Episode III
May. 23rd, 2005 05:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qosI saw Episode III on Saturday night, and am still processing it -- which indicates that there was enough that I found good in it to engage me. But when I think about specifics, it's the shortcomings and frustrations that leap to mind. I want to see it again in a week or so.
I guess the greatest compliment I can pay to the movie is that although Lucas used one of the oldest plot devices in history -- the dire prophecy that is fulfilled through the protagonist's attempts to avoid it -- I did not expect to have Anakin's attempts to save Padme's life turn into the cause of her death. And I should have seen it coming a mile away. The fact that I was engaged in the movie deeply enough for that to be turned off indicates that it worked for me on an important level.
I thought that Anakin's turn to the Dark Side was handled reasonably well. A friend of a friend noted that Anakin seemed to make a very quick turn from worrying about whether or not Mace Windu was doing the right thing to killing younglings -- but we've already seen that Anakin is capable of killing children when his passions were aroused. He demonstrated that in Attack of the Clones. All along he has been identified as someone who was fearful -- although that fear was almost always hidden behind his outer brashness. His fear was fear of loss of those he loved: his mother, Padme, even Obi-Wan (who he twice refused to leave behind in ROTS).
That said: if the Jedi were too self-centered to go back and rescue Anakin's mother from slavery after Ep. 1, why didn't compassionate, rich Queen Padme Amidala do it? Certainly Watto would have asked less for Shmi Skywalker than a seamstress would have for any one of the queen's elaborate outfits. Even worse: I think it would have been more consistent with Padme's character to help than to abandon Shmi. There were other ways to get her killed than leaving her on Tatooine.
And while I'm on the subject of Padme: George Lucas clearly doesn't know how to handle women. Both Leia and Amidala start out as smart, assertive, competent leaders, but those qualities are all undermined as their stories progress. Instead of becoming wiser and gaining more authority -- or at least more gravitas -- as they grow older, they become more emotional, more centered on their relationships, and have less to do with the work that they were clearly good at in the beginning. I'm not saying that them having relationships is bad -- but I really wish they had been balanced with something else. In Ep. I, Padme resisted an invasion, addressed the Senate, made an alliance with another race, and led a battle to free her people. By Ep. III all she does is kiss Anakin, emote at him, and then die in childbirth because she has nothing to live for now that he has broken her heart.
She knew that Anakin had slaughtered an entire settlement of Tusken Raiders after they killed his mother. She knew that he was willing to betray his commitment as a Jedi in order to marry her. (Not that I agree with that particular Jedi rule.) If she had been willing to see him clearly earlier -- or if George had given her the maturity and integrity she deserved in Clones -- she would never have married him. But since she had, she certainly should have been granted the will to live in the face of his betrayal. Then there's the continuity betrayal. In ROTJ, Luke asks Leia, "Do you remember your mother, your real mother?" And then Leia tells him that she remembers a little, although she had died when Leia was very young. That she was beautiful, kind, and sad. Even if Lucas didn't remember that, you can be sure that Lucasfilm is staffed with people for whom the original trilogy is a religious experience. Someone had to have pointed this out to him. It's an awkward break with what has already been established -- one of several, of course.
The cartoon series The Clone Wars portrayed several female Jedi (and at least one Sith apprentice) significant speaking/action roles. The movies show us female Jedi but they are always in the background or in non-speaking appearances. This irritates and disappoints me.
I have always wondered what in the world was meant by "Bring balance to the Force." It always seemed to me that the Force was what it was, and didn't need balance. It seems to me now that the "balance" of the prophecy was the balance of those who use it. ROTS made it very clear that the Jedi and the Sith were polarized perspectives: one of passion, and one of detachment. I think it likely that in the beginning the Sith were not necessarily The Dark Side, but merely another path for interacting with the Force. But over the centuries their passions became unregulated. The Jedi, on the other hand, became so detached that they lost the ability to deal effectively with emotion, lost empathy, lost compassion, set up unhealthy practices like taking children from their families at a very young age for training (yes, that's my bias there), and denying marriage to their members.
Out of the destruction of both the Sith and the Jedi came the possibility for a more balanced path. I don't think that Anakin achieved this; he was the catalyst for the destruction of both schools. I think that is is in Luke that we see a Jedi who is not cut off from emotion, from connection, but who does, in the end, learn how to control his dark passions. Luke -- twit though he can be -- is capable of balance.
I liked Obi-Wan in this movie. Finally Ewan MacGregor was given a chance to show some of his charisma and skill. I did not expect to like General Grievous as a character, but I did, and I really liked his battle iwth Obi-Wan. (But why did he have a cough?) I liked the fact that the silliness factor was significantly reduced. There were no pratfalls in battle sequences, no silliness with the droids detracting from what should have been a tense and exciting sequence -- although the bit with R2 squirting oil and then lighting it on fire was a bit over-the-top. But it was set in the context of a somewhat lighter action sequence, not a climactic battle.
I liked the perspective of seeing through Darth Vader's mask as it came down over Anakin's face. I wish it had lasted just a couple of seconds more, to get the full effect of seeing through his eyes. I was chilled to hear the name "Padme" in James Earl Jones' voice coming from Vader, and thought his lurching off the table was very effective as well.
Ian McDiurmiud was very good as the Emperor.
I liked Bail Organa. I liked the use of Princess Leia's Theme and the Star Wars theme over the last sequence with the babies. I really liked the last scene, and thought it was the best example of foreshadowing/mirroring in the trilogy.
