Revenge of the Sith - Reviewed

[Jez]

Lets face it, its just as pap as the others.

Dont see the big deal everyone says its better than the first 2 however its still crap.

People seem to think its ok cause its the last one etc etc however, as i said just as poo as the others.

Greatest lightsaber fight ever? No chance Darth Maul one still better by a mile

[thescrounger]

Despite Jar-Jar binks I'm starting to think TPM was the most satisfying of the prequels.

[Niceguygeoff]

Originally Posted by thescrounger

Look how good the scream is at the end of Superman as he releases his anger

That was indeed a mightily good roar; you get to feel so much of Supes' pain and anguish. But Star Wars is B-movie guff elevated to mythic status, not The Best Comic Book Movie Ever Made, and it's fitting that Lucas capped it off with a cheesy final flourish because that's part of the charm of the series.

The inherent irony of the whole thing is that it's cheapy saturday serial nonsense coupled with ever-increasing budgets and flamboyant special effects, so I can forgive cheesy moments, plot holes and the like. And I like the prequels for what they are, not what I want them to be, and don't bestow such holy reverence on the original films. Across the whole saga there's fun, excitement, thrills, romance, danger, bad dialogue, dodgy acting, great music and larger-than-life characters backed up by ground-breaking special effects. It's an enjoyable cocktail that I never tire of.

Originally Posted by thescrounger

Despite Jar-Jar binks I'm starting to think TPM was the most satisfying of the prequels.

Heh. Jar-Jar aside (natch) Phantom Menace is so old-school it's unreal. It's shot on film, uses more miniatures than every film in the original trilogy put together, the end battle is cross-cut several different ways etc.

[Germinator]

Has anyone received their R3 from cdwow yet. Still waiting on mines to be shipped.

[Germinator]

Update.

Sent an email to cdwow Customer service, got this reply within 10 minutes,

Hi

Thank you for contacting me and sorry for the delay in dispatching this
item.

Unfortunately, we have experienced a slight delay in receiving this product
from our suppliers.

At this stage we have been advised that we will have this item available to
ship on 12.11.2005

Once again, sorry for the inconvenience caused to you by this delay, and
thank you very much for your patience - it is sincerely appreciated.

If you require any further assistance at this time then please do not
hesitate to get back to me.


Kind regards


Ersin

[sleep4ever]

Originally Posted by thescrounger

Despite Jar-Jar binks I'm starting to think TPM was the most satisfying of the prequels.

No, no, no, no, no

Disjointed, Darth Maul was cool and will remain the icon from the first film

3 the best of the first episodes by a mile, its still not a good thing

[Out for Justice]

Originally Posted by thescrounger

Despite Jar-Jar binks I'm starting to think TPM was the most satisfying of the prequels.

I agree with you. Episodes II and III have more eye candy but I end up swallowing my own vomit each time I watch them. Not even David Brent can make me cringe like the dialogue in III

[Bigsby]

Originally Posted by Germinator

Has anyone received their R3 from cdwow yet. Still waiting on mines to be shipped.

Yep, see my post above.

The good news is the packaging appears is the same quality as R2 and I got the free postcard thing (which I don't actually want, but nice none the less)

[the thing with no name]

got my R1 from Amazon this morning - 13 days to ship from America via a small beetle swimming across the Atlantic on an even smaller leaf with two tiny twigs for paddles - the poor thing

[jester]

Originally Posted by thescrounger

Despite Jar-Jar binks I'm starting to think TPM was the most satisfying of the prequels.

I too am coming around to this idea...

[pandaboy]

Originally Posted by Niceguygeoff

The inherent irony of the whole thing is that it's cheapy saturday serial nonsense coupled with ever-increasing budgets and flamboyant special effects, so I can forgive cheesy moments, plot holes and the like. And I like the prequels for what they are, not what I want them to be, and don't bestow such holy reverence on the original films. Across the whole saga there's fun, excitement, thrills, romance, danger, bad dialogue, dodgy acting, great music and larger-than-life characters backed up by ground-breaking special effects. It's an enjoyable cocktail that I never tire of.

