The Official Episode III Reaction thread!!! [Spoilers]

[Halbarad of the Dunedain]

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Well the ending to an era has come to pass, Star Wars is no more. at 12:01 am on Thursday May 19th I was one of the firts witness' to the dark and dramatic climax of the Star Wars Saga, and so I open this thread to all those who have seen the film and have something to say...

Personally I felt the film was a little rushed and a little short! I guess thats just because we have never witnessed a Star Wars film in the center of a true War! Other than that I loved this film... it was so incredible to see so much work destroyed in only a few moments! The deaths of so many Jedi, the fall of a hero, everything about this film is so extreamly dark! I am planning on beating my film going record with this film by going 9 times or more, it is a great film and a great end to the saga... my only hope is that in time Lucas will give us a much longer, slower, extended edition. At 3:30 in the AM I am a little weary to write anymore but perhaps tomorrow once the initial shock has left me and the tiredness is remedied i will write much, much more!

[Falagar]

So was I! There was a really cool show before the viewing, with Stormtroopers parading and jedis meeting up with Vader and Palpatine.

The movie: it was a bit rough and badly cut some places, especially at the beginning. And of course, there were the usual clichés ("You are so beautiful" "Maybe love has blinded you?"), though not as many as I feared. But all in all I thought it a good movie (the acting had for example improved much, even Portman did a good job ) and a worthy end. Ian McDiarmid was brilliant as Palpatine. Loved the scene where Mace kicks the bucket, the troopers start attacking jedis (though dragged a bit too far) and the fight-scenes at the end (especially the part where Obi takes care of Anakin). Also, the battle-scenes were nicely executed, and the effects excellent as always.

[Pytt]

Me too!

It was terrific. I liked it, and I enjoyed so much I didn't look for 'bad' things. Very good 'ending' of the whole thing. Maybe I need to go see it once more...

[azalea]

The preceding posts have to have been made by guys. They're so clinical and matter of fact!

I could not stop crying during the movie!! It was a true tragedy, absolutely brilliant! It is the first time that I truly wanted to go back up to the box office, buy another ticket, and go back in to watch it again immediately.

TRAGIC: Anikin's inablility to see the truth. So frustrating!

TRAGIC: The slaughter of all of the beautiful Jedi. A very, very sad sequence. And the younglings, too. VERY sad.

TRAGIC: Obi-Wan's realization that Anikin has turned to the Dark Side. Beautiful.

TRAGIC: Padme's futile attempt to reach her husband through love, to find that he has none left. Bitter, bitter stuff.

TRAGIC: Obi-Wan's reluctant defeat of Anikin, after Anikin's arrogance gets the better of him. Obi-Wan's breakdown as his beloved padawan lies burning, his confusion at how wrong they could all have been. "You were supposed to have been the Chosen One!"

TRAGIC: Anikin's eyes as the mechanical mask that will help him control his new body is placed over his face. The last view his "own eyes" will see until they look upon his son so far in the future. The dramatic pause as the helmet comes down, just before we hear the sound from him that we know so well.

TRAGIC: The little bit of Anikin that still remains asking after the one his love for whom brought him to this very place. We see his desparation as he asks Sidious if she is alright, his utter pain as he hears her fate.

TRAGIC: Padme's funeral procession, Yoda's forced exile, Obi-Wan's disappearance into the Tatooine desert, the final shot of Veru and Owen holding baby Luke, looking into the suns' setting that we see the grown-up Luke looking at from the same spot.

I do have some minor criticisms that I will detail once the initial glow has worn off, but overall this is indeed the strongest of the prequils by far, helped along by the fact that it has a strong, central Bad Guy(s), absent in the two preceding movies.

Not only that, but it has shaken the foundations of my Star Wars philosophies. Once a staunch "release order viewing" proponent, I now think that a chronological viewing may be the best. One simply cannot end on this note. There must be the satisfying redemption of Anikin in Return of the Jedi. Secondly, I have been a hardliner concerning the Original Trilogy. I now see the merit in the altered versions, to the point that I might actually buy them! This movie deserves the tinkering that might needed to have been done to align it with the story laid down so long ago.

