Tag: Star Wars

III.


“Every single Jedi is now an enemy of the Republic…” Yes, I know, I’m setting myself up for a fall here. But, given this is the end of a saga I spent countless hours of my childhood adoring (and, strangely enough, the second movie in a month I’ve been anticipating for decades), I’m just going to go ahead and unleash my inner eight-year-old for the rest of the evening. After the last two prequels, I’m not expecting Empire by any means, but Jedi would be nice…

Say what?

A.O. Scott gushes over Sith in the NYT: “This is by far the best film in the more recent trilogy, and also the best of the four episodes Mr. Lucas has directed. That’s right (and my inner 11-year-old shudders as I type this): it’s better than ‘Star Wars.’…[it] ranks with ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (directed by Irvin Kershner in 1980) as the richest and most challenging movie in the cycle. It comes closer than any of the other episodes to realizing Mr. Lucas’s frequently reiterated dream of bringing the combination of vigorous spectacle and mythic resonance he found in the films of Akira Kurosawa into American commercial cinema.” And politically applicable to boot…Ok, I think, despite my best efforts, my expectations are now definitely raised for Wednesday night. (2nd link via Webgoddess.)

III like a bird?

“The bottom line is that ‘Sith‘ has a discipline missing from Episodes I and II. It is just repeatedly not-embarrassing at nearly every turn. Most of the flabby expository walks to landing pads have been neatly snipped. Important things are said with images instead of words. The special effects are better, but draw less attention to themselves.” Ok, now I might be a bit enthused. Alexandra du Pont, far and away AICN‘s best reviewer and a fangirl who loathed the first two prequels, gives Episode III an enthusiastic (and spoiler-filled) endorsement. Her verdict: “Not even close” to ANH and Empire, but Sith “edges out ‘Jedi’.”

Video killed the Death Star.

Lucasfilm releases a Episode III music video entitled A Hero Falls, which includes occasional bits of new footage scattered amongst the trailer stuff (as well as some cringeworthy Hayden Christiansen line readings.) For what it’s worth, John Williams’ Sith score (which will include an impressive-sounding DVD of music from all six films) generally sounds much darker and more intriguing than this rather bland excerpt.

Also in SW news, Episode III gets the Corliss treatment for a Time cover story which includes this gallery from the film. (Hey, I’ll take it over Ann Coulter.) And, in another cover story, Wired queries George Lucas about his post-SW plans. “‘I’ve earned the right to just make things that I find provocative in my own way,’ he says. ‘I’ve earned the right to fail, which means making what I think are really great movies that no one wants to see.’

Shaun of the Fanboys.

“Do you think Lucasfilm think people came out of the movie going ‘I thought that Han Solo was brilliant, but he was a bit mean to that green guy?’” Famous fanboys Kevin Smith (who apparently loves Sith), Simon Pegg, and Edgar Wright mull over Star Wars old and new for Empire Online. And, in related news, Slate‘s Clive Thompson argues (mainly on the basis of the homemade Star Wars: Revelations) that Lucas should put the fans in charge of the franchise.

Darth Spoiler.

In a losing bout with the Dark Side, I broke down and read the full Episode III: Revenge of the Sith script last night (as well as the last chapter of the novelization.) Obviously, massive spoilers involved, none of which I’ll recount here. But I’d say that, at least on paper, the groan-quotient is lower than in Episode II, although the movie does start off somewhat ham-handedly. And, as with Episode I, there are a number of clunky “let’s take a meeting” exposition scenes throughout that I could see coming off rather badly. But, given the action setpieces herein, this should probably be the best of the prequels…or, at least, one hopes.

Endorian Extinction.

“What happens when you detonate a spherical metal honeycomb over five hundred miles wide just above the atmosphere of a habitable world? Regardless of specifics, the world won’t remain habitable for long.” Also found last night while perusing Star Wars sites, this technical commentary delves into the unwitting and horrifying environmental disaster precipitated by the Rebel Alliance upon the forest moon of Endor, as a result of the events depicted in Return of the Jedi (Another SW movie, as it turns out, that I went in massively spoiled for — I was living in Belgium at the time, and it didn’t open there until well after the US release.)

New from Hasbro!!

Three new Episode III TV spots aimed at kids show up online. If you find yourself with high hopes for this final installment, these should help recalibrate your expectations to accord with the other two prequels.