I had Star Wars blinders when I first saw this.  It was perfect at the time.  Now, I certainly see the flaws but I still enjoy it nevertheless.  One thing I've always loved about John Williams is that he brings his A game.  

I saw it more than that at the theater.  😳

"I expect this to be mostly me and gram but please join in."

You expect us VGPress elite to eat up your ROF hand me downs?

So one week!!!!!!

I saw AotC last night, very enjoyable. There is a lot to like about the movie and some really shitty stuff to hate. But let's start at the beginning which is exactly what I think we wanted from the prequels, obi-wan and anakin being badass Jedi. They worked together well, the opening sequence was exciting and different. The death sticks line is probably the best in the prequels. But of course they get split up and each go on their own adventure, one is good and the other is giant turd cake.

One thing is apparent from the moment he opens his mouth, Hayden was not a good actor. Or maybe not a good actor in this setting. Just the way he delivers his lines was off. Ewan was a seasoned pro, he was the perfect Obi-wan and his lines were believable coming from him. Hayden comes off like he is reading lines from a paper at times.

The love story is of course a mess. There are actually a few moments where it works, like when the flirt over politics and anakin is edging her on, that's a natural kind of date talk. But then you get this Shakespeare like scene with the most melodramatic lines, what the hell. The acting made it all the more painful to watch. There could have been something there but it didn't work, at least the music was fantastic.

What I love most about the flick is the mystery Obi-wan uncovers and how the audience is figuring things out right with him and the Jedi. Now we have a leg up cause we know Palpatine is the sith but still it was fun to uncover the steps he was taking. Every move he made was perfect, really his entire story arch is pure brilliance, taking the galaxy right from under the Jedi. Here the way he manipulated both sides to start a war was great, it just highlights how clueless the Jedi were. They also bring up the dark side clouding their powers which is probably what the whole prophecy balance thing refers to, they needed to elaborate on that.

I like everything obi-wan does, fighting jango, the gladiator battle, fighting dooku. Finally we get to see Jedi in full scale action, it's light saber porn. plus the clone wars begins, full scale war, what we have been waiting for, really want the entire prequels should have been about. But we get the first and last battle...

But of course this movie is known for the Yoda scene, probably the most cheering I have ever heard in a movie theater. It's Yoda showing off what he could do, showing why he is the most powerful Jedi alive, it was so cool. I could watch Yoda fight for hours.

There is another aspect of the prequel story that had huge potential here, anakins transformation to the dark side. I think the Shmi rescue and massacre is the best anakin scene of the series. His breakdown in front of padme is by a mile the best acting Hayden does in the movies. It's believable, it's tragic, it's everything we would expect from the fall of a great hero. Sadly that basically gets overlooked and ignored. The obsession of saving a life remains and fuels him but that anger he showed didn't change him. Instead the final transformation is handled in a clunky way, not as well done as this scene.

AotC is a huge improvement because it the story matters and takes major steps toward the event that lead to the OT. TPM in many ways could be erased and nothing really changes, all they did was find anakin, which was stupid to begin with, he should have just been a gifted Jedi. In clones we seethe plot move forward, major events happen that will lead to the events of ROTS. It still had all its prequel jankyness with the bad acting, dialogue, poor direction, cartoony stuff but none of it as bad as TPM.

travo said:

Vader, I was really looking forward to your memories in here.

They are coming soon.

Revenge of the Sith has finished, I love this movie. To me as good as the OT, I think I may like it more than episode 4. Why do I love it so much, cause it matters, because the story hits strong in ways no other Star Wars movie did. It's the darkest of the series, the turning point of the whole saga. There is an energy to it, something that wasn't really felt in the other prequels.

It starts off with an incredible tracking shot of the battle of coruscant and we are right into a huge clone war battle with obi wan and anakin together as they should be. The entire ship sequence is fun and exciting like Star Wars should be. Loved the dynamic of having Palpatine with them, him edging anakin on.

After that the movie hits a lull as it dumps loads of anakin fighting his feelings. Once again the writing and acting fail, it's the biggest reason why the prequels don't work. It still has moments of stupidy, moments that are like a cartoon. Grievous had loads of potential, his character in other media is so much more interesting than the crap we got in the movie. Natalie Portman didn't seem to care about this movie, easily her worst performance, I understand the writing was really bad for her. Hayden does much better in this movie but still has something about him that is not believable. So all the issues of the prequels are still here, to me it's like bugs in a Bethesda game, you just deal with it. Some can't and that is totally valid.

