Han Shot First, dammit!

[madbaker]

Taking a page from my Resolution Recipe posts, here's my take on Sith.
I'll try not to put in any spoilers, although it's somewhat like Titanic -- you know how it ends. (And, remembering roswtr's story, I was so tempted during one scene to whisper "That can't be good for your hair.")

This was the best of the three prequels. Granted, that doesn't say much. I'd put it on par with Jedi. Now, if Jedi had Wookies instead of Ewoks, it would rate above Sith...

What worked: Seeing it via a corporate event was way, way cool. We showed up at 4:15 for a 5 PM curtain, parked, and walked in. Up the escalators to the lobby, where we gave our names, were handed a New Hope DVD, picked up some free water and candy, and walked into the theater. No muss, no fuss, no line. Also, no commercials / previews / slide show.

Oh, the movie itself? Pretty good. The last ten minutes were excellent, and led back into the original trilogy well. I now want to go back and watch the original three, so this obviously worked on some level. (Fanboy lapse: I can't believe I missed the reference with Jimmy Smits' character! It was there in Phantom Mess!)

What didn't: Lucas still has a tin ear for dialogue. One of the last lines in the movie was the absolute worst. He also focuses on CGI to the detriment of the actors. Hayden Christiansen and Natalie Portman have no chemistry whatsoever. Anakin's conversion to the Dark Side seemed rushed and abrupt.

Many of the deaths were also too quick. This is an ongoing Lucas problem - Boba Fett and Darth Maul being previous examples.

Will I see it again? I doubt it. I haven't bought the previous two and I don't think I'll bother here. OTOH, I might keep it if it were free. (Which I certainly wouldn't do for the first two.)
The wife had a good point: the trilogy would have been light years better if the first two movies had been combined into one (eliminating Jar-Jar, pod Nascar, underwater fu, trade disputes and so on and so on) and Sith had been stretched into two. Anakin's conversion was the focus of this one (rightly so) and it needed more time, gravitas, and development.

Comments

[scendan.livejournal.com]

I agree with "the wife's" point. And while I suspect I liked it a bit better than you did, I agree 100% with all your critiques. I actually placed this one ahead of Return of the Jedi...although not by much, and primarily because of the ewoks and the burping monsters and the excess of snot at Jabba's court.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Bottom line, I wouldn't have felt cheated had I paid money for this. Unlike the first two.

[scendan.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

Haven't seen it yet, but..

[blkeagl.livejournal.com]

..the Clone Wars mini-series (animated) clearly develops Anakins growing conversion to the dark side and really should have been developed as the second movie just from what I've seen so far (with, as you say, the first 2 combined).

This is a great example of someone who had a great basic idea, but not the skills to really pull off an excellent story telling of that great idea.

Sad, really.