Stallone is back as John Rambo, coming January 2008.

It take guts to be gentle and kind...

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

I was impressed by this film - then again, I went in after a week of marathon researching and writing on my PhD, so I was fully anticipating something to take me away from the monotony of the daily world, and into a universe far, far away.

Whatever my mood, the fact is I thought this film was engaging on precisely the level that it should be, and that's all that matters. A good friend of mine recently wrote of his disappointment over the harsh criticism the film is receiving, or rather the "faint praise", such as: "well, it's certainly much better than the last two, but that isn't saying much." Or, "Lucas' interest in the less-human side of filmmaking is still quite apparent." These are cop-out, easy answers.

Yes, of course Lucas has a special effects company to run, and of course he will want to create projects for that facility that give them work, but many forget that Lucas' own interest in technology spans back to the beginning of his career. From the beginning, Lucas has been interested in what you could call the "basic human [or possibly male] instincts", war, fascination with technology, racing, and coming of age. Lucas channelled all of these into the first Star Wars film he completed in 1977 -- and cannily turned it into a movie/product franchise the likes of which the world has not seen since.

Right before the first Star Wars prequel was released in 1999, I can remember feeling this intense excitement at seeing the first trailer, getting caught up in it all, even though I had never been a huge, huge fan of Star Wars when I was kid -- though in general you could say I had as much of an interest in the original movies as anyone else. I had some figures and toys, and used to check out my friend's much better collection at his house. Above all, in these last couple of decades, Lucas has become a savvy marketer, shamelessly pushing a never-ending stream of Star Wars products onto the marketplace, never fearing or succumbing to the increasing amount of criticism he received for slowly turning himself into what his very stories were about -- an Evil Empire. Still, the excitement surrounding the release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, arguably surpassed any movie hype since Batman (1989), and I fully admit I was as caught up in it as everyone else. I saw The Phantom Menace maybe three or four times at the historic Senator Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland -- a venue that, like the rebellion in the original Star Wars films, has faced destruction [close of business] many times, but through hope, perseverance and collegial support, has ultimately triumphed [and survived] at the last possible moment.

When The Phantom Menace was released, the criticism of Lucas' enormous ambitions and antiquated sensibilities began to flow. I was indeed aware of all this criticism, but like most others, was willing to deal with the awful voices that constituted the "Trade Federation" and "Jar-Jar Binks" in order to reach that climactic 20 minutes just once more. Mainly, I was impressed by the much underwritten but very nicely stylized and well-trained character of Darth Maul, and the 2-on-1 duel that occupied much of the film's final moments. The choreography of that fight, partly accomplished by the actor who played Maul himself (though not in voice), Ray Park, surpassed any fight sequence in the original Star Wars movies. I came back a few times just to experience the tension in that final reel. I felt the pod race had some good energy as well.

Upon the release of Episode II: Attack of the Clones, three years later, the Star Wars community was a "once bitten, twice shy" sort of crowd, wary of what might come, but looking forward to the progression of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi's story, in the hope that the eventual darker turns in their careers might somehow add gravity to this new set of films. Sadly, "Clones" turned out to be much of the same (in this critic's opinion), if not, somehow, even intangibly weaker than Episode I in some respects. [Could this have something to do with the fact that at least some of Episode I was filmed in/on real-world settings, whereas by Episode II, nearly 100% of the film was shot on studio sets?] Still, I again enjoyed the final twenty minutes or so, and like most others, hooted greatly when experiencing Yoda's first visualized fight sequence (though it could have lasted just a bit longer), with the great Christopher Lee (as Count Dooku/Lord Tyrannus). Although I must say, tremendously noticeable to me, and to some others with interest, was the somewhat shoddy computer design for melding Christopher Lee's stunt/action double with his actual head. If you pause select frames, you can probably see what I am talking about. Dreadful, dreadful stuff, and for Lucas' ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), still one of the premiere special effects houses in the business, it's inexcusable. I also found some minor fulfilment in the paralleling of Luke's loss of limb at the finale of The Empire Strikes Back, as here (in "Clones"), Anakin"s arrogance causes him to lose his forearm to Count Dooku's sabre. There were problems as usual -- the dialogue was still mostly atrocious, and barrenness of most of the central performances kind of makes the whole thing feel dry, like sandpaper (natch). I'm still not sure about the strange, A.I. -like aliens who specialized in cloning, though they were an interesting diversion for a Lucas-controlled narrative. And while I found Jango Fett's story mildly intriguing, I had much more of a feeling that Lucas here was pandering to the fanboys who had developed a following for the relatively minor original series character Boba Fett throughout the years.

