I’m briefly breaking my “holding pattern” to offer a few reflections on Star Wars Episode III, “Revenge of the Sith”, which I managed to see on Friday. It’s indeed a rite of passage for me to see this movie, ostensibly the last of the franchise (though hints have been dropped lately that episodes VII, VIII and IX aren’t out of the question after all – I don’t know whether to be hopeful or apprehensive ...). I like to call myself part of Lucas’ “original target audience”, since he has said that he aimed his story at the 12-year-old viewer, and that’s exactly how old I was when the original movie was released in 1977 (though I actually didn’t see it until 1978 at age 13 – but that’s another story).
But I’m happy to report that IMHO Episode III is not stupid! In view of the shortcomings of Episodes I and II, I had my concerns. Observing the buildup to “Sith”, I sometimes thought to myself, “This thing could be really stupid!” Not that it doesn’t have a couple of brushes with stupidity – more about that below. But I think it turned out rather well. In fact, I would rank it slightly, but very slightly, above “Return of the Jedi.” Apparently Lucas sought advice from veteran playwright Tom Stoppard, and that was a good move. Too much was at stake for him to proudly go it alone and risk driving the thing completely into the ground forever.
Before I go into the “spoiler” section of this post, let me offer my standing theory on “the real reason Anakin went to the dark side” – it’s as simple as this: call a boy “Annie” enough times, sooner or later he’s going to snap ...
*** SPOILER ALERT ****** SPOILER ALERT ****** SPOILER ALERT ***
If you haven’t seen it yet, and want to be surprised, save the following for later.
First, I was very gratified to see a couple of my hopes/predictions come true. I had wondered if the reason why some Jedi were able to simply disappear when “dead” and reappear afterward, would be some kind of special technique that had to be learned. And indeed it is so, as Yoda told Obi-Wan that he had learned of it from none other than Qui-Gonn Jinn (a nice touch – I liked that character, and how Liam Neeson played him), and would teach it to Obi-Wan.
And I had thought it would be neat if C3PO’s memory was wiped but not R2D2’s. I like the idea that R2 knew what was going on from the get-go, and simply kept it to himself. On Friday eve I pulled out my trusty VHS of the original version of Ep. IV, and when Sir Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan says “I don’t seem to recall owning a droid”, he gives R2 an interesting inscrutable look, like he’s indeed hiding the fact that he and the droid know each other well. Lucas may not have been thinking that far ahead when he made Ep. IV, but it fits.
Episode III does have its brushes with stupidity, and the biggest one is the line (I think Obi-Wan said it) “Only a Sith deals with absolutes.” Besides being a silly bit of fashionable post-modern relativistic gobbledygook, it isn’t even really true in the context of this very movie! The Jedi truly go by the absolute that there is Good and there is Evil, and that morality is above even the Force, since the dark side of the Force, being evil, is to be avoided, in spite of its power. It is the Sith who muddy things up by saying that we have to take a “broader view” (or however Darth Sidious put it) including both the dark and light sides.
This movie’s closest brushes with brilliance come with the connections with events in the original trilogy, giving them a new depth. For example it is good storytelling to show that part of Anakin’s fall was guilt and remorse over killing an unarmed prisoner (Count Dooku) at Sidious’ direction. Anakin had disarmed him in a light saber fight, just as years later, as Darth Vader, he himself would be disarmed by his son Luke, in another duel also witnessed by Sidious (the Emperor). But Luke would pass the test that his father failed, refusing the emperor’s direction to kill Vader.
To me the most rattling thing about the scene when Vader’s mask goes on for the first time, is that his first words were of desperate concern for Padme. This was indeed the bit of goodness left in him, that buried beneath the anger and hate was love for his family members.
Clever lies on Palpatine/Sidious’ part, that he offers Anakin the knowledge to create and restore life – also the insinuation that his conception by “midi-chlorians” could have been the result of Sith manipulation. Neither one of these claims is ever substantiated. Interesting in this light that it’s those on the light side such as Yoda and Obi-Wan (and ultimately the redeemed Anakin) who can appear after death. Obvious that underneath it all Sidious hates Vader just as much as he hates anybody else.
The best bits of this movie (and the whole series) approach a Tolkien-like mythic grandeur, though “Lord of the Rings” is clearly a much grander and deeper story, drawn from a much deeper spiritual well. So I’d have to say that I’m more of a LOTR fan (both the books and Jackson’s films), but on the other hand Star Wars has its own unique and important place in my heart, next to LOTR.
Commentators have said that this movie has much more of the feel of the original trilogy than Episodes I and II, and I agree. One factor is the music – it feels most like the original trilogy when Luke and Leia’s familiar musical themes are played.
I’ve read that in the DVD of Episode VI, the redeemed Anakin is portrayed by Hayden Christenson instead of Sebastian Cabot, as in the original version. Call me sappy, but I think a nice touch, if they ever did another version yet, would be to also include a spectral Padme in that scene, holding hands with Anakin, reunited and reconciled forever.
