Movie Review: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

In 2005, fans were raving with excitement over the release of Revenge of the Sith. This movie was everywhere; constant television spots, tons of food promotions, and burger king even released a series of hard/plush figures from the movie (I've still got three of mine). This was the film everyone had waited six years to see. Audiences were ecstatic to see how Lucas would depict Anakin Skywalker's (Hayden Christensen) turn to evil as he became Darth Vader. Instead of creating a character arch for Anakin, Lucas chose to put the majority of Skywalker's turn into one 140 minute movie. ROTS surprised me in more ways than I was expecting. This is a good Star Wars prequel movie, or should I say the only good Star Wars prequel movie. The previous two installments had not impressed me whatsoever, and so I was fairly ready to walk out of this movie with those same criticisms. While the wooden acting and forced romance is still intact, the boredom is not. ROTS is constantly entertaining. The visuals (no longer eye candy meant to wow hungry audiences) hold up far better than in Phantom Menace and AOTC. This movie takes place three years after AOTC and deals with Anakin Skywalker as he succumbs to the dark side under Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid). Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Yoda (Frank Oz) lead resistance campaigns across the galaxy. There is a lot to behold throughout this movie. Most notably several effective fan-service moments. Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) makes an appearance after Yoda must defend the wookies against General Grievous (Matthew Wood). Then there is the final act where we meet a newborn Luke & Leia. The film concludes with Anakin becoming Darth Vader, which is easily the weakest of these throwback cameos. His role in the movie is brief, which is beneficial because performance-wise, Vader's role is fairly weak. As said above, there is still the romance between Anakin and Padme (Natalie Portman), but since Christensen delivers a much better performance, the love story does not feel as heavy-handed and forced. It is never the highlight of the film, but even with Portman's lackluster performance, we still get many good scenes with her and Anakin. The largest issue rectified in this final prequel movie, is the emotion. ROTS is a very dark film with a somber, if not depressing, tone that carries throughout a large portion of the movie. The previous prequel movies did not deliver a true emotional conflict. This one does and it is mega-successful. The implications in this script-Anakin's infamous encounter with the younglings- is one of the many emotionally stirring moments. That said, while the raw emotion succeeds, ROTS suffers when it comes to tone. In the first two acts, the film bounces back and forth between a lighthearted duel with Obi-Wan and Grevious, and Anakin succumbing to Lord Sidious's rule. The score and the scenery awkwardly juxtaposes and creates an odd rift between these two stories. While they come together at the conclusion, ROTS does definitely feel fragmented in places. Overall, Revenge of the Sith is the only good prequel movie. It is emotional, entertaining, and is visually enjoyable. Fans of Star Wars will appreciate this movie, as I did, but this is a far more darker and mature film than Star Wars has gone before. Three stars= B

Movie Review: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Most fans of Star Wars unanimously agree that Attack of the Clones-the follow up to The Phantom Menace (1999)- is the worst entry in the entire franchise. Yet there is a rift here; AOTC has a 66% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and various critics (CinemaScore for example) gave the film an A- based on their audience poll. Yet another movie that I loved as a kid, and also another film that I have reviewed on this blog before, Attack of the Clones saves itself in the last act, but that does not erase the memory of the first two which are (more often than not) cringe-inducing. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Frank Oz. So ten years after the events of Phantom Menace, Anakin (Christensen) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) return to the Jedi council and reunite with Padme (Portman) who needs Skywalker's protection from a mysterious assassination attempt. Anakin and Padme go off to Naboo, where the two slowly fall "in love". I suppose the biggest down-side of AOTC is the forced romance between Anakin and Padme's characters. There has never been worse chemistry between actors then the one depicted here. Not only is it awkward and forced, but since neither of these two give anywhere close to a good performance, the entire story with these two is flat and lifeless. Portman surprises here; whereas she is usually stunning her in performances, her acting in this movie was atrocious. As was Hayden Christensen's whose portrayal of Anakin is cocky and unlikable. Ewan McGregor does some good work here: constantly falling victim to the poor script and wooden dialogue Lucas writes. I must also remark that excluding the final act (which is sort of awesome) Frank Oz's portrayal of Yoda feels stale and unremarkable. As does Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu. The latter, in particular, doesn't have the depth or even just the compassion that a high-order, Jedi knight should possess. On the good side, AOTC is entertaining all throughout. Something Phantom Menace neglected, which caused it to become a science fiction snooze-fest. I was never bored by this movie, even when it gets flat and uninspired (which it does on more than one occasion). I'm also a fan of Christopher Lee, who fills Darth Maul's shoes, as former Jedi Count Dooku. His acting, as well as Ian McDiarmid's performance, is one of the very few positives we can extract from this movie. As always, the musical score by John Williams is filled with the fantastical wonder that should accompany any Star Wars movie. And as I said before, the ending battle sequence is terrific and exciting. A much needed change compared to the forced romance and poor visuals that consumed the first two acts. The ending of this film marks the beginning of the clone wars, which was then made into a movie and two separate TV series. This was a hard film to review, because there are so many bad things, but one really great thing at the end. Therefore the grade and rating of this movie are actually somewhat harder to put one's finger on. Overall, Attack of the Clones is poorly acted, with non-convincing visuals, and a script that turns very flat, very easily. However, the movie is very entertaining, and provides us with a kick-ass battle sequence as its finale. Two stars= C+

