are several). Right now, I'm going to focus on what kept me from really enjoying it.
First, the script. Oh lord, the script. Everyone knows that George Lucas can't write dialogue, including Lucas himself (I hope); I am mystified by the fact that he refuses to hire a writer. There's nothing here to top my old favorite coarse sand conversation, but there's nothing particularly memorable, either. Quotability: zero. You get your "I have a bad feeling about this" within the first two minutes, and your "May the Force be with you" about halfway through. And those are the only ones I remember, aside from Padme's atrocious "You're breaking my heart blah de blee" speech. This makes me sad.
Also, MAJOR complaint here: the scenes are so damn short. I know that this is part of the evolution of moviemaking styles since the late seventies, but look back. Take Empire: the segments focus on one set of characters in one situation, and cut over to the other set/situation only after something has actually happened. This is important, because it keeps the audience interested in what's going on in each situation (or not -- I've frequently watched the "good parts" version of ESB, fast-forwarding through anything without Han and Leia). RotS tries to create suspense and energy through cross-cutting between scenes, but it doesn't ever pick up enough momentum for it to really work. The best energy -- and the strongest, most emotional and spirited performances -- was during the Obi-Wan/Anakin duel and the Yoda/Sidious battle, because of the relatively long sequences. And even that wasn't near perfect.
Performances, as always, were bad. Honestly, I felt like they were worse -- but it always seems worst the first time through, when I actually have expectations. This should not have surprised me, but it did, and it disappointed, too.
Is RotS actually a good movie? It could be, maybe. Knowing for sure would require another viewing, one in which I could focus on the piece for its own merits, rather than devoting my attention to what it lacks. However, knowing more about filmmaking and having my own, evolving definition of what makes a movie "good," RotS is not.
What did I like? There was...stuff. The costumes sure were pretty, still. And some of the fights were good. I'll come back to this later today, and elaborate more on my thoughts on plot. Right now, I need to mourn and sleep.
My childhood memories of what made the original trilogy great -- the characters, the action, (dare I say it) the sheer magic of filmmaking -- are virtually absent from Revenge of the Sith. The original movies are, now that I think on it, possibly the earliest basis for my interest in film: I was fascinated by all of the behind-the-scenes details as much as what happened on-screen. Amazing new worlds were created, but still anchored in our own. Much has been made of the gritty reality (or as near as we could get to it) of life on Tatooine, of the beat-up and broken-down ships, and the clunky, messy, futuristic vision of a retro galaxy. Little, if any, of these elements remain in the prequels. The problems are not limited to RotS, although they may seem more acute because of its position as the final piece of the puzzle and the bridge between the trilogies.
I'll come back to my issues with the plot later (and oh yes, there are several). Right now, I'm going to focus on what kept me from really enjoying it.
First, the script. Oh lord, the script. Everyone knows that George Lucas can't write dialogue, including Lucas himself (I hope); I am mystified by the fact that he refuses to hire a writer. There's nothing here to top my old favorite coarse sand conversation, but there's nothing particularly memorable, either. Quotability: zero. You get your "I have a bad feeling about this" within the first two minutes, and your "May the Force be with you" about halfway through. And those are the only ones I remember, aside from Padme's atrocious "You're breaking my heart blah de blee" speech. This makes me sad.
Also, MAJOR complaint here: the scenes are so damn short. I know that this is part of the evolution of moviemaking styles since the late seventies, but look back. Take Empire: the segments focus on one set of characters in one situation, and cut over to the other set/situation only after something has actually happened. This is important, because it keeps the audience interested in what's going on in each situation (or not -- I've frequently watched the "good parts" version of ESB, fast-forwarding through anything without Han and Leia). RotS tries to create suspense and energy through cross-cutting between scenes, but it doesn't ever pick up enough momentum for it to really work. The best energy -- and the strongest, most emotional and spirited performances -- was during the Obi-Wan/Anakin duel and the Yoda/Sidious battle, because of the relatively long sequences. And even that wasn't near perfect.
Performances, as always, were bad. Honestly, I felt like they were worse -- but it always seems worst the first time through, when I actually have expectations. This should not have surprised me, but it did, and it disappointed, too.
Is RotS actually a good movie? It could be, maybe. Knowing for sure would require another viewing, one in which I could focus on the piece for its own merits, rather than devoting my attention to what it lacks. However, knowing more about filmmaking and having my own, evolving definition of what makes a movie "good," RotS is not.
What did I like? There was...stuff. The costumes sure were pretty, still. And some of the fights were good. I'll come back to this later today, and elaborate more on my thoughts on plot. Right now, I need to mourn and sleep.