Post by Ani-Chay Pinn on May 22, 2005 7:13:56 GMT -5
I shed no tears at the midnight showing of ROTS. It was guaranteed that I wouldn't once I'd heard that it was supposed to be heartbreaking. But I'm still in denial about just how many Jedi got wiped out when Anakin marched on the temple. It will take time for that part to sink in. Then it will be heartbreaking.
But the final Yoda/Sidius, Obi-Wan/Anakin confrontations were breathtaking, even the first time. Those fights were worth waiting 28 years to see. Anakin/Obi-Wan I knew about, but I wasn't expecting Yoda/Sidius at the same time.
And dare I say it? I LOVED the "If you're not with me, you're my enemy -- Only a Sith thinks in terms of absolutes" confrontation! Worth the price of the whole movie, just for that.
What I tell everyone about this film, the first thing I say is that it's INCREDIBLY busy. Lucas took every space battle, every explosion, every droid that wouldn't fit in the first 5 films and crammed them into this one.
I looked at ANH last night and it is positively austere in comparison. I can look at the backgrounds and see places where Lucas would have put all that business if he could have at the time. But I think the contrast could be deliberate. Lucas has been very good with matching the two trilogies. Everyone gets lost in all the war and technology in the first trilogy. Even the Jedi were lured into it; they were planning a COUP before Studius made his move! In the second trilogy, when all that is stripped down, everyone finds themselves. I may be giving Lucas too much credit on the visual metaphors, but that's what it looks like.
Funny thing, I liked TPM better the third time I saw it. Now I love it. I keep seeing review comments about how stiff and wooden Liam Neeson is supposed to be in that, and I just don't see it. Portman did a good job with Padme, but her character isn't very interesting in ROTS because she doesn't have much to do at all except have babies and die dramatically. Very operatic. That's how Lucas told her to do it. But since Portman beat Meryl Streep out for a Golden Globe award this year, I don't think she needs to worry about her acting. And I think Liam Neeson's doing fine. Hmmmmm, Kinsey's out on DVD this week I think, too.
But now when I look at it again, I wonder about Anakin--she was so pregnant at the beginning, but she still had to tell him that she was having a baby(ies) even after he'd just hugged her. Did he just think she was gaining weight?