Enough for now. Hope I haven't been too gushy. But what a movie.

[HOBBIT]

Great movie!

Still brings the question - Leia says in RotJ that she remembers he mother (her face, that she was sad and beautiful, etc), how could she have since padme died in childbirth?


Hardly the end of Star Wars though, Lucas wants to make the original trilogy in 3D.

There will be 2 new Star Wars tv shows within a year or two - 1 live action one, and 1 cartoon one (like the star wars clone wars series). These would follow some of the minor characters from the movies.

I'd say expect something by 2007 - the 30th anniversary of Star Wars.

[Halbarad of the Dunedain]

Originally Posted by HOBBIT

Still brings the question - Leia says in RotJ that she remembers he mother (her face, that she was sad and beautiful, etc), how could she have since padme died in childbirth?

Leia never says that she remembers her mother "Padmee"'s face, she says her mother... and who is her surogate mother? Thats right Bail Organa's wife. Perhaps Bail Organa's wife dies early on and Leia is speaking of her. I dount that the Organas would let Leia know about her past just the same as Owen never told the truth to Luke. Perhaps in these upcomming television shows invloving peripheral characters will shed some light on this mystery. I for one think that it is just the idea of Miss Organa.

Although it could be that Lei had a gift of Precognition just like her father Anakin. Perhaps her images of her mother were based on some kind of "psychic" ability!? It's a theory...

Also, I think that as compared to EPI and EPII this final Star Wars film is what Star Wars fans have been waiting for! The seriousness, the darkness, it is awsome! And the death of Mace Windu... incredible messed up! That was the most F'd death I have seen in a while! The other Jedi's deaths were tragic but Windus was F'd up! Sam Jackson should win an award for Best Death in a Film!

[mithrand1r]

Originally Posted by HOBBIT

Great movie!

Still brings the question - Leia says in RotJ that she remembers he mother (her face, that she was sad and beautiful, etc), how could she have since padme died in childbirth?

Perhaps she is refering to her adoptive mother from Alderann?

(It has been a while so I could be forgetting some key points.)

[HOBBIT]

yeah, you could almost do without episode 1 and II - just watch III with 4, 5, and 6.

Leia is talking about her real mother, although those two possibilities did come to mind. Probably Lucas just forgot about that. It is just a minor thing though.

He explained why C3PO ("Wipe the protocal droid's memory") didn't remember Obi-Wan or anything in the original trilogy. It is pretty cool that R2D2 remembers it all.

[Halbarad of the Dunedain]

Originally Posted by HOBBIT

Leia is talking about her real mother, although those two possibilities did come to mind. Probably Lucas just forgot about that. It is just a minor thing though.

Does it clearly say anywhere that is true? Where does it say she is speaking of Padme Amidala?

[Khamûl]

What can I say? It's dark, dismal, grim, and thoroughly depressing. And I loved it.

I love the fact that as Padme was dying, she said that "There is good in him yet", echoing (foreshadowing?) Luke's feelings about his father. Another thing I liked was that they continued the trend of familiar designs in vehicles. You can see their spaceships as star destroyers, their speeders and Imperial Walkers as things that show up later on Endor. There's the beginnings of TIE fighters and X-Wings. All the way down to the storm troopers and Leia/Padme's hairstyle, it's brilliant the way they've threaded things together.

I'll definitely have to see it again.

[HOBBIT]

LUKE: Leia... do you remember your mother? Your real mother?

LEIA: Just a little bit. She died when I was very young.

LUKE: What do you remember?

LEIA: Just...images, really. Feelings.

LUKE: Tell me.

LEIA: She was very beautiful. Kind, but...sad. Why are you asking me all this?

LUKE: I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her.

LEIA: Luke, tell me. What's troubling you?

