Just got back from Star Wars. In a week or so, I'll publish my full-bodied, official review. But here's my gut reaction. And I'm keeping this short, short, short, since Game 6 is about to begin. (Star Wars and Game 6! In one day! If the Rockets win, this will be a day for the ages....) Some things you shoud know about my attitude towards Star Wars: 1. I love the original trilogy, can quote it backwards and forwards. 2. I thought The Phantom Menace blew chunks, but parts of it were watchable, in particular the saber duels and all the jedi counsel stuff. 3. I thought Attack of the Clones was not as disgusting as Phantom Menace, but didn't hold a candle to the original trilogy, and overall was fairly enjoyable. Aside from the laughable romance and some bad dialogue, liked it. 4. My favorite movie of all time is Empire Strikes Back, mainly becuase of the dark tone. Okay. So you know where I'm coming from. THIS IS SPOILER FREE My bottom line: If you could somehow erase 120 cumulative seconds of bad dialogue and bad acting (mostly by Natalie Portman), this would be a no-asterisk, no-disclaimer, unqualified great movie. Not a great sci-fi movie, just a great movie. Not a great Star Wars movie, just a great movie. GREAT. It would stand toe-to-toe with the original trilogy. Hell. It would stand toe-to-toe with Empire. Even with the 120 seconds of clunky acting, the movie is still very, very good. Here's why: The tone. From beginning to end, the tone of "Sith" is filled with dread and loss. There's no kiddie stuff. There's almost none of the corny humor that stunk of Phantom Menace. (BTW: I know that Kevin Smith wrote an early review that also mentioned the dark tone, but I didn't read the whole review because I was avoiding Spoilers. So sorry if I'm just repeating what you might have already heard...) This is the first SW film ever rated PG-13. And it's easy to see why. The ending. Not going to give spoilers, but trust me. The final 30 minutes is relentness, taut, and tragic. And it's even full of emotion: unlike in the prior two films, by now we care about the characters, so this stuff actually means something. The stakes are real. The action. It rocks. Unlike a lot of the tangents in the other prequels (like pod racing, or battles on Naboo), in "Sith," every battle MEANS something. It's tied to the core story arc. And it's full of epic, "holy ****!" saber battles. The link to the original trilogy. "Sith" ties everything better than I could have hoped for. From the look and feel of spaceships, to the birth of the twins, to Anakin's fall from grace... it's all tied together beautifully. The story. Okay, so I suppose this is goes part and parcel with my last point, but still. It's just a tight, well-paced, full-of-momentum story. It starts at a sprint and it doesn't flag. The restraint. Jar-Jar doesn't have one line of dialogue. 3-PO's lines aren't that bad. (There are no stinkers like in "Clones" like "I'm beside myself!" or "I've fallen and I can't get up!" There's a bit of humor with R2 in the beginning, and, for the most part, it's actually funny. And then after the beginning, it's just stone cold action and dark tension. Other random comments--and I'm trying real, real hard to avoid spoilers, so sorry if this is a little vague--Hayden Christen was fine. Really. He's more convincing this time around then in Clones. And his transformation to Vader actually feels pretty natural. I bought it. Natalie Portamn, on the other hand, was terrible. Like Sophia Coppolola in "Godfather 3," she spoils every scene she's in. The Empereror is terrific. The lava scene is amazing. Okay, Game 6 is almost on. (At least it better be. Hope this sucker doesn't go to overtime....) Sorry. This wasn't so short after all. Just wanted to dash off my initial thoughts....
Forgive me for being uninformed, but when you say you will 'publish'....are you a professional reviewer?
I love to hear these good reviews. If at least one great Star Wars film can come out of the prequels it will be worth it.
LOL! After re-reading my drunken, post-"Staw" Wars, pre-Rockets game post, I realize that it sounds like I have a lisp. Too funny. Rokkit --- sort of. I don't make my lilving as a critic (someday I'm hoping to), but yeah, I do get paid to write movie reviews for a few websites that you wouldn't have heard of. www.thecinemasource.com, www.latinoreview.com, and one2oneliving.com. I have a critic's page on RottenTomatoes.com that for some reason doesn't link to my more recent reviews: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-10954/ And above all else, I'm a terrific speller.
from bogey Wait, I thought you said no spoilers. These are not spoilers. Birth of the twins? given away in a conversation from Obi ones sprit to Luke in Return to the Jedi Transformation to Vader? given away in Star Wars in a conversation between Luke and Obi one
When you want to quote somebody, go to there post and click that icon that looks like a piece of paper with an arrow sticking out of it.
I refuse to believe that Natalie Portman can do anything wrong. Therefore, this must be the perfect movie.
I just got a chance to see it and I would agree with the original poster on almost everything. It's terrific and especially, it's interesting to see how Lucas is finally explaining/showing things that we have known were going to happen for years. I actually did not think Natalie Portman was all that bad. ****load better than Episode II, that's for sure. Very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing it again when it is released in theatres.
so i'm watching nickelodeon this weekend with my son...catching a little spongebob...and i'm saturtated in Revenge of the Sith ads. like nearly every commercial break....which had me thinking: what the hell is lucas thinking in the marketing of this movie?? "i wouldn't take someone younger than 13 years old to this movie." but i'll advertise it like crazy to the 5 year old kids.
