by Matt Brooks
I wasn't expecting much from the final installment of Star Wars, in fact I was expecting to be very disappointed.
I started the day out not actually thinking about Episode III at all, I was thinking about how much I hate school. I went on for most of the day like this until school was over and I left for work. At this point my mind was turning to thoughts of Episode III and being done with work for the week (my boss is taking Friday off). While spacing out at work I started imagining what I would be doing when work was done; hang out on the couch, have a cheese sandwich, pee, watch reality TV, and oh yeah... see Episode III.
It may seem as though I am less than excited to see Episode III, and that is partially true, however, the once lively, joyous, and proud Star Wars fan that was lying cold, withered, and grey inside me was slowly beginning to flurry to life. Now and then I would stare off into the horizon as Luke must have so many times on Tatooine, waiting for destiny; I would put my hand in my pocket as if reaching for my blaster like Han just before battle; I would gently whistle and beep, like R2-D2. These sudden bursts of fandom lead me to JoAnne's craft store where I bought some plain black t-shirts and iron-on transfers. I never actually made the shirts, I left that up to my brothers when I dropped by home. They didn't make them either, which didn't disappoint me. In fact, I was glad because it could have possibly spared me further disappointment when the movie ended up being terrible and I end up stuck with three shirts no one wants. I decided that if the movie was good, I would make them for the next time I see it.
Work is over and I head home, to see if my brothers did anything with the shirts and at what time we will leave to wait in line so we can get prime seats. Turns out we're leaving 15 minutes after I walk in the door, so I stood around, ate some yogurt and then headed out the door.
Going to the movies with my family is usually a fairly major event, we pack my moms bag with a bunch of candy and drinks, plan it a few days ahead, then leave. It was just the same with Episode III, except everything was further in advance; the tickets were bought earlier, the candy was bought earlier, the anticipation began years earlier and we left a few hours earlier than we would have for any other film. So far, Episode III was just like any other movie, and I was treating it as such.
The 20 is over, the previews run
through, and across the screen it says "Lucasfilm" some nerds applaud then "A
long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." comes across the screen and a few
more nerds clap. At this point my brain engages into movie mode and I get
comfortable and focus. I was really surprised that George Lucas opens with a
scene that shows how awesome he and his other companies are with CGI. In fact I
was expecting the whole film to be done with puppets provided by the Oz crew, or
maybe some stop motion animation, just one thing that might hint at something
that wasn't processed through 38 high speed computers in some sweaty office
building. Unfortunately there was very little that wasn't done on computers, in
fact I'm sure that Hayden Christensen never saw anything other than a blue or
green screen the entire filming of Episode III. That didn't really bother me
though, however, I know it would have made the film a lot better. Most of the
time I found myself thinking more about how real the spaceships look instead of
what is actually going on in the movie. Since the special edition of Star Wars
was released in theatre several years ago I have come to any subsequent Star
Wars film with a negative bias towards CGI, I try not to let it alter my opinion
of the film. The movie continues, and I get caught up in the story, making
connections to all the other films. Occasionally you get the scenes with Anakin
and Padme, their in love, she's pregnant blah blah, that whole situation plays
out like something from The OC, or Dawson's Creek. Natalie Portman plays a much
smaller role in this film, I think it's because she's gotten older and has hit a
few 8 balls of coke. Hayden is looking as smooth as ever, literally. Movie stars
always look smooth to me, and Hayden looks especially smooth in this film. That
brings up another point, Episode III is a blockbuster, like Independence Day,
Toy Story, Jurassic Park. It's a money bag that wants nothing more that to fill
itself up. You have to keep that in mind while watching Episode III. It is no
longer some strange movie made my some unknown director. It is Star Wars Episode
III: Revenge of The Sith, the final installment in the Star Wars saga; written
and directed by George Lucas, movie guy extraordinaire. You can't avoid the fact
that Episode III was being made knowing that no matter how shitty it is,
millions of people will come to see it just because it is a Star Wars film. The
only reason to make this movie something worthwhile, something that people can
look back at and say "That wasn't just 2 hours of visual effects and horrible
dialogue, that was good." the only reason to do that would be because George
Lucas is true to his fans, occasionally looking at some fan sites, maybe
attending conventions, and reading some fan mail. As the movie continues I start
drifting again, I am overloaded with all the imagery, in some scenes there is so
much to look at that I don't really want to look at all. The pace quickens as
everything ties together, conflict with Anakin and Padme, Jedi Council and
Anakin and Chancellor Palpatine, separatists and the republic, wookies and
robots, asians and mexicans, pepperonis and pizza. All this conflict boils down
to Anakin and his inner turmoil against everyone else. This is the climax, this
is where I'm supposed to feel weird, I'm supposed to doubt all the conclusions
I've made in my head, I'm supposed to sit up and seriously think that maybe this
could all turn a completely different way, rewriting all of star wars in one
glorious swoop. So I waited, I watched, ILM in my eyes, THX in my ears. Anakin
becomes Vader, everyone else goes into hiding, the 6 pack DVD set will be out
soon, I hope you enjoyed the movie. 