LUKE: Vader is here...now, on this moon.

LEIA: How do you know?

LUKE: I felt his presence. He's come for me. He can feel when I'm near.

I'm guess now that she got those images of her mother through the force - padme was alive briefly after leia was born. Leia probably has/had a connection with her mother like Luke had with his father.

Just speculation though, too bad they didn't address this.

[Lief Erikson]

Oh, I loved this movie . I agree that an extended edition would be nice. A lot of things happened very fast! We were going from one major death to another with a lot of speed. I was very surprised when Dooku was killed off in the first action sequence. R2 destroying those droids was fun . R2's various activities and fight sequences were very enjoyable in the movie. They kept tossing him around, though! It was rather surprising having Obi-Wan's ship toss him out as though from a trebuchet every time he wanted to dismount.

I agree with Halbarad, a Special Edition would be nice. This one was so full of fighting, I wished that there was a bit more time for other things. Though the fighting was marvelous.

I agree with HOBBIT. One of the first things I was raving about upon leaving the theater was how marvelous Mace was. Poor guy . It was very good. Eärniel should be pleased.

I liked Padmé's line when Palpatine declared the rise of the Empire. "And this is how democracy ends. With a round of applause."

Obi-Wan's relationship with Anakin was wonderful. In Episode 2 he was constantly the critical mentor (and my favorite character in the film), but in Episode 3 he becomes a brother rather then a father. The relationship plainly deepened and became even more compassionate, more loving.

The Emperor brooding over Anakin, "caring" for him and twisting him, was excellent. Ian McDiarmid's character was very good. I was pleased with the Emperor in Episodes 1, 2 and 6, seeing his enormous ruthless cunning. This was the conclusion of that. It was also quite a powerful scene when he told Anakin that he was the Sith Lord. That whole sequence, Anakin's report to Windu and following decision to stop Windu, followed by Windu's death at Palpatine's hands, all was very good.

Obi-Wan's passionate lines as Anakin slips down the slope toward the lava were really, really good.

[HOBBIT]

they are also brothers because Anakin is a Jedi Knight now - no longer Obi-Wan's Padawan. (in the Clone Wars cartoon they show him taking his trials, etc).

For anyone that didn't see the Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon, you don't need to. It is just a cool cartoon, showing what happens between episode II and III. Nothing terribly important happens in it, just a lot of cool action. Anakin gets his scar that you see in the movie (by his eye), becomes a full Jedi Knight.

Episode III does start off right where the Clone Wars cartoon ends (it ended with Palpatine captured by Grievous), but anything that you would need to know at all from it is in the opening scroll.

[azalea]

Ian McDiarmid was EXCELLENT!

Regarding Leia's memory of Padme, I think we can allow the "force connection" theory for our own comfort, but in reality I do see it for what it is -- an inconsistancy between the two trilogies.

Of course GL wrote that so long before he had fleshed out his vision for the prequils, that he changed his original thought that perhaps Leia had lived with her mother for a little while before Padme died. Not choosing to show that, and wishing to have the loose ends tied up, he killed Padme off immediately after the birth (thereby also giving us an end to Darth Vader's romantic prospects and also giving him reason to believe the "child" was also dead), and send the babies off immediately to their respective homes.

Happily, I am able to suspend disbelief easily and accept that there are going to be inconsistancies without it ruining the experience for me.

But the other side of the coin is this: the core of Lucas' weakness in the making of the prequils is his stubbornness. I noticed that he refuses to allow the passage of time within each movie (at least his Star Wars movies). You never see a scene open up with the words "five years later." He wraps each one up neatly after the span of a week or two (if that), and prefers to pass time between the movies. This causes a lot of the discomfort we experience with the prequils (I believe PT is the accepted abbreviation).

