The 19th can't get here fast enough

Star Wars was re-released when Empire was. I'm 29 and I remember seeing Star Wars and Empire together in the theatres. I also remember that not being the first time I saw SW in the theatre.

Empire came out in 81 which would put me around 6.

 

#1 at Phillips Place

 

I caught the last few episodes of 'Clone War' on the Cartoon Network's website. Thanks to whomever suggested that. Looks like there's a LOT of story between episodes II and III. Some folks are gonna get lost, I bet.

 

The Clone Wars is a good cartoon, although I don't think anything but General Grievous is confusing in the movie. He seems pretty pointless if you haven't seen the Clone Wars season 2.

 

Ok, saw the movie wednesday night at twelve. This is the second SW movie I've seen at opening (Ep II as well) and the atmosphere is just great. The theatre I went to had more than a handful of people who dressed up all the way (saw a good Vader who was tall, and a good "Obi Wan" style jedi with boots etc.) and lots of random trinkets like lightsabres and helmets. Everyone seemed excited, you could feel the tension in the crowd. The movie was showing on five screens, and I think every one was sold out. We got there a little after 11 and it was already packed. There was probably about a half-hour wait for concessions, which I passed on even though I really wanted a drink. Unfortunate and it sorta pissed me off that the staff would be so unprepared for an event like this. Anyway, I went with two others, and at 11:15 it was obvious it would be hard to get three seats, so I just sat down in front. A little close, but it was ok once the movie started. The theatre also had a fencer who had been in the 96 Olympics for people to swordfight with, which was a pretty neat touch.

To the movie, our audience popped a few times, first when Lucasfilms logo came up, once or twice when R2 was doing his thing at the beginning of the movie, and when Yoda slams the guards up against the wall when confronting the Emperor. Something that hasn't been mentioned much in this thread is the humor of the movie. I felt that the SW feel (OT) in the humor was much better in Ep III than the previous two movies. Perhaps the actors felt more natural in their roles, or the writing was better, I don't know what to attribute it to. I just felt it had the cocky SW humor to it, and less of the stupid Return of the Jedi fart-type gags for instance.

I thought the acting was MUCH better in this movie overall than the first two as well. Child Anikan and Jar Jar all but ruin Ep I for me (my personal least favorite), and even though I'm a fan of Ep II, the romance/chemistry is pretty brutal at times too. I felt like Hayden and Ewan were both fantastic in Ep III. Natalie Portman for some reason still bothers me though, her best moments come in Ep I by far. Her and Hayden never had good dialogue or much chemistry, and it really brings down Portman's performance, since as was said earlier, she has nothing to do in this movie. Her last scene with Hayden though was solid enough, and it helped the overall movie work. Yoda was at his strongest in this movie, and it was good to see Jimmy Smits get some lines. He delivers them with strength, although he's awfully quick to snap up the girl over the boy. I guess he had to choose somehow, but his quick explanation of a possible adoption was unnecessary information. The emperor was kind of different than I expected him to be, but I liked his snake-like fighting style. I've made the point before and it was mentioned in this thread, but Ian McDiarmid is the coup in casting that made the PT possible and really ties in well to the OT (more on that later).

The visuals were of course top-notch, but Lucas still makes a lot of quick cuts and closeups during the sabre fights. The lava was beautiful, all 3 seconds of Kashyyk looked incredible, and the space war was busy. The only problem (if you can call it that) is that each shot is so filled with visuals that it's a lot to take in on one viewing, especially in the third row . The music was fantastic as always. Kashyyk in particular was a nice little scene, if unforgivably brief. First off, it shows how far the technology has come since Ep II. Kashyyk's battle scene was more impressive visually to me than the Clone War, although it was way too short. It was a nice little tie in though. One thing no one has mentioned though (that I saw) was the importance of the scene. One could surmise that Yoda would not have survived without the help of the wookies. He was the only jedi we saw who had non-droid allies with him during Operation 66.

About Operation 66, it was so brutal that it brought tears to my eyes. I know it was just a montage, but you had to think about the emotional aspect of it. People are wondering why the jedi's seemed to go out like bitches. The way I read it, these jedi have been leading these clones for ten years in war. You saw some examples of closeness and trust between Obi Wan and his commander. The jedi have come to rely on the clone troopers, and for that there has to be tremendous trust. The order was given and the troops turned instantly. Instead of fighting on one front, the jedi were now fighting on all fronts. There was no time for self defense, no jedi is all knowing, all powerful (cue Ani Well I SHOULD BE). They never had a chance, and that what was so tough about the scene to me. The music was magnificient in that scene as well.

After I watched it, I came home and watched Ep IV and V on DVD. I then noticed that Yoda is not the same character in Empire as what we saw in the PT. That's unfortunate. C3PO also does not have the same emotional resonance as he did in the OT, those two characters in particular look out of place. R2 while he obviously didn't have the skills in the OT, still had basically the same personality quirks, while 3PO didn't at all for me. Ewan's Obi Wan though becomes the most important character for me, and his performance in the PT really enhances what we see in Ep IV. Great stuff. I agree with what someone else said about Anikan's fall making Luke a much more impressive character. Seeing what he deals with and sacrifices to remain on the light side is magnified by the fact that his father didn't have that same inner strength.


I really liked the movie. It's not perfect, but it was awesome to me. Cheers.

 

Does someone really say, "Henceforth you will be known as Darth Vader"? That's some fucking cheesy ass shit.

 

It's sounds better in Palpatine's voice. That whole scene is very different than anything in a SW movie. It's the first time you see a Sith Lord in all his true power and evil. So yeah, it's kind of awkward that he "dubs" Anakin Darth Vader, but, it is what it is

Some of the dialogue is taken to a new level with the performances, which is very unlike the first two movies. Stuff like:

Anakin:"I hate you"
Obi Wan:"I loved you. You were my brother."

Sounds stupid when written, but to the actor's credit, they put true emotion into the lines and it rocked. Hayden and Natalie Portman still have no chemistry though, however Portman had some decent scenes with Obi Wan. Guess Anakin was right, Obi Wan was tapping it

 

Yeah, but the space scenes were really cool!

 

I finally saw it yesterday, twice.

 

Finally saw it last night, and had a flashback to my childhood, seeing the first one at a drive-in in '77. Wow that was a long time ago. Split second of sadness that it's over now. Despite the atrocities committed in VI, I & II, I still love these movies.

That was awesome. Perhaps the most heart wrenching, most genuinely emotional line in all the Star Wars movies. Ewan McGregor nailed that line so well that he deserves a statue for it. If the rest of the movies roped you in emotionally like that one line does...

Tet, your long post about the movie was spot on. I agree completely. On point, I think Portman was completely disinterested except when she was delivering a line of Lucas political idealogy ("so that's how liberty dies, to thunderous applause") and that last scene with Anakin. I wish that would have been her last appearance, because the birthing scene was bad. She just gave up and died? huh? It would have been a lot better if she would have died from the combination of what Anakin did to her & childbirth. BTW, when he strangled her, I wanted to kick his ass. It was cool that I cared though.

Overall, the movie has some dead spots, some bad acting, worse dialogue, is too artificial very often, and has a few continuity issues, but overall, I still really liked it. B+ at least. The last third of the movie minus the closing bridge is powerful.

Whoops - almost forgot - I hate that Mace Windu was gonna kill Palpatine. That's utter bullshit. He's been so by the book in the other movies. I don't buy it.

And I have to turn in my nerd card because I had to look up Kashyyk. Didnt know you meant the Wookie planet. Way too brief though. They shoulda been in VI instead, like he planned all along.