Movie Review: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

It would be easy to walk out of "The Phantom Menace" and say you loved it. Many did back in 1999, and nearly nineteen years after the film's release, the hype has worn off and people have openly dissected the first of Lucas's prequel trilogy. I reviewed this movie a little over three years ago. It was back when I first began reviewing films and the review is...to put it lightly....not all that great. That said, for the sake of nostalgia and sentimentality, I will leave that review up. When I first saw "The Phantom Menace" (roughly twelve years ago) I loved it. My young self was riveted by the space battles, Darth Maul, and seeing young Anakin Skywalker. Years have gone by since I watched this film from beginning to end, and seeing this film in its entirety awakened me to a harsh truth: The Phantom Menace is not a very good movie. This has been talked about and disputed for years. In fact, so have the following two Star Wars prequels. This is without a doubt one of the most hated film series of all time. And before I review Phantom Menace, I will disclose with full honesty that I do not hate this film in the slightest. There are good things about this movie, but they are suffocated by the negatives which eventually consume the movie as a whole. Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) is a jedi master who travels with apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in an effort to protect Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) from the revival of the sith. Along the way, Qui-Gon meets Anakin Skywalker, a slave on the planet Tatooine, who he senses is strong with the force. I said there are positive elements to Phantom Menace and that was no lie. John Williams score for this film is wonderful and I was thoroughly intrigued by Darth Maul (Ray Park) the apprentice of Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid). The last battle sequence between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Qui-Gon Jinn was highly entertaining and saves a rather stale film. The rest of Phantom Menace, to sum it into one word, was boring. At this point in film history, no Star Wars film had ever felt flat or boring. However, Phantom Menace broke that track record and meanders for the majority of its 133 minute run-time. The sub-plot of the film revolves around a trade negotiation involving Queen Amidala (Portman) who is being coaxed by Palpatine (McDiarmid) to sign a contractual agreement. Not only is this a snooze-fest, but the political subplot is muddled and confusing. Which brings me to my next flaw; that visual muddling happens whenever the film relies on CGI. Not only do the special effects look dated in 2018, but in many sequences (like the Podraces) the CGI is so poorly filmed and constructed that it becomes blurry and misshapen. The race sequence--which I love in a nostalgic way--is truly an eyesore. Speaking of Anakin Skywalker, Jake Lloyd received a ton of hate for this role. I don't blame him or his acting in the slightest. Lloyd was doing the best with what he had (a so-so script and odd expectations). While reading about this movie, I stumbled upon a quote from producer Rick McCallum. He said that Lloyd was "smart, mischievous, and loves anything mechanical-just like Anakin." This strikes me as odd because nothing in that gives us any indication about his acting abilities. The casting for this film was so hap-hazard there really is nobody to blame except the production company.  It's hard for me to criticize a Star Wars film. Writing the Rogue One review was one of the harder pieces I had ever written on film. To that I will reiterate that I do not hate this film. There are positives, but they are overshadowed by the negatives which seem to dictate the majority of this movie. I still have an Anakin Skywalker, pod-racing mug from '99. Then there's the poster of young Anakin looking downwards, while the shadow of Darth Vader looms near, still hanging in my bedroom. The film's impact on pop culture and the world of film can still be felt today, and while there are definitely many cons, the pros still live. Overall, The Phantom Menace is boring and poorly made, but that doesn't stop the film from having iconic elements that live in the Star Wars hall of fame eternally. Two stars= C