Review/Thoughts
PostedFri May 20, 2005 2:19 pm
I wanted to wait to review it until I had seen it a second time. So...here we go. First things first, see a digital screening if you can. It really is much prettier that way. You can't see crazy ass details like pores in their skin or anything, but the picture in general is crisper and the colors are much more vibrant.
And...I guess I have no linear way of jumping into this stuff so I'm just going to yak about it as it comes to mind.
One of the most striking scenes to me was when Anakin went to the Jedi Temple and approached the Younglings, and the kid took a step back when he lit up his sabre.
People have questioned whether Anakin could really do that sort of thing if he was about to have a child himself, and there's also the matter of Padme's death--where she apparently dies from a broken heart. Watching the movie again, even though 'the baby' is mentioned, Anakin is completley focused on Padme. It's not, "I can't live unless my family is safe," it's "I can't live without Padme." I think that while this sad ignoring is appropriate on the part of Anakin because it pretty well demonstrates how single-minded he can be (his obsession with Luke later), I think Padme's death is weak. Even though I'm not a parent myself at this point in my life, I can safely say without having to think long on it that broken hearted or not, I don't think I'd just fizzle if I had kids on the way to take care of. You talk to any parent and they're going to affirm that stronger than I can. I believe it would have been a bit more powerful and more interesting to see Leia live and grow a bit with Padme and the two of them go into exhile while Luke was sent to Tatooine. Then the Emporer's lie to Darth in Ep.III and Leia's description of her "real mother" in Ep. VI would be very intriguing ("very beautiful," "very sad"). As things stand I'm wondering what happens to Lady Organa in a couple of years.
Palpatine was so nasty, and pretty cool. It was nice to see him with a lightsabre, and I thought it was pretty thrilling to see him making bold moves against the Jedi council and taking those leaps in his conversations with Anakin. Revealing himself as the Sith Lord, taking those chances--you could see him sweat, hear the urgency in his voice, yet he was so self-assured. Laughing in the Senate vs. Yoda was creepy as hell. Just cackling up a storm even when he took some hits. One thing I hadn't noticed as much the first time around was the absolutely creepy moaning and rasping sounds directly after Mace was killed. When Anakin pledged his allegiance.
I'm kinda really liking that in that scene. It makes it almost surreal--like if you were viewing it all through Anakin's eyes, it'd be like some bizzaro creepy drug haze. The Dark side clouds everything... Anakin's senses are dumbfounded, his moral senses, his emotions--everything takes a back seat except that careful string that the Emporer uses to keep him along. Padme.
I do believe Palpatine threw the fight with Mace. Lies, deceit, and trickery are the Dark Side, right? Sith and "bad guy" generals like to run, even when they have a good chance of winning. Because they utilize their fear for flight and self-preservation instead of conquering it. Palpatine spoke to Anakin when he was in the Jedi Council chambers, I believe--not just a memory or a restructured thought, but an outreaching presence. Padme felt the Force connection strong enough she was looking out the window. Anakin was drawn to her. Palpatine had it all very carefully constucted. He gave Anakin very careful nudges over the edge. His reach was broad, he knew Mace was coming, he had complete control over the situation.
As for the facial disfiguration--I believe that was just his opportunity to reveal his true face. No one else is disfigured or scarred by force lightning. Dooku didn't suffer "backlash" from Obi-Won's 'bunting' of his force lightning with the lightsabre in Ep. II. I would think that Force lightning is a sort of explosion of pure Dark side energy. He wouldn't be scarred by something that only makes him stronger, even at close range. I really think he was just letting go of his illusion. The pleading made it even more obvious.
Lightsabre duels: very cool. My first viewing I had kinda thought huh? But I was really, really tired from lack of sleep and I had alcohol in my system, I think the flashing of the blades blinded my tired eyes too easily. With more sleep and being more awake, I caught more detail easily and was probably able to follow action better. I really liked the battle between Anakin and Obi-Won. When Obi-Won was talking about the high ground, I think it was really just trying to taunt him. He knew Anakin's arroangce, his desire to prove him wrong. He knew he could chop him up if he tried it. And he did.
Count Dooku vs Anakin was pretty cool. I thought the look on Dooku's face when he heard Palpatine was pretty nice...like oh crap, what?
