Sitting Through "Sith": A Review

As I said last time around, we went to see "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" at a midnight showing. We weren't planning on doing this; in fact we waited and saw a midday showing of "Attack of the Clones" a week or so after it came out. But due to a snafu, our friend Tim had two tickets that weren't attached to anyone. So we went.

Now before I get into the actual movie, I would like to say that going to the midnight show was actually a very pleasant experience. When we did the same thing with "Phantom Menace" back when we were living in Savannah, it was much less so: huge throngs of people, hot, bright spotlights from the news crews, and all kinds of complaining from the audience. The audience we saw it with was much more pleasant. Sure, there were people in costume and guys with lightsabers, but no one was being obnoxious or anything. Plus, movie theater employees brought popcorn and drinks in while we were waiting in the theater, for a dollar each no less. I'm glad that seeing the first showing of the last Star Wars film was such a good experience atmosphere-wise.

OK, the movie. So the verdict is . . . I'm really excited for "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe".

Yeah, I know, I've stalled long enough. But it is kind of tough to sum up how I felt about "Sith". If I had to choose between "I liked it" or "I hated it", I'd say I liked it. It's definitely the best of the three prequels, though that isn't saying a lot. But sadly, there are still some pretty big flaws.

Visually, this is definitely the strongest of the three prequels. We get a nice big space battle in the beginning and the CG works pretty well for the most part. Pretty much all the battle scenes are fun to watch. This also delivers on being the very dark movie we were promised. Most of the Jedi we've been introduced to through the past two movies die onscreen and though it isn't actually shown, it's made very clear that Anakin slaughters the children in the Jedi temple. Some of the acting has improved from the previous two films. The script actually surpassed my expectations in some places. I had been concerned that Anakin would come off as rather stupid and side with Palpatine before figuring out who he really was, not understanding the truth until it was too late. So I was pleasantly surprised that Anakin actually uncovers Palpatine as the Sith lord prior to joining with him. The clueless role then falls, unfortunately, to Padme. Oh, and there's almost no Jar Jar.

Poor Padme seems to be at the root of a lot of "Sith"s problems. Unfortunately, the romantic dialogue hasn't improved any. You believe that these characters are in love largely because you have to. Even the hardcore midnight showing audiences still laughed at all the Anakin and Padme scenes. Padme's role and strength as a character has been reduced to almost nothing. Her main concerns now are with starting a family and trying to pry information from her troubled husband. (On a side note, I really don't want to hear a Star Wars character talk about "fixing up the baby's room". It just seems so mundane. The scene could have conveyed Padme's excitement about the baby's impending arrival just as well without the line.) I wasn't expecting her to take up a lightsaber and start slicing up clone troopers. But in the previous films, she was an active participant in the battles. And she's still a senator. In the scene where Palpatine ends the republic and establishes the empire, she has a little line about democracy ending to the sounds of applause, but we don't see her standing up and protesting formally or anything. By the end of the movie, her unwavering love for Anakin just seems pathetic.

Andrew and I were discussing after the movie how "Star Wars" is in the rather unique position of having characters and concepts built up by its merchandise. The big example of this backfiring was Darth Maul, who was on virtually every piece of Episode I product and gained an aura almost as big as Darth Vader. But when the actual film premiered, Maul really didn't have the presence or the lines to back up the status he had gained. While there aren't any characters in Episode III for whom perception and reality are that greatly different, the same thing is going on. Take General Grievous for example. There's tons of merchandise featuring this alien cyborg and building up his reputation as a killer of Jedi who takes their lightsabers as trophies. And if you happen to watch the "Clone Wars" cartoon explaining the events between Episodes II and III, you get to see him in all his vicious glory. But in the actual movie, he's introduced with a vaguely Russian accent and a lingering cough. He's looked on by the Jedi as a coward who's constantly running away. He just never really rises to the level you expect him to. Same thing goes for the wookies in general. You'd think from the merchandise and advertising that they have a pretty big role in the film. But they actually have a pretty minor role and their inclusion seems to be more about getting a Chewbacca cameo into the movie.

If you enjoyed Episodes I and II, I imagine you'll love "Revenge of the Sith". If not, it is an improvement, but it doesn't make the first two films any more worthwhile. It's an OK flick, but it's deeply flawed movie that still lacks the charm and wonder of the original trilogy.