Now, I have seen Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and what can I say? I had thought about this day ever since finishing with Episode II, as to where I would be in the world, and what I would be doing, when this day would come. Thoughts like these I feel are not only reserved for "ultimate fans" or "fanboys," but are simply a reflection of the meaning of a globally-known and considered film franchise and its place in our world. Soon, I was able to come to the conclusion that, due to my impending status as a PhD student, I would likely be enjoying (or not) this movie during the climactic period of accomplishing the written work for my thesis, which is in fact where I am right now.

First off, I'll admit that my increasing work deadlines directly influenced a two-week delay in seeing the film at the cinemas -- and more importantly, that I wasn't that bothered by it. Yes, my expectations, like many others', had been tempered by the last two films, and the fact that, well, I was really growing up, and was this stuff of my interest anymore when Lucas seemed to be primarily aiming these new prequels at children? The trailers didn't really change my mind, to be honest, other than a shot or two of a hooded and scarred Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious/The Emperor throwing a nasty look at the camera. Would the actors get any more time to breathe in between Lucas' (and whatever ghost scriptwriter he had with him this time) corny dialogue? Would the story involve something more interesting that trade disputes and "separatist movements"? Would this supposed finale to Lucas' Star Wars feature franchise actually feature anything memorable?

In my opinion, the answer to all of the above questions is a resounding "YES." Like I said at the beginning of this piece, maybe it was the mood I went into the film with, or maybe it was the summer season bringing some kind of open-minded willingness to accept a fun diversion, but for the most part I really, really enjoyed Episode III, and I'd like to tell you about it.

[I'll assume here that most of you reading this are familiar with general Star Wars lore and history, and have also probably already seen this film. Many narrative "spoilers" will be discussed.]

One of the only major criticisms I really have for this film is that Padme's death is explained away as in essence, "dying from a broken heart". I suppose it is plausible that Anakin has perhaps wounded her so much emotionally (and finally, physically, through his force-choke hold on her in their final moments together), that the stress of birthing twins was too much for her too take. If that is the premise, however, it does not do much good to have a robot doctor say at the start of the scene that "by all indications she is very healthy". Yet, it fits with what I've been considering as the theme of the film -- heartbreak.