I think that had he taken some of the Hamburger Helper (HIS words from an article I read) out of E1, and instead allowed a "ten years pass" screen to come up, he could have moved a good bit of E2 to that film, thereby making it tighter and more satisfying (note -- I liked E1, even JarJar, but it doesn't move the story along much). Then in E2 he could have done the same thing ("three years pass"), and had a little of E3 in that movie. That would have moved things along nicely so that E3 could begin a little closer to the culmination, and taken more time with some of the things that seemed rushed and stuck in at the last minute.

More importantly, it could have had it's OWN "four years later" which would have given more elbow room to flesh out the story (actually having 9 months for Padme to announce the pregnancy and then have the babies, allowing more time for the distance to grow between her and Anakin, and then allowing for the possibility that she did live with Leia for a while before dying, etc.). He would have been able to line things up more easily and satisfyingly had he done that.

The THIRD side of the coin is that he (again, in an article I read) didn't even have a completed script until shooting began, and did a "Jackson" by changing and adding things in post production. This was what he said he prefered to do, so that means that aside from the general story, he hadn't worked out the details anyway. Thus, how could he have filmed and included in the previous movies that which he wasn't even planning yet? That is confusing, but I think you get what I'm trying to say.

However, he did a bang-up job despite fitting it all in to a compact space of time. I must see it again this weekend!

[HOBBIT]

he did have outlines and plans for 9 episodes at first, did he not? At least for the first 6, and he planned on doing 9. He decided to start with Episode 4 because that is what he thought would be the most compelling story and something that he could do then with the technology and effects of the time.

he probably didn't have all the details of the prequels then - but how could he not have had a vision of what he wanted with episodes 1-3? He started with 4, so he must have known that there was going to be a 1-3, and he knew the story.

btw, I saw Ep III for the third time

[Bombadillo]

It was great. Lucas was killing me with eps. 1 and 2, so I tried really hard to not get my hopes up for this one. But then the opening scroll came up, and this is the first SW movie I saw in theatres, and it was on opening day, and so I though "Oh, yeah!" So then I was pretty excited throughout the entire movie. Great experience.

I didn't notice so much that it was rushed. I think I'm used to assuming that time does pass between scenes. Plus, did anyone else notice how many wipes he used? (That's the 'screen transition effect' where a blurry line wipes across the screen, indicating a passage of time or a great shift in setting.) I thought the movie was jerky for that reason, but not too fast. What was worse was that it was all out of order, IMHO.

Grievous and Dooku both died in the first third of the movie, before Lucas could capitalize on their coolness, justify why he had so mercilessly publicized Grievous, or reveal how on Earth did Grievous get the flu. Really, I was expecting more out of Grievous, and the way his coughing was emphasized, and later the close up of his eyes really suggested that he was much more than a droid, but I wasn't impressed. Anyway, I knew they'd have to die, but right away? They should have gotten more screentime.

Then the middle was mostly exposition, some of which they could have divided more evenly amognst the beginning. And a Wookie army!? Is it possible that Lucas was trying to make up for his Ewok mistike in ep. 5? On one hand I think he's too stubborn to realize that mistake, but on the other I think "maybe, beacuse there sure is no other reason for a wookie army." I'll let most of that go because, really, who can have a problem with a Wookie Army! But how easy was it to avoid a plot hole by simply not including Chewbacca?

The ending was kickass though. I'd sum it up with "Yoda fights the Emperor!!!!"

And at first, I didn't think the movie allowed a gradual change in Anikin to Vader. But then again, that's what the first two were for, and this one wasn't supposed to stand alone.

So my overall impression was a poorly edited awesome movie. And I have more too say about the details but long posts are never good.

[Lief Erikson]

The point of the film was Anakin. Dooku and Grievous had to die early, because the point of the story was Anakin. The fight between Yoda and the Emperor, while extremely cool of course, was secondary. The main point of the story was the relationships. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Sidious (and perhaps Padmé too, actually) were the most important characters. The others were ultra-cool, and very useful plot-wise, as well as nice to see again. But the primary story was Anakin's turning to the Dark Side.

