|
star
wars episode 3 – revenge of the sith twenty-one
days later… review by mark newbold
Thursday May 19th 2005. I’m in Las Vegas, it’s midnight and I’m
pretty certain that Christmas has come seven months early. Tuesday June 7th 2005. I’m in Burton upon Trent watching Revenge
of the Sith for the sixth time in just under three weeks, it’s just after ten
in the evening and what do you know, it’s still snowing. Well, George has certainly got me convinced. On every beat this film works. From a story point-of-view it hits every
nail squarely on the head. Effects
wise it’s a shoe-in for the Oscar next March.
The acting has elevated way beyond the levels of The Phantom Menace and
Attack of the Cones. Design wise it’s a lavish feast for the
eyes, and the editing, pacing and especially direction are
spot on. So, after a three week trawl through the world box office
(at time of writing it stands at number 16 worldwide, with $628,544,592 in just 21 days, already ahead
of Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Clones and now reeling in other films like
Harry Potter and
the Philosophers Stone and The Lion King.) perhaps it’s time for a second
look at this piece. And while I may
have already clearly set my stall out, there are plenty of issues ripe for
debate. First of all, Star Wars films are not like other movies. Other films are designed to be watched once, perhaps twice. But no sequence of films in movie history have been scrutinised as closely as the Star Wars saga, and Revenge of the Sith is no exception. Here is a film specifically crafted with the knowledge that its target audience (that’s you and me folks) will be watching it multiple times. And thank goodness that this episode stands up fantastically to repeat viewings. It didn’t seem possible for the Mustafar landing platform sequence to come over any stronger than it did the first time but even on the sixth viewing it hits home. The acting here is quality, and let’s not forget – Portman is an Oscar nominated actress, McGregor is a Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominated and multiple Empire awards winner and Christensen is a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominated actor, so no shortage of talent there. Every actor hits their character out of the park. Padme is winsome, in love but worried about her life with Anakin and the fate of the Republic. Anakin is a hero of the Republic, but longs for more than the ordinary life of a Jedi Knight, and Obi-Wan, also a hero, has the worry of watching out for his younger `brother’. It’s an intricate set up, made more real by the constant whispering in the ear by Palpatine, brilliantly and increasingly effectively played by Ian McDiarmid. Some people have grumbled that he `hams it up’ during the fight scenes, but the pure release of being able to finally throw away the cloak and let loose really comes across. Palpatine is genuinely enjoying these moments. After all, he has plotted for decades to get here, lost two apprentices and slayed his own master. Why not enjoy it? He’s stitched up both the Jedi Order and the Republic like a kipper, re-branded it into the Empire and declared himself Emperor for life. In a twisted way, he deserves to enjoy it.
ANAKIN’S SUDDEN TURN - A common complaint is
that Anakin’s turn is sudden.
Sudden? I’m sorry; I vaguely
seem to remember two films that came out, The
Phantom Menace and Attack of the
Clones. They foreshadowed this
`sudden turn’ quite effectively. Or
perhaps these folks missed the first hour of the film while complaining about
the price of popcorn in the lobby.
There’s nothing sudden about it.
Mace has just been killed, and as Palpatine says, the Jedi will kill
them both unless they move quickly. He
has nowhere else to go, so from his point of view he has no choice whatsoever.
Palpatine is the only one
who can teach him how to save Padme.
He knows (and is quite correct) that the Jedi are holding things back
from him, and Palpatine is right that they fear his power but that they also
need him. And once again, as in the
Ben-Dooku scene in Clones, the bad
guys tell the truth while the good guys lie to cover their backs. No, that scene plays out just fine and
folks who don’t `get it’, well.
Perhaps they just haven’t been paying attention for the last 28 years. THAT SCREAM – Darth Vader, now shorn of all
his limbs and having endured an agonising operation to seal him in the
infamous black armour of Darth Vader speaks his first words, and
understandably he asks after Padme.
After all, despite being swallowed by the power of the dark side, he
did it all for her. With the dark side
come jealousy and hate, and it was that that turned him on his love, that and
his growing hatred for Obi-Wan.
Palpatine tells him that he killed her, and Vader tries to crush the
Emperor, but now isn’t strong enough (a master stroke by Lucas. The Emperor knew that Anakin would eventually make a play and try to wrestle
power from him, as Palpatine had Darth Plagueis, and so by having Vader
diminished in power he had his potentially most lethal enemy exactly where he wanted him. Palpatine wouldn’t have saved Padme, even
if he truly had the power to do so. He
wanted the Chosen One, the only one who could defeat him, in his grip. And now Vader, who is likely not as
powerful as either Darth Maul or Count Dooku, is trapped in a lie and that
suit). What else would Anakin
say? He has gambled everything, and lost everything. Once again, as he had been as a boy and, in
some respects as a Jedi, he is a slave.