Vader's birth, back on an operating table somewhere unexplained, is painful in its visual graphicness. Williams' score melds with Anakin's screams as the robotic limbs are inserted, but the pain we experience is no less because of this attempt at artistic numbing. His scarred face is unrecognizable, and the choice to have the robot in charge of the operation mirror that which repairs Luke's hand at the end of Empire, immediately links us visually and subliminally yet again to the original trilogy. I'd argue that there is an extraordinary kind of merging happening in these scenes, as Lucas cuts back and forth between Vader's "birth" and Padme's "death", this "making of" an iconic figure of cinema is simultaneously bewildering and enlightening. It's an epiphany of strategic franchise manipulation -- the machines of the future are truly melding with the "damaged" humans of the past. When Vader "rises", I almost felt as if I could laugh, but in a maniacal, kind of knowing way. His movements reflect Frankenstein's monster in their respective clunkiness. It's quite brilliant, in a simple way. Because this iconic figure of villainy is finally given a "origin" scene, some may feel as if a bit of the mystery is taken away in their decades-long attachment to the character, but I think it's something more akin to "I once was lost, but now I am found." He cannot be Anakin anymore (at least on this physical realm), so why not be something else -- why not "embrace the dark side"? Many critics and fans have not taken seriously the "Noooooo" that Vader delivers once the Emperor tells him that he "killed" her. My impression of this moment is not that he is simply distraught that she is dead -- but rather that he very quickly realizes that truth within himself: that he did in fact "kill" her with his very own destructive nature. Vader's "Noooooo" signifies his final loss of human nature, his transformation of being and finally his ascendancy to a position he is most surely qualified for, but will one day abdicate, for those very ideals which he gave up the moment he joined forces with the Emperor. As Lucas features shots of Darth Vader standing side by side with the Emperor on a Star Destroyer (with a very nice small cameo from Moff Tarkin -- is he Grand yet?), the prequels and the later episodes are seamlessly linked.

It is here that I will mention one of my only other strange problems of Episode III, and the prequels in general. There often seems a bit too much "flipping" and acrobatics in the fight sequences; as Lucas was simply not able to accomplish such feats with actors in the original films (yet he was still able to visualize a few). The availability and appropriation of digital technology has allowed for the birth of "digital stunt doubles", which digital artists can create and implement into a scene for moves that human actors could not accomplish (you saw much of this work excellently done in Spider-Man 2). Initially with the Star Wars prequels, there is a feeling that possibly this is all a bit wild, that it significantly places these films in a different era than that which surrounded the original films -- just because they can do it, should they? Yet, even this supposed shift in sensibility can be explained aesthetically -- one could argue that, due to the weariness, loss and dementia instilled in the few remaining "fighters" in the universe because of the seismic shifts caused by the Emperor's ascendancy, the "force", or spirit of the universe, has significantly reduced its overall focus and "effect" on the individuals whom can control and manipulate it. It's a mystical, slightly hazy, probably weak argument, but it can be made.

In the final moments of Episode III, we are given some hope for the future in strict narrative connections to Episode IV which include the final meeting between a downtrodden Yoda, Obi-Wan and Bail Organa, and the trading off of the twins to their separate locations. As the film ends without dialogue, we are allowed to tentatively embrace the future, and yes, go home and open up those DVDs of Episodes IV-VI (though I must say here that I have much less ambition to see Lucas' constant "retro-fitting" of these earlier episodes via digital technology). The choice here to have a musical and montage-laden finale sequence, rather than a piece of dialogue (as Lucas has done with all the films), is a good one. It is Lucas' final attempt to provide a clear link between these much maligned and definitely different prequels to his highly regarded and endlessly toiled-with later episodes. As the film finished, I watched the credits to the end. Admittedly I always do this, as I am often interested in some of these obscure details, and rewarding all the hard work that goes into filmmaking everyday. But this time, I hardly read any of the credits -- I was so in tune with the film, its place in this franchise, its cultural moment, that all I could do was let the music seep through my ears and try to connect with this universe one last time.

It worked for me. Episode III accomplished what it set out to do, in my mind. For some people, that's not enough, but for me (and some others), it's just right. Lucas may not be the same person he once was. Filmmaking may not be the same. Digital technology has changed everything, but the humanity is still there -- if you look for it and work for it. Despite not expecting to (or possibly not even wanting to), I identified with the movie, its characters and its spirit. The creative choices made for this film almost all work, in my opinion. You don't have to like it, but you can find ways to live with it -- and that's what the central characters in this film had to do. Episode III is a phenomenal piece of entertainment on a grand scale. There, I'm a hype machine. So what? I was never a big Star Wars fan, but I sure sound like one, don't I? May the force be with you.

Yes, that was 4,000 words. If you got through it all, let me know and I'll send you a cookie.

Next up, Batman Begins.