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

[Bombadillo]

Originally Posted by 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 know! That was pretty wierd. I was really expecting to see him damaged somewhat in the movie. That would have made A New Hope make more sense, because there he needs an elevator to get into Luke's fighter, and a vacuum on the top of his head to get him out. I thought he'd be shot in the rocket boosters or something.

Originally Posted by Lief Erikson

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.

I agree with this too. Vader in a tie fighter always bordered on corny in ep.4, but seeing his piloting skills and stubborn consequence-dismissing go-getter attitude in ep.3 again really justified it.

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

Did anyone else notice the part at the end where Qui-Gon was said to have defeated immortality, and that Yoda would teach Obi-Wan to communicate with him? It's a while since I watched the Original Trilogy, but I can't remember anything about that. Is there?

[Earniel]

Saw it earlier than I at first intended (but that's what you get when one of your friends in a fan and dying to go and see it soon and his girlfriend is not). I had lowered my expectations considerably after AoTC but RoTS managed to impress me. I liked it, I liked it a lot.

I liked it how they immediately dumped you in the middle of a space battle. Very impressive. Grievous was interesting, I liked the way he moved. And somehow I found the notion of a 'cowardly' but not weak enemy (because he was always getting away) refreshing. He had nifty eyes too.

Palpatine was a very good powerhungry and insane megalomaniac. Now his whole far-stretching strategy is finally revealed. Impressive too. Although at times his pushing of Anakin's buttons was a tad too obvious, IMO. With all his talking about those who have power not wanting to let go of it, I find it strange that Anakin never saw that Palpatine was no exception to that. But then again he never saw it about himself either. But I do wonder, how could Palpatine had known about Padmé and of Anakin's slaughter of the sand people on Tatooine?

And Palpatine lightsaber skills got rid of those three excess jedi a little too easy and conventient when Mace Windu came to arrest him. Windu's demise was given considerable screen time but somehow left me a little unsatisfied. I sort of felt he would have handled the arrest differently if it hadn't been necesary for the script for him to die at that time. The subsequent turning-to-the-dark-side of Anakin equally seemed a bit too rushed.

The execution of order 66 (why especially this number I wonder) was downright eerie. Those pesky clones came pre-programmed after all! And the way they accepted the new orders without hesitation was goose-bump material. The same with Anakin's killing of the younglings. Though they don't show none of the actual killing, Anakin mutely turning on his lightsaber as a response to the child's question what they are to do, was frightening enough.

The 'softening' of Padmé from ep. I to ep. III didn't bother me and overall I think the acting was a lot better than in ep. II. Yet I hadn't expected Padmé to die so soon after birth. But I suppose Leia had been talking about her adoptive mother in RoTJ, then. Her last conversation with Anakin was gripping. Quite ironic and tragic that Anakin went to the verge of mass murder to save her, only to be the very cause of her death in the end.

I don't think the movie was rushed, there was a lot of material to go through. I even thought they could have cut some of the fight sequences, although I quite liked the lightsaber fights and there were plenty of those. And I loved seeing more of Yoda, although I think they slightly overdid his 'rubber ball movements'.

I liked how the ending of Owen and Beru, holding a little baby Luke, while looking at the two moons (or suns, I'm unsure) of Tatooine refers to the beginning of ep. 4 with a grown Luke looking at the same moons.

I don't think I'll be rushing back to the cinema soon, but RoTS is a finale to the prequals that is ultimately worthy of the ep 4 to 6.

[katya]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

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.

The way Obi-Wan was talking it gave me the impression that he was saying Anikin had said that he wanted Luke specifically to have it. But it's a small point, and yes, easy to explain. Overall I thought the continuity was impressive.

Padme's change was certainly understandable. I liked Anikin's initial reaction to the news- it reminded me of another book I read where someone got pregnant in war time and the news brought fear rather than joy. Still, it was kinda lame. I think her character was just a little less interesting than, say, Anikin. That's my main concern. I'm being pretty harsh too..

Yes, I was watching the Special Edition. I know it's not as bad as before, but still, the technology gap was enough that I thought it was a little distracting.

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

I don't think Anakin's reaction was due to the fact that they were at war. IMO he was more worried about the Jedi Council finding out that he and Padme were married and that he was the father.