I couldn't agree more. I have to laugh when I hear people slagging off the kiddie elements of the prequels, like Empire Strikes Back was like Dirty Harry or something.

Originally Posted by thescrounger

Despite Jar-Jar binks I'm starting to think TPM was the most satisfying of the prequels.

TPM's single biggest problem (even more than JJB) is that is has serious pacing issues, and sags really badly in the middle.
ph

[Jimmyboy]

It's not the kiddie marketing I have a problem with, I happen to think TPM was the best out of the 3 despite being slated the most by critics. It's more the fact the films are just crud. Personally I think Clone Wars is the worst of the 3 and Sith suffers not just because it's far from great, but because there's no excuse for Lucas to keep making the same mistakes 3rd time over - shoddy pacing, clueless editing, bad acting, weak scripting, and dodgy CGI are all things I could forgive in TMP given it was Lucas's first flick in 20 odd years but I can't for the next installments. Flying / leaping CGI actors never looked good to begin with and the continual insistence to keep using it throughout the films is what has consistently pulled me out of the experience of watching them.

[Mark Orme]

[QUOTE=Niceguygeoff]The inherent irony of the whole thing is that it's cheapy saturday serial nonsense coupled with ever-increasing budgets and flamboyant special effects, so I can forgive cheesy moments, plot holes and the like. And I like the prequels for what they are, not what I want them to be, and don't bestow such holy reverence on the original films. Across the whole saga there's fun, excitement, thrills, romance, danger, bad dialogue, dodgy acting, great music and larger-than-life characters backed up by ground-breaking special effects. It's an enjoyable cocktail that I never tire of.
QUOTE]

Nicereviewgeoff. Couldn't agree more. It's a film. If you don't like it, watch something else.

[Mr Silly]

Originally Posted by Niceguygeoff

The inherent irony of the whole thing is that it's cheapy saturday serial nonsense coupled with ever-increasing budgets and flamboyant special effects, so I can forgive cheesy moments, plot holes and the like. And I like the prequels for what they are, not what I want them to be, and don't bestow such holy reverence on the original films. Across the whole saga there's fun, excitement, thrills, romance, danger, bad dialogue, dodgy acting, great music and larger-than-life characters backed up by ground-breaking special effects. It's an enjoyable cocktail that I never tire of.

well said

Having recently watched episode IV, I noticed so many cheesey lines, dodgy acting and aspects that the prequels have been criticised for. I think it boils down to the fact that, having waited 20 years for new films, we have other romanticized the original series, almost to the point where nothing could match them.

Don't get me wrong, I love the original 3, TESB is possibly my favourite film and those 3 films are the better trio of films. However, I tend to think our memory and nostalgia has left many unable to fairly judge the prequels

[Niceguygeoff]

The original Star Wars films - and George Lucas - deserve their due; the movies revived a dormant genre, entered the cultural lexicon and altered popular filmmaking forever. But with a few exceptions they are not good examples of plotting, pacing, acting, writing etc; what they are is escapist popcorn-munching entertainment of the highest order, and for me the prequels follow in the same tradition. They're not as loose and kinetic as the originals, but they make up for it with a surfeit of gorgeous visuals and an interesting, if not always successful plot, which makes a marked contrast to the more simplistic narrative of the original trilogy.

The two trilogies actually do a wonderful job of complementing and enriching each other. While they share certain thematic touchstones (acting styles, editing techniques, framing devices, specific lines of dialogue etc) that positively scream Star Wars, each trilogy provides something the other lacks and it makes viewing the entire saga a rich experience. Emotional beats that I always took for granted in the original films now take on a new resonance, while the hokey fun of the originals is a welcome antidote to the sometime-heavy plotting of the prequels.

[DeadKenny]

Originally Posted by sleep4ever

No, no, no, no, no

or

Nooooo

[Grandmaster]

Originally Posted by Jez

Lets face it, its just as pap as the others.

