(22.05.2005 - 6:05 p.m.)
It would be remiss of me not to share my thoughts about the new Star Wars movie, don't you think? Rude even. For my money, Revenge Of The Sith is certainly the best of the three prequel films. You could even accuse it of having a plot. In it's own slick, 20th century guise, it plays out like a Greek tragedy, bringing with it themes that were far more deftly handled in the original trilogy: the sins of the father, destructive all consuming love, fate and destiny. And with these themes come moments of genuine drama. Unlike The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones, George Lucas manages to build a palpable tension, as we wait for the emergence of the plastic coated asthmatic one. Two such memorable moments include a heart-wrenching scene in which Annakin and Padme sit in separate rooms, a city between them, each sensing the others increasing psychological, as well as physical distance, and, of course, the moment in which the helmet finally falls into place, and we hear that terrible, ghastly breath for the first time. However, it has to be said that if such dramatic moments exist, it is in spite of, rather than because of, the quality of acting and writing on display. Whilst my fan-boy heart was racing during the latter of the above two mentioned scenes, moments later it was stilled by the hammiest deliverance of the line �Nooooooooooooooooo!� that it has ever been my misfortune to watch. Lucas, it seems, has yet to hear that well-worn phrase �less is more,� and the scene will probably go down in �Wars folklore as one of the most disappointing of the saga. But whilst it isn�t any secret that Lucas is no actors� director, he still knows how to construct an action scene or two, and Episode III contains plenty of those. The opening battle sequence is dizzying in it�s scope, and rivals the awe-inspiring first moments of A New Hope in scale, if not legendary status. And whilst they may not quite carry the emotional weight of Luke Skywalker and his father�s climactic lightsaber battle in Return Of The Jedi, the duels in Revenge Of The Sith are varied and deftly handled. The last of these, between Annakin and Obi-wan, contains one of the only great moments of acting in the 140 minute running time. As Obi-wan�s emotions finally take hold of him and he bellows at Annakin, begging him to stop and see the truth of the path that he has chosen to follow, Ewan McGregor gives the rest of the cast a lesson in how to bring feeling to the screen. In short, Revenge Of The Sith is at once very enjoyable, and yet something of a let-down. Here is the Star Wars prequel that we have all been waiting for, finally bringing with it the birth of the films that we fell in love with 30 years ago. The problem is, Lucas simply doesn�t know when to stop, and rather than leaving us with a powerful feeling of dread and awe, he somehow manages to undermine everything we had ever hoped this film would be. And yes, you may well be thinking that ultimately this is just a kids� sci-fi flick, and that it plays out as such, but I can�t help but feel that the original 70�s trilogy somehow managed to appeal to adults on a dramatic level, whilst still entertaining the children with it�s then unsurpassed effects and action. This new prequel trilogy may have delivered on the latter, but is so very lacking in the former � something that means it will always be left wanting.
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