R2...well everybody's gotta love R2.
And there's a bunch of other things I loved about it and a bunch of other things I could yak about but I'm gunna leave it here for now.
And...I guess I have no linear way of jumping into this stuff so I'm just going to yak about it as it comes to mind.
One of the most striking scenes to me was when Anakin went to the Jedi Temple and approached the Younglings, and the kid took a step back when he lit up his sabre.
People have questioned whether Anakin could really do that sort of thing if he was about to have a child himself, and there's also the matter of Padme's death--where she apparently dies from a broken heart. Watching the movie again, even though 'the baby' is mentioned, Anakin is completley focused on Padme. It's not, "I can't live unless my family is safe," it's "I can't live without Padme." I think that while this sad ignoring is appropriate on the part of Anakin because it pretty well demonstrates how single-minded he can be (his obsession with Luke later), I think Padme's death is weak. Even though I'm not a parent myself at this point in my life, I can safely say without having to think long on it that broken hearted or not, I don't think I'd just fizzle if I had kids on the way to take care of. You talk to any parent and they're going to affirm that stronger than I can. I believe it would have been a bit more powerful and more interesting to see Leia live and grow a bit with Padme and the two of them go into exhile while Luke was sent to Tatooine. Then the Emporer's lie to Darth in Ep.III and Leia's description of her "real mother" in Ep. VI would be very intriguing ("very beautiful," "very sad"). As things stand I'm wondering what happens to Lady Organa in a couple of years.
Palpatine was so nasty, and pretty cool. It was nice to see him with a lightsabre, and I thought it was pretty thrilling to see him making bold moves against the Jedi council and taking those leaps in his conversations with Anakin. Revealing himself as the Sith Lord, taking those chances--you could see him sweat, hear the urgency in his voice, yet he was so self-assured. Laughing in the Senate vs. Yoda was creepy as hell. Just cackling up a storm even when he took some hits. One thing I hadn't noticed as much the first time around was the absolutely creepy moaning and rasping sounds directly after Mace was killed. When Anakin pledged his allegiance.
I'm kinda really liking that in that scene. It makes it almost surreal--like if you were viewing it all through Anakin's eyes, it'd be like some bizzaro creepy drug haze. The Dark side clouds everything... Anakin's senses are dumbfounded, his moral senses, his emotions--everything takes a back seat except that careful string that the Emporer uses to keep him along. Padme.
I do believe Palpatine threw the fight with Mace. Lies, deceit, and trickery are the Dark Side, right? Sith and "bad guy" generals like to run, even when they have a good chance of winning. Because they utilize their fear for flight and self-preservation instead of conquering it. Palpatine spoke to Anakin when he was in the Jedi Council chambers, I believe--not just a memory or a restructured thought, but an outreaching presence. Padme felt the Force connection strong enough she was looking out the window. Anakin was drawn to her. Palpatine had it all very carefully constucted. He gave Anakin very careful nudges over the edge. His reach was broad, he knew Mace was coming, he had complete control over the situation.
As for the facial disfiguration--I believe that was just his opportunity to reveal his true face. No one else is disfigured or scarred by force lightning. Dooku didn't suffer "backlash" from Obi-Won's 'bunting' of his force lightning with the lightsabre in Ep. II. I would think that Force lightning is a sort of explosion of pure Dark side energy. He wouldn't be scarred by something that only makes him stronger, even at close range. I really think he was just letting go of his illusion. The pleading made it even more obvious.
Lightsabre duels: very cool. My first viewing I had kinda thought huh? But I was really, really tired from lack of sleep and I had alcohol in my system, I think the flashing of the blades blinded my tired eyes too easily. With more sleep and being more awake, I caught more detail easily and was probably able to follow action better. I really liked the battle between Anakin and Obi-Won. When Obi-Won was talking about the high ground, I think it was really just trying to taunt him. He knew Anakin's arroangce, his desire to prove him wrong. He knew he could chop him up if he tried it. And he did.
Count Dooku vs Anakin was pretty cool. I thought the look on Dooku's face when he heard Palpatine was pretty nice...like oh crap, what?
R2...well everybody's gotta love R2.
And there's a bunch of other things I loved about it and a bunch of other things I could yak about but I'm gunna leave it here for now.