Dont see the big deal everyone says its better than the first 2 however its still crap.

People seem to think its ok cause its the last one etc etc however, as i said just as poo as the others.

Greatest lightsaber fight ever? No chance Darth Maul one still better by a mile

The only issue with the Darth Maul saber battle is that there is no dialogue, nothing to enrich the characters and nothing to further the story. It's a spectacular piece of choreography that despite the spectacle is hollow and empty.

The duels should be as much about conflicts of personality/motivation as they are about the swordplay. This is what works so well in the original trilogy (even with the first tepid duel in Star Wars) and what is lacking in the prequels.

This is just one element of how the original films are so much better than the new ones. It's not about nostalgia, it's about the quality of the stories being told, the quality of the characters and how they express themselves, pacing and even basics such as editing.

In terms of the thorny issue of CG, the plain and simple fact of the matter is that it's harder for the audience to invest in the believability of what they are watching if it does not look real. The sparing use of CG in the original trilogy and the choice of 'real' backdrops produces a visually coherent movie. Even the Phantom Menace seems to work OK in this regard aside from a couple of notable scenes. But from Clones onwards, it just didn't work. I suspect that you could exchange Christensen for Olivier and some of the final scenes would look equally as fake. Over-reliance on CG backgrounds basically means that visual coherence goes out of the window and the believability of what you are watching is as much down to the skill of the artists as it is to the actors. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's simply not an issue with the original movies.

[Desk]

Originally Posted by thescrounger

Despite Jar-Jar binks I'm starting to think TPM was the most satisfying of the prequels.

That's also the conclusion I've been coming to.

I was very disappointed by TPM, and still am, but at least I never felt like heckling and deriding it while watching it in the cinema, a la Mystery Science Theater 3000.

AOTC and ROTS are simply bad films, and it staggers me that they have such fan support. However, the acclaim that initially surrounded AOTC notably faded when people got the chance to view it once again on DVD, away from all the hype and hoopla, and began to see all its shortcomings.

I believe the same will be the case with ROTS.

[thescrounger]

Originally Posted by Grandmaster

The only issue with the Darth Maul saber battle is that there is no dialogue, nothing to enrich the characters and nothing to further the story. It's a spectacular piece of choreography that despite the spectacle is hollow and empty.

The duels should be as much about conflicts of personality/motivation as they are about the swordplay. This is what works so well in the original trilogy (even with the first tepid duel in Star Wars) and what is lacking in the prequels.

The Count Dooku Vs Anakin and Obi-Wan fight in AOTC was quite good in that sense, not the most spectacular swordplay but very stylishly done.

[Chief Brody]

"AOTC and ROTS are simply bad films, and it staggers me that they have such fan support. However, the acclaim that initially surrounded AOTC notably faded when people got the chance to view it once again on DVD, away from all the hype and hoopla, and began to see all its shortcomings.

I believe the same will be the case with ROTS."


Not for me. Episode 3 is so far ahead of the first two prequels it's almost untrue. It's far tighter, leaner and less flabby in it's pacing and storytelling. The theater scene and the Order 66 sequence are some of the most powerful moments in the whole of the saga. Granted, there are just a couple of moments that, shall we say, don't really work, but they are really fleeting in comparison to the more glaring flaws of the last two movies. That ROTS was so good gives credence to the rumour that Lucas had a LOT more help from his mates Spielberg and Coppola than has generally been acknowledged making the film as he wanted it to be as good as it possibly could. The whole film is brimful with visual and thematic nods to the work of Speilberg and Coppola. See if you can spot them. Apart from Vader's 'Noooooooooo!', the 'No, i'm so in love with YOU' conversation and Palpatine's gurning as he anoints Anakin as Darth Vader, i didn't see a whole lot wrong with Episode 3 at all. Sorry if that doesn't jibe with received wisdom on these forums, but wouldn't things be boring if we all had the same opinions?