WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN STAR WARS 3 I ADVISE YOU NOT TO READ THIS
My wife and I went to see Episode III this weekend, and I have to admit that I did, in fact, like it a lot. The special effects were splashy and exceptionally well done; the lightsaber fights were well staged and the acting wasn’t all that bad. The dialogue and emotional depth of the movie were, as expected, a little stilted. But that’s George Lucas. That’s Star Wars.
I disagree with some of you that Anakin’s surrender to the Sith was too fast and easy. After all, while still a Jedi, he felt remorse and confusion for, at Palpatine’s personal order, beheading Count Dooku, and when the Chancellor revealed himself at last as a Sith Lord, he did draw his lightsaber on him and report him to Mace Windu.
It was Palpatine’s adept manipulation, by playing on Anakin’s fears and frustrations, his oily, weaselly use of the right words in the right places and twisting of the truth that confused the young Jedi and caused his fall from grace, and to embrace his new name: Darth Vader.
Because of this, for those of you who insist on seeing President Bush in Palpatine, I have to say that I saw more in him of the Islamic Fundamentalist clerics than of our president.
And I have to say that, for an 800-year-old whatever he is, Yoda is one bad-ass alien. Once again, as in Episode 2, seeing him in action, this time against the Emperor, was alone worth the price of the tickets. When he calmly walked into Palpatine’s office, alone, to oust him, and the guards collapsed, pushed by the Force in opposite directions away from him, well…..that was just cool. And it was great to hear the deep, menacing tones of James Earl Jones’ voice once again, if only for a few lines, and the sound of the breathing. And the Peter Cushing look-alike, as Governor Tarkin, standing beside the Emperor and looking at the skeletal superstructure of the Death Star, was a slick touch; a nice bridge to the next (or first?) three.
Hayden Christiansen spent almost the whole movie glowering with his head kind of tilted down, though, and I found that a little distracting. I’m no actor, but I'm sure there are other ways to convey menace and anger.
I’m also sure that all that glaring, scowling and clenching of his brow gave him a huge headache. I hope Artoo or Threepio had some Tylenol handy.
The revelation at the end that Qui-gon Jinn had "returned" from the netherworlds of the Force, and that Obi-wan could communicate with him will, I think, ensure that future editions of "Return of the Jedi" will also include, at the end, a ghostly shot of him beside the others, smiling beatifically at Luke. But, that’s just an opinion.
I did enjoy it; it was well-paced, action-packed and fun. And besides, any movie that was hyped as much as this one was could only be a letdown in some ways. It’s just a movie, after all.