Sith Rules
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. A movie event for me. The end of an era.
I saw the movie twice on Thursday, and overall, I think it was a pretty fantastic flick. We all know that Anakin will become Darth Vader. We all knew that he would be 'consumed' by the Dark Side. What we weren't privy to was how that was going to happen, what circumstances would unfold to make this promising, well-intentioned kid become a monster. I mean, not many kids say, I want to be a homicidal maniac when I grow up... how did Anakin fall to the Dark Side? How do you do that? It's something you are warned about on a seemingly daily basis, something all Jedi beware, how do you end up embracing it? Simple answer? Fear and Love.
And while Lucas cannot write interpersonal dialog to save his life (remember, Harrison Ford called him on that during filming of Star Wars, "You can write this shit, George, but you can't say it") he does spin a pretty good story, and the story is what made Sith so fantastic to me. Yeah, the special effects were jaw-dropping, but I expected that.
Anakin, faced with a dream that his love, Padme, would die in childbirth is desperate in his fear. Palpatine, who has been manipulating the young Jedi since... well, I gather since before he was born, plays to that fear masterfully. By dangling stories of Sith being able to prevent death and playing against the Jedi Order's growing distrust of him, Palpatine skillfully maneuvers the young Anakin into a position where it was virtually certain that Skywalker would lash out and embrace his darker nature. But while Palpatine maneuvered and schemed... Mace Windu created Darth Vader.
Plain and simple. Windu, and to some extent Yoda, never trusted Anakin. They felt he was too close to Palpatine, but instead of trying to display their confidence and trust in the Anakin, they continued to use and distrust the young Jedi. When the council, probably spurred by Windu, asked Anakin to spy on the Chancellor, they sealed their fate. That act set up the terrible fall that would occur. Yes, Palpatine carefully arranged all the circumstances, but in the final result, Mace Windu pushed Anakin over the edge created by the Chancellor. Now, I don't blame Windu. He was doing what he thought was right - but it is a testament to the failure of wisdom on his part, and that of Yoda.
Lucas really did this right. As Anakin slipped farther and farther into evil, I found myself wanting to slap him out of it. To yell at the screen, "don't do that!". When he confronts his pregnant wife on Mustafar and ends up choking her nearly to death, I was on the edge of my seat. It wasn't until about halfway through the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader that I really realized that Skywalker was lost for good - that he truly was Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith.
The movie very much deserved it's PG-13 rating. I saw way too many kids in that theater, in my opinion. My son would have loved to see any of the Star Wars movies, but at the age of 5, he is still too young. Maybe in a couple of years, I can start him out on the original trilogy. Anyway, Sith had two scenes in particular that made my blood go cold.
First, as Order 66 is being executed, and all those scenes were heartrending to me, Anakin enters the Jedi Council's Chamber and finds Younglings, no more than seven years old, hiding. When they ask what they should do, his only reply is to ignite his lightsaber. Even though it happens off camera, the fact that Anakin killed those children was a 'holy crap' kind of moment. A foreshadowing of Vader's evil.
Second, as Vader lies (in four pieces) on Mustafar, his mangled body slides too close to the lava, and his clothing ignites. The audience gets a lovely view of him screaming and burning. That was pretty awful to watch - even though by that point, Vader was clearly evil and probably even deserving.
I could really go on and on, but I don't have any more time. Overall, I enjoyed the movie - it was exactly what I expected to see. I'm still processing things, and I plan to see it again next week, so I might have more insight/commentary then.
Until then... may the Force be with you.
I saw the movie twice on Thursday, and overall, I think it was a pretty fantastic flick. We all know that Anakin will become Darth Vader. We all knew that he would be 'consumed' by the Dark Side. What we weren't privy to was how that was going to happen, what circumstances would unfold to make this promising, well-intentioned kid become a monster. I mean, not many kids say, I want to be a homicidal maniac when I grow up... how did Anakin fall to the Dark Side? How do you do that? It's something you are warned about on a seemingly daily basis, something all Jedi beware, how do you end up embracing it? Simple answer? Fear and Love.
And while Lucas cannot write interpersonal dialog to save his life (remember, Harrison Ford called him on that during filming of Star Wars, "You can write this shit, George, but you can't say it") he does spin a pretty good story, and the story is what made Sith so fantastic to me. Yeah, the special effects were jaw-dropping, but I expected that.
Anakin, faced with a dream that his love, Padme, would die in childbirth is desperate in his fear. Palpatine, who has been manipulating the young Jedi since... well, I gather since before he was born, plays to that fear masterfully. By dangling stories of Sith being able to prevent death and playing against the Jedi Order's growing distrust of him, Palpatine skillfully maneuvers the young Anakin into a position where it was virtually certain that Skywalker would lash out and embrace his darker nature. But while Palpatine maneuvered and schemed... Mace Windu created Darth Vader.
Plain and simple. Windu, and to some extent Yoda, never trusted Anakin. They felt he was too close to Palpatine, but instead of trying to display their confidence and trust in the Anakin, they continued to use and distrust the young Jedi. When the council, probably spurred by Windu, asked Anakin to spy on the Chancellor, they sealed their fate. That act set up the terrible fall that would occur. Yes, Palpatine carefully arranged all the circumstances, but in the final result, Mace Windu pushed Anakin over the edge created by the Chancellor. Now, I don't blame Windu. He was doing what he thought was right - but it is a testament to the failure of wisdom on his part, and that of Yoda.
Lucas really did this right. As Anakin slipped farther and farther into evil, I found myself wanting to slap him out of it. To yell at the screen, "don't do that!". When he confronts his pregnant wife on Mustafar and ends up choking her nearly to death, I was on the edge of my seat. It wasn't until about halfway through the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader that I really realized that Skywalker was lost for good - that he truly was Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith.
The movie very much deserved it's PG-13 rating. I saw way too many kids in that theater, in my opinion. My son would have loved to see any of the Star Wars movies, but at the age of 5, he is still too young. Maybe in a couple of years, I can start him out on the original trilogy. Anyway, Sith had two scenes in particular that made my blood go cold.
First, as Order 66 is being executed, and all those scenes were heartrending to me, Anakin enters the Jedi Council's Chamber and finds Younglings, no more than seven years old, hiding. When they ask what they should do, his only reply is to ignite his lightsaber. Even though it happens off camera, the fact that Anakin killed those children was a 'holy crap' kind of moment. A foreshadowing of Vader's evil.
Second, as Vader lies (in four pieces) on Mustafar, his mangled body slides too close to the lava, and his clothing ignites. The audience gets a lovely view of him screaming and burning. That was pretty awful to watch - even though by that point, Vader was clearly evil and probably even deserving.
I could really go on and on, but I don't have any more time. Overall, I enjoyed the movie - it was exactly what I expected to see. I'm still processing things, and I plan to see it again next week, so I might have more insight/commentary then.
Until then... may the Force be with you.
posted by DFMerrick at 10:31
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