Still I think despite those issues the story in this movie is very compelling. I love everything Palpatine does in this movie, his plan that has lasted so many years finally comes to pass and I was in awe of how effective it was. First the way he preys  on anakins desire to save padme. The way he presents the dark side as a legitimate path for peace and justice. The way he plays all the Jedi for fools, with one command wipes out most of them.

From the moment Palpatine reveals himself to be a sith till the very end the movie does not stop; it's just big moment after big moment. There is an energy and tension to this movie, so engaging, so emotional. The order 66 scene is so well done and that music oh man! That cut with anakin attacking the temple and killing children, it's dark, it's the fall of the heroes. A perfectly executed plan in effect. Then you got Yoda chopping heads, escaping, him  and obi wan having to figure out who did all this, the betrayal in obi-Wans face when he sees its his best friend, basically his brother, wow.

Lets get back to anakin as this is all about him. I realized in this viewing that his turn to the dark side wasn't some weird accident where he got angry one moment and poof you are now dark. He basically made his decision to join Palpatine when he was alone in the council chamber and was starring out at his apartment, tears in his eyes (creepy music too). Basically he made a deal with the devil out of love not anger, and that's damn interesting. Makes him all the more tragic a character. Yes I know whiny Vader is a disappointment, we all wanted him to be some super badass. But why get what we want, this plays on our expectations, Vader is turns evil cause he was in love and that goes along with the fantasy fairy tale motif that Star Wars was built on.

It just keeps building and building till the ultimate showdown. You watch anakin almost killing against his will, tears in his eyes as he does it. You see his mind get warped by the dark side, he is fearful, he is paranoid, he is delusional. Even though he did it all for padme he starts to loose sight of that to the point where he straight up chokes her out of jealousy because of obi-wan. You get obi-Wans desperate pleas to save his friend, none of it works so they fight to the death, in a volcano, with incredible music playing. Again John Williams is at his best.

Yeah the fight is over the top, again some of that prequel jank showing up to mess with the story. Still I enjoyed all of it. I loved seeing Yoda go fight palpatine, the two strongest force users going head to head, so much fan service. All of it so entertaining, so engaging, especially when Obi-wan wins the fight and he his pouring his heart out to anakin, finally a well acted scene. Hayden screams a perfect "I hate you!", you feel the pain all of them are feeling.

I never liked what they did with padme at the end, dying of a broken heart. But again it's fantasy, it's one of those things you would read in an old love tale. As for Vader, the scene was too much of an homage. Lucas has the subtelty of a train, we get it, it's supposed to be like Frankenstein. Of course there is the awful noooo. Still the emperor was messing with his mind till the end, removing the one thing he loved from the equation by telling him he killed padme.

The final scenes of this movie are perfect, it bridges the two trilogies beautifully.  At least the prequels make the OT better, so it accomplished something. It made the greatest moment of the series much more emotional as now we know what Vader turning on the emperor truly means. This man wasn't just the bad guy hurting his son, he is the architect of everything bad in Vader's world, he lead to his misery and to see that come to an end is so powerful. A scene where Luke says "there is good with you" no makes sense, back before the prequels that was just something Luke pulled out of his ass as for two movies Vader didn't show a hint of having good in him. But after the prequels we know that's the theme of the whole saga. We now see Obi wan and Yoda in all new ways. They aren't just cool old teachers. Yoda used to be this legendary Jedi warrior that so happened to move to a swamp for retirement, that's how we viewed him before the prequels. Now we see him as a failure, he lost the galaxy under his watch.

I know many just hate all the prequels because the way they are, I get it. But there is a great story there. If only Lucas got out of the directing chair and let someone else handle the movie these films would have been much better. At least we have this movie which has all the emotion, heart and action I would expect from a SW movie.

I like to think he was putting on as well but twenty years in isolation could have changed him a bit.

Definitely!  I knew they fought on a volcano planet.  Lucas mentioned it decades ago. But it was awesome to see it come to life.

Obi-Wan/Vader

Up,I'm watching.