Dooku and Grievous were pretty incidental to the story. Maul and Dooku were fairly incidental in Episodes 1 and 2 as well. They weren't the focus- the characters Anakin, Padmé and Obi-Wan usually were. Maul and Dooku were plot devices, hence their quick entrances and exits.

I had no problem whatsoever with Dooku and Grievous dying when they did. In fact, in my opinion they would have messed up the story somewhat by living longer then they did. That is because they would have distracted attention from the real point of the story- Anakin's turning to the Dark Side. Obi-Wan's battle with him had to be the climax. Dooku or Grievous would at that point have been unnecessary baggage.


I had no problem with the time passage either. I never do, with movies . I'm just used to assumptions on time being made.

Tomorrow I'll be watching the movie for the second time. I've noticed nothing in it that I would deem a mistake or a problem, except the lack of explanation for Leia's memories (though I also will accept the Force connection theory, for my own peace of mind, in spite of George Lucas almost certainly not having intended the memories that way).

I watched Episode 4 today, after getting back from the theaters. Episodes 3 and 4 really do fit together very nicely. The only tough thing for me to get over was how drastic the mood switch was. The hyperspace leap from something emotional, dark and intensely dramatic to a light adventure story did leave my stomach somewhere in the middle for a bit. Nonetheless, it was very fun seeing how neatly everything picked up where the Episode 3 plot threads left off. And I won't fault George Lucas on starting the Original Series as he did. It was a bit of a lurch for me, but I'll get over it.

I'm glad the Special Edition version of "A New Hope" managed to speed up Obi-Wan's fight with Vader some, by toying around with the available film. I wouldn't have minded if they'd thrown in a couple stunt actors and started them bouncing off the walls , but nonetheless, what they did do was better then nothing. It did make the fight sequence seem faster then what had been there originally.

[olsonm]

Saw it. Loved it. Return of the Jedi was the first Star Wars movie I ever saw (and still my favorite); for me the story was always about Anakin's fall and redemption. So Revenge of the Sith was a very powerful movie for me. I too came home from the movie and immediately watched A New Hope but I found the transition quite good. The first half of Ep IV was always the darkest part of that movie. Now almost every moment in the first half has deep resonance with the PT and to me seemed even darker. Every time Anakin/Vader came on screen I got a knot in my stomach, something that never happened any other time I've seen the film. Only when they reached the Death Star did I find the tone significantly lighter. But maybe that's just me.

[katya]

I wanted to go to the midnight showing, but hey, it was a school night. I went on Thursday evening. I was a little bit scared because of episodes I and II, but once I saw the trailer when I saw Hitchkiker's Guide, I knew it'd be excellent. And it was.^^ (And there was much rejoicing.)

I did *almost* cry a lot of times. I never cry over movies, so basically if I'd been the type to cry, I would've. I think the first time was when Obi-Wan was talking to Padme and he says something like "Anikin's the father, isn't he? ....I'm so sorry." And then pretty much every sad scene from there on out.

The things I notice in movies aren't pacing, editing, etc. but more how I feel about the story. I was getting a little ticked off at Anikin for a while when he was getting close to Palpatine. I was just thinking "Come on, Ani, he's a jerk! Listen to your bud Obi-Wan- he's a cool dude." I don't mind him going over to the dark side- as a matter of fact I'm a huge Darth Vader fan, but I get irritated that he'd take orders from anyone, especially *that* guy.

Was it just me or was Padme kinda lame in this movie? Seems like in the other movie (which I'm sorry, I haven't seen since they were in theatres) she was a little more of a "Let's go!" girl, and now she was just like "Hold me." I thought her and Anikin's relationship was cute (and terribly tragic) though. It was so sad how she died anyway, and all Anikin's efforts were in vain.

Personally, I thought Grievous was a stain and I was happy to see him die.

I wanted to watch episode 4 when I got home but there was school and I was too tired. But I watched it yesterday, and the only transition issue I had was the special effects. I think knowing the story of episode 3 gives a lot of depth to the original trilogy.

