Revenge of the Sith
Saw the movie yesterday. I wouldn't call it great, but I would call it good. And after the last couple movies, I'd be happy with any Star Wars that doesn't suck. ;)
Some specific thoughts:
- Overall issue: My main complaint about the movie is that it feels like those behind it were trying too hard. Too much effort to make Anakin's conflict and choices (which should have been internal) open to view. Too many overt comments by Palpatine when he should be more subtle. Too many short scenes dropped into make obvious that which could have been inferred. Too much effort to fill every gap left open to Episode IV (did we really need to cut to another super-brief scene to see ownership of the droids passed on?).
- Order 66: Wow. This is fanfic/extended universe bait if ever I've seen it. You just *know* there will be stories/comics/games that involve ARC Troopers/Commandos that muster the will to disobey the order and stand by the Jedi.
- Mace Windu, not-so badass: Mace was a bit disappointing in his showing this time out. He was still the only person to seriously stand against Sidius, but... eh... he just didn't seem up to form.
- Dooku's downfall: When will those Sith lords realize pushing powerful jedi and taunting them about not *using* their anger is usually a quick trip to the afterlife (or, at least, a sound butt-kicking)?
- Technological "progress": I know there are constant attempts to tie things together. The evolution of the clone armor seemed... rapid, but didn't really bother me. ARC fighters, though? C'mon. I could technobabble a decent reason for the X-Wing's split-wing design, but these things? "Lock s-foils in attack formation." Ooo. They have six wings now... with the extra four serving no apparent purpose but to provide a larger profile to target. Umm... no.
- General Grievous: Actually one of my favorite elements, even if his use was limited. Early on I was bothered by the cyborg general coughing. Don't know why it slipped my mind, but as I was reminded later, he'd been injured while kidnapping Palpatine (by Mace Windu, in the Clone Wars animated series). That makes more sense.
Really, though, I like the foil he represents to the Jedi. Grievous was trained by Dooku in lightsaber technique. He's physically capable of things a humanoid isn't. By and large, Grievous is a technically perfect lightsaber duellist. But he's not a Force-wielder. So it's a conflict of mechanical perfection against spirit.
In the Clone Wars series, Grievous racks up quite a kill count of Jedi. He's got surprise and intimidation on his side. On top of that, he's battling old-school masters and (apparently) relatively young knights/padawans. In the movie, it's fitting that he's outdone by a newer master taught by a more aggressive mentor. I keep thinking of this in game terms - most Grievous has fought were low-level or Jedi Consulars, but he can't hold his own so well against a higher-level Jedi Guardian.
Some specific thoughts:
- Overall issue: My main complaint about the movie is that it feels like those behind it were trying too hard. Too much effort to make Anakin's conflict and choices (which should have been internal) open to view. Too many overt comments by Palpatine when he should be more subtle. Too many short scenes dropped into make obvious that which could have been inferred. Too much effort to fill every gap left open to Episode IV (did we really need to cut to another super-brief scene to see ownership of the droids passed on?).
- Order 66: Wow. This is fanfic/extended universe bait if ever I've seen it. You just *know* there will be stories/comics/games that involve ARC Troopers/Commandos that muster the will to disobey the order and stand by the Jedi.
- Mace Windu, not-so badass: Mace was a bit disappointing in his showing this time out. He was still the only person to seriously stand against Sidius, but... eh... he just didn't seem up to form.
- Dooku's downfall: When will those Sith lords realize pushing powerful jedi and taunting them about not *using* their anger is usually a quick trip to the afterlife (or, at least, a sound butt-kicking)?
- Technological "progress": I know there are constant attempts to tie things together. The evolution of the clone armor seemed... rapid, but didn't really bother me. ARC fighters, though? C'mon. I could technobabble a decent reason for the X-Wing's split-wing design, but these things? "Lock s-foils in attack formation." Ooo. They have six wings now... with the extra four serving no apparent purpose but to provide a larger profile to target. Umm... no.
- General Grievous: Actually one of my favorite elements, even if his use was limited. Early on I was bothered by the cyborg general coughing. Don't know why it slipped my mind, but as I was reminded later, he'd been injured while kidnapping Palpatine (by Mace Windu, in the Clone Wars animated series). That makes more sense.
Really, though, I like the foil he represents to the Jedi. Grievous was trained by Dooku in lightsaber technique. He's physically capable of things a humanoid isn't. By and large, Grievous is a technically perfect lightsaber duellist. But he's not a Force-wielder. So it's a conflict of mechanical perfection against spirit.
In the Clone Wars series, Grievous racks up quite a kill count of Jedi. He's got surprise and intimidation on his side. On top of that, he's battling old-school masters and (apparently) relatively young knights/padawans. In the movie, it's fitting that he's outdone by a newer master taught by a more aggressive mentor. I keep thinking of this in game terms - most Grievous has fought were low-level or Jedi Consulars, but he can't hold his own so well against a higher-level Jedi Guardian.
And, Grevious was fighting injured. I don't think he ever got a chance to heal the damage Windu did to his vital organs. However, I was disappointed he didn't do any of the weird body contortions to fight Obi-Wan, just run away. I wanted to see the full rotation at the hip joint kind of kick thing, or to weild a lightsaber in his foot as well (like in the Clone Wars animations). As far as Windu not being bad-ass enough, we didn't see him fight except against Sidious this time, so yeah. I also think Kit Falbo got chumped off too quickly. Love how Yoda dealt with Order 66 though ;) Oh! And why did they have make Chewbacca one of the Wookies present? That makes him an adult during the end of the Clone Wars, and then however many years while Luke and Leie grow up when he meets up with Han.. he's old by the time we see him in eps 4 - 6. *sigh* At least Jar-Jar played a silent role.
ReplyDelete*nod* General agreement to all that. ;) Yoda definitely showed he's a Jedi Master, particularly in his general awareness. That wasn't enough against Palpatine, though. As for Chewie... well, that goes in with my "they tried too hard." Does adding Chewbacca add anything? Not really. It's just a cameo shot for another character in the series. For what it's worth, though, I seem to recall wookies have long (300+ year) lifespans.
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