5/23/2005
The Last New SW Movie
A momentous occasion for one, who like so many of his generation, was turned to the geek side by a low budget flick in 1977. First, a plain old review. I’ll have to post again on the whole, “The last vestige of childhood is gone” thing.
Sampling of ROTS reviews…
-The New York Times says it is better than the original SW
-USA Today says it might be the best SW movie of all time (it is)
-Ebert, who hated AOTC, gives ROTS 3.5/4 stars
-The Washington Post, “Revenge of the Sith is a brilliant consummation to a promise made a long time ago, far, far away, in a galaxy called 1977."
- The Film Journal, “Revenge of the Sith is his great Star Wars swan song. It is, and will likely remain, the best film of the year... a true masterpiece”
-Journalists at the snootiest of snoot fests… Cannes, applauded at the end.
Now I hate movie critics as much as the next guy. The point here is to consider what the odds were of ROTS getting a warm critical reception. Worse than the ones 3PO rattled off to Han in ESB, that’s what. Is ROTS that good then? Oh yes.
The goal: Make a movie that’s great on its own, turns around most of the critics who hated the previous two, ties together two trilogies, ends the overall saga and lives up to the sentimentally inflated standard of the originals (the most popular and beloved movie series of all time). That’s all.
This movie makes every other SW movie better. Its adds a depth to the originals and a symmetry to the saga that’s hard not to admire. We grew up with the old movies, and now every line means more. Random scenes from I & II turn out to be building blocks for Ep III, the big payoff. The intricacy is fine work indeed for those who care to trace it out.
The opening sequence (about 20 minutes) is classic SW swashbuckling on steroids. It also takes FX to a new level, in the grand SW tradition. After that there is some, yes, talking. Quite a bit in fact. But this time it’s tight. There’s no time to waste, we’ve got a tragedy to get to. The pieces are set and we move into the phenomenal third act because that is where it is at baby.
Holy Freaking Schwartz! Start with a monstrously good performance from the great Ian McDiarmid. He plays the galaxy like a fiddle and Anakin is his most prized string. The temptation is cleverly done. There’s a moral dilemma to be faced and a Faustian bargain to be made. And once hands shake, there’s no point waiting around. Let the killing and betrayal begin. Ewan McGregor is awesome in his role. The looks on his face will now be reflected in every line Alec Guinness speaks in the OT. Yoda joins the ‘Break my heart why don’t you?’ club, along with Padme (and, like Anakin, she's more comfortable in her skin this time). There’s real emotion here, as each learns their friend/pupil/husband has been a bad boy. Some nice symbolism accompanies some great fighting and dying. The music and surprisingly dark images work well. The editing (Lucas’ trump card in ‘77) is fantastic. Too many connections to name (you will miss many the first time) make this movie what one reviewer called the best bridge film ever made. As it ends you can just feel Ep IV starting up. If you didn’t think one more movie could possibly make the old and new trilogies feel whole, don’t even worry.
This is clearly the lynchpin, and best made episode, of the bunch and it ends the biggest movie series in film history on a high note. I saw it Friday in a theater with 300 people who thought they were going to attend a business meeting (my new company is cool!) and they were quiet as mice through the third act and applauded as the credits rolled.
Of course this IS a fan’s review. This is a SW movie through and through, with all that implies. Some have the enjoy it gene, some don’t. Nobody has to like it and some won’t like it before they see it. All I know is, if you ever did enjoy that galaxy far, far away, this one will make you do it again.
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A momentous occasion for one, who like so many of his generation, was turned to the geek side by a low budget flick in 1977. First, a plain old review. I’ll have to post again on the whole, “The last vestige of childhood is gone” thing.
Sampling of ROTS reviews…
-The New York Times says it is better than the original SW
-USA Today says it might be the best SW movie of all time (it is)
-Ebert, who hated AOTC, gives ROTS 3.5/4 stars
-The Washington Post, “Revenge of the Sith is a brilliant consummation to a promise made a long time ago, far, far away, in a galaxy called 1977."
- The Film Journal, “Revenge of the Sith is his great Star Wars swan song. It is, and will likely remain, the best film of the year... a true masterpiece”
-Journalists at the snootiest of snoot fests… Cannes, applauded at the end.
Now I hate movie critics as much as the next guy. The point here is to consider what the odds were of ROTS getting a warm critical reception. Worse than the ones 3PO rattled off to Han in ESB, that’s what. Is ROTS that good then? Oh yes.
The goal: Make a movie that’s great on its own, turns around most of the critics who hated the previous two, ties together two trilogies, ends the overall saga and lives up to the sentimentally inflated standard of the originals (the most popular and beloved movie series of all time). That’s all.
This movie makes every other SW movie better. Its adds a depth to the originals and a symmetry to the saga that’s hard not to admire. We grew up with the old movies, and now every line means more. Random scenes from I & II turn out to be building blocks for Ep III, the big payoff. The intricacy is fine work indeed for those who care to trace it out.
The opening sequence (about 20 minutes) is classic SW swashbuckling on steroids. It also takes FX to a new level, in the grand SW tradition. After that there is some, yes, talking. Quite a bit in fact. But this time it’s tight. There’s no time to waste, we’ve got a tragedy to get to. The pieces are set and we move into the phenomenal third act because that is where it is at baby.
