I just returned from an afternoon showing of Revenge of the Sith and I while I can't rave about it, I can't rightly complain. Lucas finally nailed a prequel and I couldn't be happier. The dark path to Vader is plausible and well articulated. Ian McDiarmid is a utter delight to watch, as is Ian McGregor. Even Christian Hayden isn't replusive. Go figure!
If only Lucas had taken as much care with the setup of the first two films as he obviously took with this one, the world would have been a much more entertained place. No spoilers, but it does appear that Lucas preps the story to dovetail nicely with Episode IV (including that pesky android problem). Without question, this was film had Jar Jar's best performance. And yes, I think it would take about 20 years to build a Death Star. I live in city that's been building a couple of highways for just about that time, so I'm used to big budget government projects that drag on for years.
George Lucas, I salute you!
And yes, the tie-ins to ep 4 are great, except WTF was Chewbacca doing there? You'd think he would have remembered something about Yoda and the Force and the Jedi from his experiences? It's a complete disconnect from how he is in ep 4.
Re:well, not a total let down
sigzero on 2005-05-20T01:25:26
While I agree with you sentiments. Whoa man it's just a movie!Re:well, not a total let down
merlyn on 2005-05-20T04:35:12
Ahh yes, the standard exchange between $hyped_fans and $those_that_do_not_get_it: "It's just a movie/books/tvshow"... to which the reply is "we know!".However, within the alternate world, things should at least be consistent. And the Chewbacca thing is worth pointing out.
Chewbacca Defense
gizmo_mathboy on 2005-05-20T06:08:36
Does this somehow screw up the Chewbacca Defense?Re:well, not a total let down
sigzero on 2005-05-20T14:52:08
Ah well I was just teasing...
I was in line for two hours when Star Wars IV came out in 1977. So, from my point of view, it will be like almost 30 years of speculation and expectation coming to an end.
I agree about Chewbacca actually and I look forward to seeing the movie (although as a $hyped_fan myself I know ALL about it, just need to see it play out).
Re:well, not a total let down
jdavidb on 2005-05-20T12:50:25
Don't project Han's attitude toward the Force onto Chewbacca. In the novels, Wookies are depicted as all believing in a "life force," which often confuses and perplexes Han. When he tells Ben Kenobi he's never seen anything that would make him accept the existence of the Force, he's having a conversation he's had before.
Now, it's true that the original trilogy did not depict Chewie as a believer in the Force, but it didn't depict him as a Force skeptic, either. So I don't see that you could say with certainty that it screws up the depiction of Chewie. It changes a lot of people's conception of Chewie, to be sure, just as a lot of people will have their conception of Vader changed. But it doesn't actually violate anything from original trilogy on screen canon.
I do agree that the inclusion of Chewie was pretty gratuitous.
No spoilers
Oops.
Oh, well. I guess that wasn't much of a spoiler.
Re:Spoilers
jjohn on 2005-05-20T13:48:43
Saying that you see a glimse of the Death Star in Ep 4 as much of a spoiler as saying Vader is Luke's father. Episode 4 is nearly 30 years old. You'd have to be pretty dim not to expect some mention of the Death Star, Luke and Leia in ep 3. Sith is the journey of how the story progresses to get to the world of ep 4. We already know what's going to happen (unless you've lived in someplace like Tragicstan all your life.)
So, I reject your unclean comment, oh Spirit of Fandom!
Re:Spoilers
jdavidb on 2005-05-20T14:09:28
Saying that you see a glimse of the Death Star in Ep 4 as much of a spoiler as saying Vader is Luke's father.
Yes, but saying you see a glimpse of the Death Star in Ep III is a minor spoiler. Admittedly not much of one, but theoretically the movie might not have included it.
In fact apparently it surprised you to see construction in progress or you wouldn't have mentioned it.
Re:Spoilers
sigzero on 2005-05-20T14:54:47
Actually you see the plans in Ep II. So it isn't surprising that the Emporer would start building it.
