Who Can Really Say?

Good Enough, It Was

So -- what did I think of Revenge of the Sith? I think those claiming it's a breakthrough, so clearly better than the last two movies, are smoking something. (And I want some of it -- send me an email for contact information).

I'd say it's more like a slight improvement over the Clone Wars, which itself was (IMHO) a slight improvement over the Phantom Menace. For reference, I didn't think Phantom Menace was as bad as most seemed to, and I didn't think Clone Wars was that much better, although it was an improvement.

The problem as I see it, is that this second trilogy is fundamentally different from the first. The original three movies dealt with a relatively simple hero story -- David and Goliath if you will. Chases, escapes, attacks, defeats, small good guy with no chance up against evil big guy with all the tools, back to back "We're all gonna die" "No we're not" moments, the "Force" coming through in the end and all that. Really elemental stuff that is seems made for an action movie. Having Luke be Vader's son was a nice twist that solidified the heroic nature of the story.

But this most recent trilogy is really very different. Instead of David and Goliath, we have a story about a complex psychological transformation. It's the story, of an 8 year old boy with extraordinary abilities who eventually becomes Darth Vader, played out in a backdrop of political intrigue. With Sith, Lucas proves he's just as bad with the psych transformation as he's been with the politics.

The political plot in the last two movies was confusing and shallow, and if you really think about that it says alot. I mean, you'd think it'd be easy to make an unconfusing and shallow plot about poltical manipulation, right? Not for George Lucas! Although we all know it's coming, most of the transformation is only hinted at in Episodes I and II. In Episode III it shares the stage with the politics, and frankly, the politics came out better. Which isn't saying much. I think Anakin's transformation was alternately confused and clunky. It's not so much that we don't know why he's making the decisions he is -- just that the entire process isn't expressed very well.

To me, those are the fundamental weaknesses. But, as Yoda might say, "strengths there are too". First, as expected, the FX deliver. Second, [implicit spoiler follows] the final confrontation in these six movies (hinted at by Obi Wan in the very first movie) played very very well. If you want to know why Darth Vader killed Obi Wan by taking off his head (or seemingly so) in the very first Star Wars, you want to see this scene. (For those who have seen the movie, comparisons in the comments to the Black Night are encouraged.) And the final scenes did a nice job joining Episode III to it's pre-sequel, the now named Star Wars: A New Hope.

So, to damn with faint praise, good enough, it was.

Posted by Peter at May 20, 2005 08:06 PM