NFBT: GazReview: “Revenge of the Sith”

[Gaz]

Mrs. Gaz and I finally took in the last [or third] Star Wars flick last night. Waiting was a good thing, since the theater was nearly empty. Score!

The eye candy was exceptional and the sound shook my very bones. ŰberKudos to the SFX and sound people. Truly awesome.

So how can such a visually stunning film be so flat as to suck all the fun out of two+ hours of my life?

“Revenge of the Sith” is a series of frenetic fight/chase sequences interrupted by lame and ponderous dialogue that grounds the film to a complete halt. After the actors spout some cheesy platitudes or ominous forebodings, we are off on another fight/chase. Eventually, we end up with everyone in the right place for Episode 4. The whole thing is an exercise in marking time and placing pieces on the board to fit the opening of “Star Wars.”

The entire film depends on the actor playing Skywalker. That role is critical and demands a powerful presence. Hayden Christensen does not have the acting chops to carry the role. An awful casting choice that only accents the lame dialogue and plot. To be fair, he did a passable job with “petulant.” There was zero chemistry between him and Portman. If you do not believe that Skywalker loves Padme so passionately, so fiercely that he would abandon everything he believes in for her sake, the movie flops. Well, I did not believe him and the movie flopped.

The absurd presence of Samuel Jackson did not help the film. I like Jackson as an actor, but he was another awful casting decision. I did not for a moment believe his character. He was always Samuel Jackson playing pretend and doing it in an awkward way.

THE GOOD:
• Eye candy.
• Sound.

THE BAD:
• Plot.
• Script.
• Acting.

“Revenge of the Sith” gets 2 Hoots. There was very little fun to be had.

xoxo~
Gaz
Disappointed in a BIG way.

[CoMoChief]

You probably could have just read some of the sith posts and saved yourself 10-15 dollars (unless you went to the movies alone).

[Predarat]

Yeah but who the hell is Sifo-Dias? And why can Leah remember her mother in Return of the Jedi but Padame dies right after she is born? Why does the all mighty Yoda just go "F*** it, I loose" at the end when he is fighting Sideous. And why cant OB1 remeber Artoo? ha ha ha.

[Gaz]

Naw, I HAD to go. I am a science fiction geek, after all. And the Star Wars films demand the big screen treatment, so I had to go to the theater. The setup at Rancho Gaz is nice, but cannot hold a candle to the theater experience.

xoxo~
Gaz
Held out as long as he could.

[jspchief]

That review is pretty spot on.

If you can enjoy a movie simply for the visuals, you'll probably like this one.

If you're looking for something deeper, not gonna find it here.

I also agree that Christensen was a bad cast. The problem is, he unlikable even when he's supposed to still be a good guy. He never actually fits his role until he becomes a bad guy.

I'd also say that at times, the action is a bit too frenetic. I'd like to actually get more of a sense of what's happening, rather than just characters, lightsabers, and various other objects flashing in front of my face at a blinding pace. The lightsaber duels are so fast that they become more of a light show than anything else. And the lightsaber fight in the dark/poor lighting became pretty played out by the end.

[Gaz]

I had the same problem with some of the fight scenes.

Flash, flash, flash, someone falls down. There were several times that I had no idea what was going on.

xoxo~
Gaz
Would quickly be one of the “falls down” guys.

[Archie F. Swin]

So in other words, it fits right in with the other 5 films? Mark one up for Lucas for continuity.

Hayden sure is good at looking at people through his eyebrows. That's probably what won him the part. Special effects were off the chart!

[Eleazar]

Yeah. It was ok, but... eh.

Episodes 2 and 3 get "eh" and 1 gets "blech". Had to see them though I guess.

[Gravedigger]

i never did get who cypher dias was in the attack of the clones was it the emporer using another jedis name to make the order of clones? Obi wan never really gives off the way that he doesnt remember artoo and artoo doesnt remember him because he has his memory wiped. It wasnt the best star wars but it was the best of the prequels and the love story in this one was far better than the attack of the clones story. You can through a bunch of fancy terms in a review for it but in the end only a few will suffice.

[jynni]

I still don't think the problem is the Christensen but rather with Lucas. Hayden has been good in his other movies - "Shattered Glass", "Life as House" he got really good reviews for.

[Miles]

I still don't think the problem is the Christensen but rather with Lucas. Hayden has been good in his other movies - "Shattered Glass", "Life as House" he got really good reviews for.

I agree, he was good enough in Shattered Glass. I think Lucas in general just doesn't get very good performances out of his actors. Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, and Liam Neeson are all good actors which were uncharacteristically mediocre in the star wars flicks.

[jcroft]

I still haven't seen it, but I do have one question:

How is it <em>even possible</em> for someone to have no chemistry with Natalie F'n Portman?

[BIG_DADDY]

This sucks. I am going to see it this weekend. Probably see War of the Worlds as well. Maybe we will make it a sneak it double feature.

[Taco John]

I still haven't seen it, but I do have one question:

How is it <em>even possible</em> for someone to have no chemistry with Natalie F'n Portman?



It would help if she had any dialogue worth having chemistry with. She was nothing but a prop in this one with a bit role.

But I, for one, thought Hayden played a great Anakin.

[Brock]

I still haven't seen it, but I do have one question:

How is it <em>even possible</em> for someone to have no chemistry with Natalie F'n Portman?

By not being attracted to women, and a poor actor, probably.

[Taco John]

Is Hayden gay? My wife will be disappointed in that.

[Pants]

The funny part is, Hayden is boning Portman in real life. Lucky motherf*cker.

