Episode 3 Screening
Originally uploaded by darthbane2k.
Well folks, I’m still buzzing. I feel like I’ve just had a two and a half hour orgasm. Why? Because tonight I SAW REVENGE OF THE FREAKING SITH! Better known as STAR WARS EPISODE 3!!
I managed to get myself into a press screening in London’s Soho and after ‘checking if my name was on the list’ I was offered drinks and nibbles before being given a glossy Star Wars Saga synopsis booklet and being escorted into the screening room.
Watching a film I have anticipated for years for the first time is an overwhelming experience. There’s way too much to digest as well as the many feelings that have derived – so forgive me if this review appears sparse or incoherent at times.
I guess the first thing people will want to know is whether this film is as dark as
George Lucas has consistently promised. Well in a word, yes. It is as dark as dark can be, everything goes to hell! It’s a different sort of darkness to ‘Empire Strikes Back’,‘Sith’ is more concerned with the darkness that can be found within humanity. For all of its fantasy, this film is the most ‘Human’ of the Star Wars Saga in that we can totally relate to what Anakin goes through – his fears of losing another loved one, the lust for power and respect.
There is also a shadow of suspicion and doubt that looms over the characters of ‘Sith’, no one trusts anyone. The Senate, the Jedi, the Chancellor, the Republic and the Separatists are all played off against one another. Even Anakin is used as a Pawn in a political game of tug-o-war between the Chancellor’s office and the Jedi Council. His loyalties are tested, but we all know what side he chooses in the end!
Revenge of the Sith opens immediately with an amazing space battle with probably the most frames of visual effects I have seen committed to film. The level of detail and dozens of ships within this battle was awesome and it was clearly designed (although did not distract) as a way for George Lucas and ILM to show-off one last time.
The first half-hour of the film feels very much like ‘A New Hope’ and ‘The Phantom Menace’ with its light-hearted gags and general banter. What immediately stands out is the change in the relationship between Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, acting as equal Brothers rather than with Student/Master subordination. The two genuinely wish each other well, with Obi Wan even admitting to Anakin that he had become a wiser and more powerful Jedi then he could have ever dreamed to be himself! It makes their inevitable squaring off all the more tragic. Another thing that strikes you is the maturity of Anakin, how he has evolved from that whiney teenager last seen in ‘Attack of the Clones’ to a more mature, disciplined and well-rounded Jedi. Overcritical Fanboys have NO RIGHT to bitch about Hayden Christenson’s performance within this film. He delivers.
Lucas masterfully feeds us Palpertine’s seduction of Anakin with believability. A formidable performance from Ian McDiarmid who OWNS this movie. For all the loyalty Anakin has for the Jedi Order, they simply don’t understand – they could never accept his marriage and love for Padme, never allay his anxieties about becoming a father, and most importantly NEVER understand Anakin’s desperation to prevent realisation of the premonition of his wife’s deaths at all costs. It is these fears that Palpertine exploits – telling Anakin ‘tales from the Darkside’ of unnatural Sith powers (that Jedi try to keep secret) that will prevent all of these terrible things from happening. You can see that Anakin’s interest in dabbling into the Darkside is for good intension as he THINKS he is doing the right thing, but as Yoda told Luke so rightly within ‘Empire’, “once you go down the dark path, consume you it will” Anakin becomes an uncontrollable man, possessed.
Overall, Revenge of the Sith is a real tragedy, a tear jerker (my eyes DID water towards the end). There are tender dramatic moments that will forever rank highly across the saga among the fans – this is largely attributed to the improved quality of the acting within this movie. Such moments include when Padme tells Anakin the ‘wonderful’ news that he is about to become a father, when Anakin is consumed by evil and commits a terrible act (that will DISGUST Padme) with the Jedi Temple. The Emperor’s command to execute ‘Order 66’.When Yoda (knowing what he knows) tries to warn Obi Wan against reviewing the Temple security recordings that reveal who exactly massacred the Jedi and the personal pain it will cause him in finding out that way. And the moment when Obi Wan cries regretfully to a demonic Anakin on the lava planet of Mustafar that he was the ‘Chosen One’ and that he loved him as a brother. Anakin’s misguided response to Obi Wan’s proclamation is all the more heartbreaking to hear.
But one CANNOT discuss tragedy without the mentioning of a suited Darth Vader breaking his shackles in fury at certain news that the Emperor breaks to him concerning Padme (only his version is a manipulated lie to provoke anger and forever keep Vader as his slave).This will FOREVER CHANGE your perception of Darth Vader within the original trilogy and will force you to view him as a victim rather than a two-dimensional antagonist.
Cool moments that will make you smile with approval include Emperor Palpertine’s declaration of a Galactic Republic for the Galaxy’s own “safety and security!”, how the Birth of Vader – the helmet descending and the Sith Lord’s first trademark breathes is ingeniously inter-cut with the anguish of a screaming Padme dying from the labour of childbirth.
There is a cool moment at the end of the film where Yoda promises to train Obi Wan in one final skill before fleeing to exile. That skill involves one Qui-Gon Jinn and is the basis of the Jedi ghosts that appear within the original trilogy.
But perhaps the coolest part of the film is towards the end (After Vader dons his Black armour) where, visually, Lucas dissolves the aesthetics of the Prequel Trilogy into the style of the Original trilogy. We see the white corridors of the Tantive IV, we see Vader and the Emperor side by side (next to a young Governor Tarkin – who I’m sure was too uncanny a resemblance to the late Peter Cushing for him NOT to be CGI creation!) and gone are the droids, replaced by humans in the traditional grey imperial uniforms that we are more accustomed to. Episode 3 ties up ALL of the loose ends between trilogies and the masterful way it blends stylistically into Episode 4 will have you reaching for your original trilogy DVDs as soon as you return home! The film also serves to redeem any grievances you may have had with Episodes 1 and 2 as you come to realise that ‘Phantom Menace’ was innocent and childlike for a reason and Anakin was a Whiney Teenage brat in ‘Attack of the Clones’ for a reason too. Its all about the evolution and contrast of the characters as well as the Galaxy.
Speaking of grievances, the only I have with this film is the minuscule use of Chewbacca (there really was NO POINT of him being in this film) and the redundancy of General Grievous who was not the same intimidating character that shit-scared Jedi within the Clone Wars cartoons, but was instead rather a campy cartoony villain.
All in all, I rate this film as the best of the entire Star Wars saga. I don’t know if it’s simply the adrenaline writing, but at this moment of time I deem it BETTER than the acclaimed ‘Empire Strikes Back’.
Did I really just watch episode 3? The events of the film reoccur through my head, my recollections surreally hazy, almost like a dream.
One thing is for sure - I cannot wait to see this film again and Thursday 19th May cannot come soon enough!
The force is strong in this one!!
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