[HOBBIT]

But I do wonder, how could Palpatine had known about Padmé and of Anakin's slaughter of the sand people on Tatooine?

Anakin told Palptatine about what he did to the sand people on Tatooine. He confided in them, they were friends. Palpatine was the only one who would listen to his problems and complaints and try to make him feel better, tell him that he did the right thing and that he was going to be powerful, etc.

In the movie, palptatine says that Anakin told him about that.

He knew about Padme, because that was what was in Anakin's mind.

Remember how Vader learned of Luke's sister in RotJ? This is the same thing.
------------------

But I suppose Leia had been talking about her adoptive mother in RoTJ, then.

no, her "real" mother.

-----------------

[katya]

Originally Posted by Telcontar_Dunedain

I don't think Anakin's reaction was due to the fact that they were at war. IMO he was more worried about the Jedi Council finding out that he and Padme were married and that he was the father.

I never said it was. It's still a similar idea though, you know?

[Bombadillo]

Originally Posted by Telcontar_Dunedain

Did anyone else notice the part at the end where Qui-Gon was said to have defeated immortality, and that Yoda would teach Obi-Wan to communicate with him? It's a while since I watched the Original Trilogy, but I can't remember anything about that. Is there?

No, but I didn't even spot that at first. I think what Yoda was gonna teach him was how to project himself after he died, so later he could tell Luke to "trust his feelings," "go to the Dagoba system," and reappear smiling on the moon of Endor. So apparently he did teach him at some point, perhaps between the scenes we saw (assuming that the plot took considerably more that a few days to progress; Lucas never really touches upon the flow of time). Or maybe Qui Gon himself taught him after he reached Tatooine. He taught Yoda, so it's possible.

Originally Posted by Eärniel

The execution of order 66 (why especially this number I wonder) was downright eerie. Those pesky clones came pre-programmed after all! And the way they accepted the new orders without hesitation was goose-bump material. The same with Anakin's killing of the younglings. Though they don't show none of the actual killing, Anakin mutely turning on his lightsaber as a response to the child's question what they are to do, was frightening enough.

And the scene after that was great. That one devoted padawan escaped, and tried to fend off a bunch of strom troopers, and did good for a while too before they shot him to death like heartless, mindless bastards. In the scope of things that was the most minor tragedy in the film but it summed it up nicely. An innocent, righteous, brave, and promising young Jedi slaughtered by the Empire. I'm really happy that was included. For me it was the most moving scene.

BTW there was a really good audience in my theatre. Nobody made noise at all except for a short bit of loud laughter after Yoda smashed those two Imerial guards into the wall, of which I totally approved.

[Tessar]

Why the number 66?

Because it's close to 666, which has demonic ties to it--it's the number of the Beast. Lucas was trying to be overtly symbolic.

[Lief Erikson]

Originally Posted by Bombadillo

I know! That was pretty wierd. I was really expecting to see him damaged somewhat in the movie. That would have made A New Hope make more sense, because there he needs an elevator to get into Luke's fighter, and a vacuum on the top of his head to get him out. I thought he'd be shot in the rocket boosters or something.

Maybe an R2 unit landed on someone somewhere, and a lawsuit was filed and the boosters made illegal .

Originally Posted by Eärniel

The execution of order 66 (why especially this number I wonder) was downright eerie.

The number in the Bible of the second beast is 666. This is the beast that "brought fire down from heaven", "deceived the inhabitants of the earth" and was a dragon disguised as a lamb. Perhaps that's what the number is taken from.

Originally Posted by Bombadillo

Nobody made noise at all except for a short bit of loud laughter after Yoda smashed those two Imerial guards into the wall, of which I totally approved.

Yeah, everyone in our theater laughed at that too, when we went to see it for a second time today. Also when R2 electricuted the hand of that big droid that was aiming a gun at him, and then it kicked him over. That also got a good bit of laughter.

It was pretty funny when the droid gave Grievous . . . something . . . don't remember what it was . . . in the command center of the starship, Grievous took it, and in a miffed kind of way the droid walks off saying, "you're welcome." That was humorous . The droids definitely added some levity in the earlier parts of the movie.

[Lief Erikson]

Originally Posted by Tessar

Why the number 66?

Because it's close to 666, which has demonic ties to it--it's the number of the Beast. Lucas was trying to be overtly symbolic.

Cross-post . So what did you think of the film, Tessar?