And so, all he can do is submit and serve Palpatine. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility
that this moment was his final act of defiance towards Palpatine, at least
until twenty years later when he learns that he has a son and that The
Emperor must have been lying about
him killing Padme. Now, after all
these years, we learn completely that he isn’t merely the archetypal man in
black, but a tragic figure who loved too much. He lived with the knowledge that he killed
his wife and unborn child, and all to gain the power to save them. It’s almost a Greek tragedy in its scope,
and outweighs almost the entire Original trilogy in importance. THE ENDING IS RUSHED – To all the people who
say that the ending was rushed I point you in the direction of a certain film
called Lord of the Rings – Return of the King. When that masterpiece was released it had
only one common piece of criticism thrown at it – that the ending was too
long. And in many respects that’s fair
comment. It did go on, for about 20
minutes, but after 12 hours in Middle-Earth we deserved and wanted to say
goodbye properly to those characters.
But here’s a key point. The
common conception is that Lucas doesn’t listen to the fans, but see it from
his point of view. He has a story to
tell, one he began to write in 1973, and a story that he understands better
than you, me or anyone else. And yet,
when he does what I believe is a crisp and snappy finale to Revenge of the Sith folks say it’s
rushed. Please! What more do you want? We resolve the twins situation, see Vader
and Palpatine (and Tarkin!) on a Star Destroyer, bury Padme, send Ben to
Tatooine…alright, maybe the Dagobah scene would have been neat, but the DVD
is out November 1st and I think I can hold on till then for 20
seconds of footage. The ending is
fine, and in keeping with the other six films. Jackson, to his credit, was capping off a
fantastic trilogy. Lucas wasn’t. He was building a continuous bridge between
Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. This isn’t the final Star Wars film, it’s the third one. Watch them properly, as you always should
from now on, and you’ll realise there’s a whole other trilogy to come yet. YOU DON’T SEE ENOUGH OF VADER IN THE SUIT – Well,
apart from the fact that Anakin Skywalker, pre-black armour is infinitely
more scary and powerful than the post-fight Vader, I have a little tip for
people who say there isn’t enough armoured Darth Vader. Go to a shop, pay your $50/£25 and buy A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I think you’ll find quite a lot of Darth
Vader in there. This is a
prequel! It’s supposed to show you how
the characters got to where we first saw them in A New Hope, and it succeeds better than we could have hoped. True, more Darth in the suit would have
been great, but it would have also been pretty pointless within in the
boundaries of the larger film. This
trilogy is about Anakin Skywalker, hero of the Republic. The Original Trilogy is about Darth Vader,
hero of the Empire. Lucas has kept
this firmly in mind, and it’s a shame that people don’t look at the bigger
picture and keep this in mind. EVERYBODY SEEMS TO KNOW EVERYBODY ELSE – What,
you’d rather not have seen Chewie? And
doesn’t that add another layer to his story; the fact that the walking carpet
is noble enough to keep it zipped about his Clone War experiences. Clearly he never discussed it with Han Solo;
otherwise he wouldn’t have dismissed the Force as a `Hokey Religion’. Yoda knowing Chewbacca is fine, as they
never meet again and are likely never discussed in conversation. Revenge of the Sith is a film that shouldn’t need explaining
to any self-confessed Star Wars fan. While audience expectation for Star Wars films is huge and ruthless,
this episode succeeds on levels that practically none of the others have,
save Empire. It’s a sequel. It’s a prequel. It ties together the two trilogies, but it
also has to end the first trilogy and be satisfying as the final big screen Star Wars film. It has the action of the first trilogy, as
well as many of the characters. It has
the grandeur of the dying days of the Republic, as well as the panic of the
later films. It is truly a hybrid
between the trilogies. Menace was the end of a golden age in
the Republic. Clones kicked off the slide downhill and Revenge caps it off. So
much was lost and battered during the 19 years between films (hopefully to be
essayed in the forthcoming TV series) and it truly started here. Now with Revenge of the Sith the other five films change, just as Lucas
said they would. Is Vader truly a
villain? He now appears to have little
say in the matter, his journey being so grim and tragic. And Ben’s actions regarding Luke, not
telling him the entire truth about Anakin during the Original Trilogy. The actions of desperate men, same with
Yoda. Do Ben, Bail and Yoda converse during
those years? Does Ben commune with
Qui-Gon? Why do his powers diminish,
or does he realise that he is much more use dead, a martyr and a Force-guided
whisperer in Luke’s ear, than alive?
And how differently do we view Episode I and II? Like George said, this is the keystone that
holds the entire 6 film arc together. And if George Lucas had made The Phantom Menace first and we were
waiting for Episode IV to come out in three years, just how different would
the story be? Makes you think… Ultimately Star Wars fans know where the story of Revenge of the Sith is headed. It’s the journey that’s the key element
this time, not the destination. The
destination is a long time ago, the hot summer of 1977, and once again George
Lucas has taken us back in style. |