[Red Dawg]

Mrs. Gaz and I finally took in the last [or third] Star Wars flick last night. Waiting was a good thing, since the theater was nearly empty. Score!

The eye candy was exceptional and the sound shook my very bones. ŰberKudos to the SFX and sound people. Truly awesome.

So how can such a visually stunning film be so flat as to suck all the fun out of two+ hours of my life?

“Revenge of the Sith” is a series of frenetic fight/chase sequences interrupted by lame and ponderous dialogue that grounds the film to a complete halt. After the actors spout some cheesy platitudes or ominous forebodings, we are off on another fight/chase. Eventually, we end up with everyone in the right place for Episode 4. The whole thing is an exercise in marking time and placing pieces on the board to fit the opening of “Star Wars.”

The entire film depends on the actor playing Skywalker. That role is critical and demands a powerful presence. Hayden Christensen does not have the acting chops to carry the role. An awful casting choice that only accents the lame dialogue and plot. To be fair, he did a passable job with “petulant.” There was zero chemistry between him and Portman. If you do not believe that Skywalker loves Padme so passionately, so fiercely that he would abandon everything he believes in for her sake, the movie flops. Well, I did not believe him and the movie flopped.

The absurd presence of Samuel Jackson did not help the film. I like Jackson as an actor, but he was another awful casting decision. I did not for a moment believe his character. He was always Samuel Jackson playing pretend and doing it in an awkward way.

THE GOOD:
• Eye candy.
• Sound.

THE BAD:
• Plot.
• Script.
• Acting.

“Revenge of the Sith” gets 2 Hoots. There was very little fun to be had.

xoxo~
Gaz
Disappointed in a BIG way.


You have really gone over board Gaz. None of these movies have good dialouge or good acting. Everyone knows this and I'm sure you really did not expect better in this one. What makes these movies is the story and concept of Jedi's. Cool space battle's and light saber duels.

Expecting good acting and intresting conversation is foolish when watching any of them.

[the Talking Can]

[font=Garamond][size=4]


So how can such a visually stunning film be so flat as to suck all the fun out of two+ hours of my life?



you've defined Lucas' only true talent...ruining good movies....

[Archie F. Swin]

CHristiansen was actually pretty damn good in "Shattered Glass". Though not as good as Peter Sarsgaard.

[Rausch]

The funny part is, Hayden is boning Portman in real life. Lucky motherf*cker.

Indeed...

[Archie F. Swin]

In the "Trilogy"(eps.4-6) making of, Harry Ford makes it quite clear that Lucas doesn't understand nor have the patience for the method of acting.

[DJay23]

In the "Trilogy"(eps.4-6) making of, Harry Ford makes it quite clear that Lucas doesn't understand nor have the patience for the method of acting.
This being said (and I agree), Ian McDiarmid who plays the Emperor did a superb job in this movie IMO.

[Pitt Gorilla]

From your review, I'd have to assume that you missed the first three movies or totally forgot how bad the acting and dialogue really were.

[Frazod]

Mrs. Gaz and I finally took in the last [or third] Star Wars flick last night. Waiting was a good thing, since the theater was nearly empty. Score!

The eye candy was exceptional and the sound shook my very bones. ŰberKudos to the SFX and sound people. Truly awesome.

So how can such a visually stunning film be so flat as to suck all the fun out of two+ hours of my life?

“Revenge of the Sith” is a series of frenetic fight/chase sequences interrupted by lame and ponderous dialogue that grounds the film to a complete halt. After the actors spout some cheesy platitudes or ominous forebodings, we are off on another fight/chase. Eventually, we end up with everyone in the right place for Episode 4. The whole thing is an exercise in marking time and placing pieces on the board to fit the opening of “Star Wars.”

The entire film depends on the actor playing Skywalker. That role is critical and demands a powerful presence. Hayden Christensen does not have the acting chops to carry the role. An awful casting choice that only accents the lame dialogue and plot. To be fair, he did a passable job with “petulant.” There was zero chemistry between him and Portman. If you do not believe that Skywalker loves Padme so passionately, so fiercely that he would abandon everything he believes in for her sake, the movie flops. Well, I did not believe him and the movie flopped.

The absurd presence of Samuel Jackson did not help the film. I like Jackson as an actor, but he was another awful casting decision. I did not for a moment believe his character. He was always Samuel Jackson playing pretend and doing it in an awkward way.

THE GOOD:
• Eye candy.
• Sound.

THE BAD:
• Plot.
• Script.
• Acting.

“Revenge of the Sith” gets 2 Hoots. There was very little fun to be had.

xoxo~
Gaz
Disappointed in a BIG way.

That's kind of how I felt when I walked out of the theater the first time. Clearly my expectations were too high. When I saw it the second time, on a digital screeen, I felt a bit better about it.

But the acting and dialogue definitely sucked.

[Fire Me Boy!]

I agree, he was good enough in Shattered Glass. I think Lucas in general just doesn't get very good performances out of his actors. Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, and Liam Neeson are all good actors which were uncharacteristically mediocre in the star wars flicks.
From everything I've read, Lucas' idea of directing an actor includes only two words: "faster" and "louder".

Consider this coming from a film director... no wonder he can make good actors seem bad.

[Gaz]

The impression I get from some of you is that Lucas, having established that his dialogue is stiff, his directing is wooden and his plots are lame, gets a pass on all those points. So all he needs to do in order to win your love is throw some flash on the screen?

That is an incredibly sweet deal.

xoxo~
Gaz
Understands now why everyone wants to direct.

[Brock]

The funny part is, Hayden is boning Portman in real life. Lucky motherf*cker.

That was 5 years ago. He's now "dating" Kevin Spacey.