Dean Christakos« A few more Star Wars tidbits | Main | Stuff You Can't Make Up »
May 20, 2005
I saw it...
... and it was good, actually. It was bad in every way you'd expect-- bad dialog, some wooden acting, and a plot that wasn't as deep as it thought it was-- but Revenge of the Sith was actually good. Now, one might wonder why I'd say this, given that Episodes I & II had similar drawbacks.
A few things make Episode III hold together a lot better than previous installments. First and foremost, Jar-Jar only appears briefly and has no lines. Getting that out of the way, there's the simple fact that Episode III was a story with a reason for being told. The groundwork had been laid, so there was ample setup and expectations had been set. Meanwhile, there was no real reason that Episode I's story needed to be told. Trade Federations? Gungans? 9-year-old pod-racing, robot-building, starship-piloting slaves? All of them conspired to make the audience wonder, "Why am I watching this?" George Lucas ultimately admitted that the plot was thin for Episodes I and II. By contrast, we all knew why we were watching Episode III, and the payoff was worth it. There was a plot that needed to be resolved, so it was more worth watching.
Then there were the better special effects. One thing that Episode I showed to be was how CGI was just no substitute for models. Everything looked, if not completely fake, just a little too smooth and a little too shiny and not that real-looking. This time, however, due, probably, to a combination of improvement in teachnology, critical reception of the first two, and the fact that Episode III's world is a much different one than the world of Episode I, the CGI renderings of the ships look more realistic, more "used," and more like actual physical objects.
Posted by Dean at May 20, 2005 2:34 PM