Revenge of the Sith
I got back from AMC about ten minutes ago, having just been to see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith with Xiaoxiao.
I’m running a bit behind everyone else lately, possibly because I was at home shortly after it came out. I’d managed to avoid reading blog entries and reviews before seeing it for myself but I hadn’t failed to notice that a lot of people were saying that it was much better than the first and second episodes—a good thing.
However, I felt quickly disappointed. The special effects were truly stunning with some great use of colour—very much the “Wow Factor”. But it wasn’t always great; there were a number of areas where the CG seemed to go a bit pear shaped, almost as though they only three-quarter-rendered some scenes to keep up with the schedule.
As for the plot… well, what plot?
There was plenty of lightsaber action, guns, jumping and crazy finger-lightening but I was really expecting more. It worked very well as a finale to the previous (err?) five films but when I try and consider this film on its own it just doesn’t stand up. I suppose this could be said about the first (second?) trilogy but that was different—it was done on a tight budget and that is partly what made the films what they are. But now, Lucas has had plenty of money to spend to create a masterpiece and not some cheesy third-rate sci-fi flick… but he has failed miserably.
I thought a bit longer about this than I do with other films, but in the end I couldn’t rate Episode III any more than 6/10 on IMDb. I could certainly have gone lower as a result of the poor “stand-alone film” performance but in the end I let my score be unfairly bolstered by the other films in the saga.
All in all, I’m happy to have seen it, but only because it ties up a few loose ends. Certainly not something I would watch again for quite some time… unless as part of a Star Wars marathon!
Tags: films