[Tessar]

To me 9/10ths of the dialogue was so aweful it completely threw me out of the moment. Don't get me wrong: he had a cast of brilliant actors, and all of them can really act VERY well (with the exception of Haden [anakin] whose acting skills are so-so).

The rest of it though... amazing. I was totally blown away by the fight scenes, which, in truth, are what Star Wars is all about . Lets be honest: the whole thing is a glorified B movie . Which isn't to say that I don't love it--I utterly embrace it with my whole heart and proudly call myself a total STAR WARS NERD, but lets be honest with ourselves .

For me, Anakin's turning to the darkside was so... sudden.

Anakin: "OMG! You are teh sithz!"

Palp: "Yes, I am. Join me?"

Anakin: "Nevah!"

Palp: "Plz?"

Anakin "Okay, okay... Heeeeey. I'll go kill some KIDS!"

And the dialogue between Anakin and Padme was so, so forced. It drives me nuts because Natali Portman is such an amazing actress, but her lines feel so flat and hollow.

Oh, and Mace Windu's death?... Gah. That was horrible. Can you say "Overacting"?

BUT the dialogue between Anakin and Obi Wan when they were fighting was so powerful and amazing--THAT was truely brilliant. And Yoda vs. Sidious? *faints*

HAH! I loved the part where Yoda walked into the room, and the two guards moved to attack him and he just slammed 'em both into the wall. PRICELESS!!! Everyone in the theater just burst out laughing .

[Bombadillo]

Yeah, it was a glorified B-movie. But everyone knows it could have been so much more. And there's probably no possibility that the movies can be remade.

I dismissed the Padme-Anikin love scenes because that wasn't what the movie was about anyway. It seemed like they finally realized that and actually stopped trying so hard to make their relationship captivating, and the result was a ton of emotionally neutral cliches, which worked just as well as all their attempts at acting in ep.2.

Did you also notice how everyone seemed to lose their unique style of fighting? I loved watching the Phantom Menace lightsaber battles because everyone fought so dramatically differently, and that was really cool. Then in ep.2 and even the Clone Wars that carried over a bit. Suddenly in ep.3 everyone is doing Tai Chi sword and pausing between each exaggerated and impractical overhead bash to pose in an exaggeratedly extended and wide-open stance. After a while that stops being badass, even for Mace Windu, who sort of fought like that in AotC and who you'd expect it from. Was there a new choreographer? Or any at all?

[Tessar]

Well, I did think they over did Obi-Wan's style JUST a tad. On the other hand, Obi Wan was a cocky kind of a guy, and he would've taught that style to Anakin. What I thought was odd was how timid Obi Wan seemed in ep. 2 and now he's all cocky and overconfident again.

I agree though that the way Palpatin killed those three jedi masters was pathetic. One didn't even TRY to block, the other swung his saber up and then killed over, and the third blocked ONCE and then was stabbed through. I guess, on the other hand, they were caught in tight quarters.


Did anyone else start giggling when Darth Vader did his little "Noooooooo!" at the end? That was so horrible. There was nothing behind it--it sounded ALMOST as if the actor was trying to be funny when he did it.

And I think they could've cleared up R2-D2's lack of rockets easily enough--R2 charges Anakin when he has Padme in a Force Choke, and Anakin slices them off, at which point R2 lands bumpily and runs for it.

[Halbarad of the Dunedain]

Originally Posted by Telcontar_Dunedain

Did anyone else notice the part at the end where Qui-Gon was said to have defeated immortality, and that Yoda would teach Obi-Wan to communicate with him? It's a while since I watched the Original Trilogy, but I can't remember anything about that. Is there?

There was nothing in the original trilogy that explaines the force existance of Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Anakin Skywalker. The book, Revenge of the Sith, goes into more detail on how Yoda and Obi-Wan learn this ability. In short, Yoda when meditating in the force, speaks to Qui-Gon Jinn. Jinn tells Yoda(at about the point Bail Organa beckons Yoda to join Obi-Wan at Padmee's death bed.) that there is an ability to join with the force and have life after death. Yoda then instructs Obi-Wan on how to commune with Qui-Gon and on Dagobah and Tattooine the two Jedi train to become One with the force.