Holy Freaking Schwartz! Start with a monstrously good performance from the great Ian McDiarmid. He plays the galaxy like a fiddle and Anakin is his most prized string. The temptation is cleverly done. There’s a moral dilemma to be faced and a Faustian bargain to be made. And once hands shake, there’s no point waiting around. Let the killing and betrayal begin. Ewan McGregor is awesome in his role. The looks on his face will now be reflected in every line Alec Guinness speaks in the OT. Yoda joins the ‘Break my heart why don’t you?’ club, along with Padme (and, like Anakin, she's more comfortable in her skin this time). There’s real emotion here, as each learns their friend/pupil/husband has been a bad boy. Some nice symbolism accompanies some great fighting and dying. The music and surprisingly dark images work well. The editing (Lucas’ trump card in ‘77) is fantastic. Too many connections to name (you will miss many the first time) make this movie what one reviewer called the best bridge film ever made. As it ends you can just feel Ep IV starting up. If you didn’t think one more movie could possibly make the old and new trilogies feel whole, don’t even worry.
This is clearly the lynchpin, and best made episode, of the bunch and it ends the biggest movie series in film history on a high note. I saw it Friday in a theater with 300 people who thought they were going to attend a business meeting (my new company is cool!) and they were quiet as mice through the third act and applauded as the credits rolled.
Of course this IS a fan’s review. This is a SW movie through and through, with all that implies. Some have the enjoy it gene, some don’t. Nobody has to like it and some won’t like it before they see it. All I know is, if you ever did enjoy that galaxy far, far away, this one will make you do it again.
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5/05/2005
Kiki's Dark Tower Review...
I promised to do this so here goes. This is more for people who read it and are wondering what I thought so beware if you're interested but have never checked these out.
My take:
-Seven books. That still wasn't a clue as to what King was shooting for (pun intended) here. This is a a sci-fi/fantasy/reality/This is Your Life genre mash up with cowboy knights errant, multiple worlds, time travel, monsters, robots and magic. That's a lot to take on but it wasn't enough. King also makes himself a central character of the books, incorporating real life events into the book and interacting with his characters. Are you kidding me?! In a way, *in* the story he made his life about the books and the books about his life. Then, just for good measure he incorporates characters from previous books and turns this story into a continuity that encompasses all of his writings. Zoinks would be an appropriate word.
-Take all these influences (Spaghetti Westerns, LOTR, Arthurian legend and on down the line) and mix up ‘em up. That’s one thing. It's another to keep it all coherent. To tell a story that you want to stay with to the end, with characters you care about. That's the hard part but he did it.
-Also, the book has a million pop culture references. Again this isn’t random. They serve a purpose. What they do is tie the books to our lives. They connect us to the story through our common experiences, our shared culture. You know the song playing in Pere's head; you know what the Claymation dinosaur looks like. You’ve seen the civil rights marches on TV (granted not live for us Gen X’ers). It’s like the story is ours in a way that other epics aren't and can't be because they're from another culture or time. It felt American, it felt late 20th century and I loved that.
-There were mistakes along the way, parts I hated or just didn't buy. Still, unlike many, I like to reward one thing above all else from my entertainers: selfishness.
If a guy sticks to *his* vision, not caring who he disappoints or pisses off along the way, then that's my guy (Lucas and Dylan both come to mind as I say that in fact). There are parts of this book, big parts, that King knew a lot of people wouldn't like. He just didn't care. This was written by and for him. We were just along for the ride, and it was well worth the ticket.
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I promised to do this so here goes. This is more for people who read it and are wondering what I thought so beware if you're interested but have never checked these out.
My take:
-Seven books. That still wasn't a clue as to what King was shooting for (pun intended) here. This is a a sci-fi/fantasy/reality/This is Your Life genre mash up with cowboy knights errant, multiple worlds, time travel, monsters, robots and magic. That's a lot to take on but it wasn't enough. King also makes himself a central character of the books, incorporating real life events into the book and interacting with his characters. Are you kidding me?! In a way, *in* the story he made his life about the books and the books about his life. Then, just for good measure he incorporates characters from previous books and turns this story into a continuity that encompasses all of his writings. Zoinks would be an appropriate word.
-Take all these influences (Spaghetti Westerns, LOTR, Arthurian legend and on down the line) and mix up ‘em up. That’s one thing. It's another to keep it all coherent. To tell a story that you want to stay with to the end, with characters you care about. That's the hard part but he did it.
-Also, the book has a million pop culture references. Again this isn’t random. They serve a purpose. What they do is tie the books to our lives. They connect us to the story through our common experiences, our shared culture. You know the song playing in Pere's head; you know what the Claymation dinosaur looks like. You’ve seen the civil rights marches on TV (granted not live for us Gen X’ers). It’s like the story is ours in a way that other epics aren't and can't be because they're from another culture or time. It felt American, it felt late 20th century and I loved that.
-There were mistakes along the way, parts I hated or just didn't buy. Still, unlike many, I like to reward one thing above all else from my entertainers: selfishness.
If a guy sticks to *his* vision, not caring who he disappoints or pisses off along the way, then that's my guy (Lucas and Dylan both come to mind as I say that in fact). There are parts of this book, big parts, that King knew a lot of people wouldn't like. He just didn't care. This was written by and for him. We were just along for the ride, and it was well worth the ticket.
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