And I am now about to be late for work.
I guess the greatest compliment I can pay to the movie is that although Lucas used one of the oldest plot devices in history -- the dire prophecy that is fulfilled through the protagonist's attempts to avoid it -- I did not expect to have Anakin's attempts to save Padme's life turn into the cause of her death. And I should have seen it coming a mile away. The fact that I was engaged in the movie deeply enough for that to be turned off indicates that it worked for me on an important level.
I thought that Anakin's turn to the Dark Side was handled reasonably well. A friend of a friend noted that Anakin seemed to make a very quick turn from worrying about whether or not Mace Windu was doing the right thing to killing younglings -- but we've already seen that Anakin is capable of killing children when his passions were aroused. He demonstrated that in Attack of the Clones. All along he has been identified as someone who was fearful -- although that fear was almost always hidden behind his outer brashness. His fear was fear of loss of those he loved: his mother, Padme, even Obi-Wan (who he twice refused to leave behind in ROTS).
That said: if the Jedi were too self-centered to go back and rescue Anakin's mother from slavery after Ep. 1, why didn't compassionate, rich Queen Padme Amidala do it? Certainly Watto would have asked less for Shmi Skywalker than a seamstress would have for any one of the queen's elaborate outfits. Even worse: I think it would have been more consistent with Padme's character to help than to abandon Shmi. There were other ways to get her killed than leaving her on Tatooine.
And while I'm on the subject of Padme: George Lucas clearly doesn't know how to handle women. Both Leia and Amidala start out as smart, assertive, competent leaders, but those qualities are all undermined as their stories progress. Instead of becoming wiser and gaining more authority -- or at least more gravitas -- as they grow older, they become more emotional, more centered on their relationships, and have less to do with the work that they were clearly good at in the beginning. I'm not saying that them having relationships is bad -- but I really wish they had been balanced with something else. In Ep. I, Padme resisted an invasion, addressed the Senate, made an alliance with another race, and led a battle to free her people. By Ep. III all she does is kiss Anakin, emote at him, and then die in childbirth because she has nothing to live for now that he has broken her heart.
She knew that Anakin had slaughtered an entire settlement of Tusken Raiders after they killed his mother. She knew that he was willing to betray his commitment as a Jedi in order to marry her. (Not that I agree with that particular Jedi rule.) If she had been willing to see him clearly earlier -- or if George had given her the maturity and integrity she deserved in Clones -- she would never have married him. But since she had, she certainly should have been granted the will to live in the face of his betrayal. Then there's the continuity betrayal. In ROTJ, Luke asks Leia, "Do you remember your mother, your real mother?" And then Leia tells him that she remembers a little, although she had died when Leia was very young. That she was beautiful, kind, and sad. Even if Lucas didn't remember that, you can be sure that Lucasfilm is staffed with people for whom the original trilogy is a religious experience. Someone had to have pointed this out to him. It's an awkward break with what has already been established -- one of several, of course.
The cartoon series The Clone Wars portrayed several female Jedi (and at least one Sith apprentice) significant speaking/action roles. The movies show us female Jedi but they are always in the background or in non-speaking appearances. This irritates and disappoints me.
I have always wondered what in the world was meant by "Bring balance to the Force." It always seemed to me that the Force was what it was, and didn't need balance. It seems to me now that the "balance" of the prophecy was the balance of those who use it. ROTS made it very clear that the Jedi and the Sith were polarized perspectives: one of passion, and one of detachment. I think it likely that in the beginning the Sith were not necessarily The Dark Side, but merely another path for interacting with the Force. But over the centuries their passions became unregulated. The Jedi, on the other hand, became so detached that they lost the ability to deal effectively with emotion, lost empathy, lost compassion, set up unhealthy practices like taking children from their families at a very young age for training (yes, that's my bias there), and denying marriage to their members.
Out of the destruction of both the Sith and the Jedi came the possibility for a more balanced path. I don't think that Anakin achieved this; he was the catalyst for the destruction of both schools. I think that is is in Luke that we see a Jedi who is not cut off from emotion, from connection, but who does, in the end, learn how to control his dark passions. Luke -- twit though he can be -- is capable of balance.
I liked Obi-Wan in this movie. Finally Ewan MacGregor was given a chance to show some of his charisma and skill. I did not expect to like General Grievous as a character, but I did, and I really liked his battle iwth Obi-Wan. (But why did he have a cough?) I liked the fact that the silliness factor was significantly reduced. There were no pratfalls in battle sequences, no silliness with the droids detracting from what should have been a tense and exciting sequence -- although the bit with R2 squirting oil and then lighting it on fire was a bit over-the-top. But it was set in the context of a somewhat lighter action sequence, not a climactic battle.
I liked the perspective of seeing through Darth Vader's mask as it came down over Anakin's face. I wish it had lasted just a couple of seconds more, to get the full effect of seeing through his eyes. I was chilled to hear the name "Padme" in James Earl Jones' voice coming from Vader, and thought his lurching off the table was very effective as well.
Ian McDiurmiud was very good as the Emperor.
I liked Bail Organa. I liked the use of Princess Leia's Theme and the Star Wars theme over the last sequence with the babies. I really liked the last scene, and thought it was the best example of foreshadowing/mirroring in the trilogy.
And I am now about to be late for work.
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Re: Maybe this will be your experience as well:
Date: 2005-05-24 01:53 am (UTC)