How Anakin inevitably gains this ability is a mystery, the only plausible explaination is that he always was one with the force. As Qui-Gon was informed in Episode I, Anakin had no father, the force bore Anakin. For Anakin, the life after death thing was almost inate... all that was required was that he allow himself to focus outward, not inward. Which in the end, he did.

[EarthBound]

Wonderful! Beautiful!

Spoiler: Hey anyone else see the Falcon! It's docking during a scene early in the movie below on a lower platform as the main characters are off-boarding from a shuttle....It's there, no kidding.

[Tessar]

I don't think that was the falcon itself--ships of the model were supposed to be common before the clone wars.

[Master'sBaneSwiftSnowmane]

Well, I've seen it twice and decided it was time to visit the moot again.

I have to say, I was impressed with the number of questions it answered and I really enjoyed Obi-Wan. (Ewen Mcgregor? Is that how it's spelled?) Anyway, the best thing about this movie would have ot be Yoda, the lightsaber fights, the questions it answered, and the neat little things they put in there put didn't point and yell, "See this?! Remember it?" Like, the Death Star was under construction right under Obi-Wan's nose and Admiral Tarkin was there at the very end. There are still a couple of plot holes though, for instance, how many Leia Organia's are there that call "Old Ben" Obi-Wan? I'm convinced he simply has a bad memory. Can anyone tell me why Mace's lightsaber was purple? Ugh, my biggest comlaint about the movie was the cheesy acting. My dad actually had to nudge me the second time we had seen it because during the love scenes I kept saying, "Barf. Barf." It wasn't just the love scenes that were cheesy, Hadien is a fangirl pleaser and that was it. (I'm a 16 year old girl for any of you who care to wonder. So, when I say it then you know that this generation is not completely lost.) It was a little a disappionting that they weren't on Kashyyk longer too. When I heard Chewie was in this movie and saw the trailer with him in it I almost died of happiness. So, I suppose it's my own fault, I got my hopes up a bit too much for that one. Oh, I loved how Vader first used his throat crushing power on the woman he "loved". It was more like a psychotic obsession.

[Halbarad of the Dunedain]

...for instance, how many Leia Organia's are there that call "Old Ben" Obi-Wan?

I tried reading this sentance over and over and I still can't figure out what you are talking about? The closest I can come up with is that your asking how did Leia know about Obi-Wan and why she called the man known as "Old Ben" Obi-Wan? The only way to answer that is to say it has never been adressed by Lucas, but what most people agree upon is that Bail Organa, her adopted father told her about Obi-Wan. Does that help!?

Can anyone tell me why Mace's lightsaber was purple?

Well, Mace Windu's lightsaber is purple quite simply because Samuel L. Jackson asked George Lucas if he could have a purple lightsaber. Purple is Sam Jacksons favorite color and he also said "I just figured [Mace] could just use his lightsaber to check his robes for lint when not using it."(Paraphrasing)

As for the cheesy acting; Natalie Portman is an excellent actress and she did a great job with the script Lucas had given her. Lucas and Portman have both made statments regaurding the love sceans and both say the same general things; George isn't a love scean guy... he didn't write SW trying to make Romeo and Juliet, he wrote it for Vader! As for Hayden Christensen... he is a decent actor... he has a limited range of acting abilities but I feel he is a decent actor. His acting was much better in the film Life is a House. In closing, about the poor or overacting, that is how Lucas writes... it is not the actors it is the script! Lucas writes his current films the same way he did in the 70's so there is a campy 70's feel to them.

[Master'sBaneSwiftSnowmane]

Well, I apologize to the actors and I'll change my statement a bit: My biggest complaint is cheesy script.

I was just wondering about the purple lightsaber thing...I noticed no one else had one, they were either blue, green, or red and then this purple gets thrown into the mix.

Ok, I reread that part of my post (the "Old Ben" part) and I didn't make my point very clear. In TESB at the veryvery end Obi-Wan says something to Yoda about not thinking that Luke would make it and everything would fail. Then Yoda says, "No, there is another." and Obi-Wan's reaction might as well have been, *gasp*"ReallY?! I never knew!" When in fact, he was present at the twins birth, he knew where both of them went and he doesn't remember Leia at all. On Tatooine everyone knows him as "Old Ben" but Leia calls him Obi-Wan and it doesn't seem to shake his memory of her at all...thus I came to the conclusion that he simply has a very bad memory.