I was looking for spots that didn't math up and this is all I found: When Obi-Wan gives Luke his lightsaber, he says it was his father's, and that he wanted him to have it when he was old enough. I wonder when he decided that.... I figure it was just Obi-Wan's slight stretching of the truth. Like, "If he hadn't gone over to the dark side and all, he would've wanted you to have it."

[Lief Erikson]

Obi-Wan and Anakin obviously would have had many conversations that weren't shown in the movie. In one of them Anakin might have said while practicing with the younglings, "If I had a child, I would pass my lightsaber and all my knowledge down to him." It would have sounded great then, and Obi-Wan might have remembered it later.

This point isn't difficult to explain.

Originally Posted by katya

Was it just me or was Padme kinda lame in this movie? Seems like in the other movie (which I'm sorry, I haven't seen since they were in theatres) she was a little more of a "Let's go!" girl, and now she was just like "Hold me."

I think you're right about the difference in Padmé's role, except I didn't find it lame. It was more "Hold me" then "Let's go." There was an obvious reason for this, though. She was with child.

In "War and Remembrance," the same thing happens. One of the main characters, a girl named Natalie, is the most insanely active person I've ever seen in a movie. She was absolutely fearless, throwing herself in the line of fire all the time. She was scary, she was so completely blind to peril. She accepted no advice and always did the most dangerous things.

Then she became with child. Her personality utterly changed. The change wasn't obvious instantly, but soon it became plain that while she was with child, for the first time she became truly afraid. She also became the "Hold me" type rather then the "Let's go." She became careful and began to listen to advice.

That's the same kind of change that Padmé went through, though it's less blatant in Star Wars then it is in War and Remembrance.

Also Padmé is supposed to be a senator anyway, not a soldier.

Originally Posted by olsonm

Saw it. Loved it. Return of the Jedi was the first Star Wars movie I ever saw (and still my favorite); for me the story was always about Anakin's fall and redemption. So Revenge of the Sith was a very powerful movie for me. I too came home from the movie and immediately watched A New Hope but I found the transition quite good. The first half of Ep IV was always the darkest part of that movie. Now almost every moment in the first half has deep resonance with the PT and to me seemed even darker. Every time Anakin/Vader came on screen I got a knot in my stomach, something that never happened any other time I've seen the film. Only when they reached the Death Star did I find the tone significantly lighter. But maybe that's just me.

I'm glad you found the transition good. I thought it was really good too. Really the only difficulty I had was with how much lighter things were in Episode 4. I didn't find things dark at all, though I wish I had. I was definitely connecting things between the movies all the time while watching the film.

Seeing that original Star Destroyer coming across the screen was pretty cool . There wasn't anything that big in Episode 3, though Star Destroyers were beginning to take on "the look." Seeing the Death Star for the first time completed also gave me a new funny feeling. Seeing Darth Vader also was different, though I think I'll adjust into thinking of him and Anakin as the same person more in later viewings.

Luke's comments about the Clone Wars and Obi-Wan's about Vader were neat to listen to.

I honestly think that the transition will click most for me when watching "Empire Strikes Back," which I will be doing either today or tomorrow. Episode 4 did have a very good transition, though . I'm pleased with it.

Katya, were you watching Episode 4 with the Special Edition? Because while there still is a technology gap between the two, the Special Edition Episode 4 definitely has a stronger link to Episode 3.

Originally Posted by olsonm

The first half of Ep IV was always the darkest part of that movie. Now almost every moment in the first half has deep resonance with the PT and to me seemed even darker.

The Empire did indeed seem more fearsome to me in Episode 4 after having seen Episode 3. Darth Vader's shooting down all those pilots above the Death Star fitted beautifully to me having seen his history as a pilot. The destruction of Lars' homestead also worked well, and the successful stormtrooper action in the Blockade Runner. Those things all made a lot of sense, after seeing how powerful the Empire was.