Friday, May 20, 2005
The End
Warning: Some spoilers ahead, but if you don't know what happens, then you're not really a Star Wars fan.
As the final shot of the two suns setting on the Tatooine horizon descends into the closing credits, a profound sense of sadness overcame me. It felt as though a part of my childhood had come to an end. The double trilogy was now complete after 28 years - the exact length of my life thus far. No more Star Wars - unless they do in fact make Episodes 7, 8, and 9, which is a possibility, though it would likely be someone other than Lucas directing.
This was an emotionally draining movie. As alluded to above, it felt like an important part of my - and my generation's - childhood had come to a close. Those of us who are Star Wars fans, whether they be the crazies who dress up like Darth Vader and stand in line for two weeks before the move opens, or the more sedate among us who merely have seen each of the movies a couple of dozen times, have basically waited a lifetime for this movie. And now it has come and gone.
But the movie also connects on an emotional level. As Annakin lays on the molten beach or whatever you want to call it, unable to move, shouting with furious rage at Obi-Wan, you can't but help feel sorry for this pitiable figure. He has turned to the dark side for an understandable if mistaken reason, and now that reason is taken away from him anyway. It is this climactic scene which makes Annakin/Darth's salvation at the end of Return of the Jedi now seem so much more meaningful. To me Return of the Jedi signifies the return of Annakin to the jedi. Maybe that's not what Lucas intended, but that's what I take away from it.
The final hour of this movie is the most depressing and gut wrenching hour of movie-viewing that I have ever witnessed. There is one calamity after the other, with little in the way to relieve the tension. After Annakin vanquishes Mace and accepts Darth Sidious as his Master, and the Jedi are one-by-one destroyed, it becomes quite clear just how dark and ominous the final installment of the Star Wars saga will prove to be. Even though it had been spoiled by me in earlier previews, the scene in which the younglings, cowering in the temple but relieved by Annakin's entrance, only to have hope turned to fear as Darth Vader reveals that he is there to in fact kill them all, is one of the most emotional moments in the whole series.
Return of the Sith is unlike any of the other Star War movies. Even Empire had a lot of light moments to keep it from being a completely dark thriller. Not so for Sith, at least in its second half. It is odd that the two best Star War movies are the ones which have the unhappiest endings, but this certainly ranks up there, and perhaps even exceeds Empire.
Yes, there are quibbles with the movie. The acting is much better, but Natalie Portman's Padame is by far the weakest link. I am also uncertain how she goes from barely pregnant to a balloon in a week's time. And speaking of timing, so it takes them roughly 19 years to finish this Death Star and then, what 5 or so to construct the next one? Talk about improving effiency. And some of the battle scenes simply fall flat. Mercifully the political overtones were kept to a minimum, but Vader's you're either with me or against me line which induces Obi-Wan's follow-up of "Only a Sith thinks in absolutes" completely contradicts what was actually established earlier in the film, but that's been covered in another post this week.
Those quibbles aside, I think fans of the series should be happy with how it has been concluded. Our lifetime of waiting has been rewarded.
As the final shot of the two suns setting on the Tatooine horizon descends into the closing credits, a profound sense of sadness overcame me. It felt as though a part of my childhood had come to an end. The double trilogy was now complete after 28 years - the exact length of my life thus far. No more Star Wars - unless they do in fact make Episodes 7, 8, and 9, which is a possibility, though it would likely be someone other than Lucas directing.
This was an emotionally draining movie. As alluded to above, it felt like an important part of my - and my generation's - childhood had come to a close. Those of us who are Star Wars fans, whether they be the crazies who dress up like Darth Vader and stand in line for two weeks before the move opens, or the more sedate among us who merely have seen each of the movies a couple of dozen times, have basically waited a lifetime for this movie. And now it has come and gone.
But the movie also connects on an emotional level. As Annakin lays on the molten beach or whatever you want to call it, unable to move, shouting with furious rage at Obi-Wan, you can't but help feel sorry for this pitiable figure. He has turned to the dark side for an understandable if mistaken reason, and now that reason is taken away from him anyway. It is this climactic scene which makes Annakin/Darth's salvation at the end of Return of the Jedi now seem so much more meaningful. To me Return of the Jedi signifies the return of Annakin to the jedi. Maybe that's not what Lucas intended, but that's what I take away from it.
The final hour of this movie is the most depressing and gut wrenching hour of movie-viewing that I have ever witnessed. There is one calamity after the other, with little in the way to relieve the tension. After Annakin vanquishes Mace and accepts Darth Sidious as his Master, and the Jedi are one-by-one destroyed, it becomes quite clear just how dark and ominous the final installment of the Star Wars saga will prove to be. Even though it had been spoiled by me in earlier previews, the scene in which the younglings, cowering in the temple but relieved by Annakin's entrance, only to have hope turned to fear as Darth Vader reveals that he is there to in fact kill them all, is one of the most emotional moments in the whole series.
Return of the Sith is unlike any of the other Star War movies. Even Empire had a lot of light moments to keep it from being a completely dark thriller. Not so for Sith, at least in its second half. It is odd that the two best Star War movies are the ones which have the unhappiest endings, but this certainly ranks up there, and perhaps even exceeds Empire.
Yes, there are quibbles with the movie. The acting is much better, but Natalie Portman's Padame is by far the weakest link. I am also uncertain how she goes from barely pregnant to a balloon in a week's time. And speaking of timing, so it takes them roughly 19 years to finish this Death Star and then, what 5 or so to construct the next one? Talk about improving effiency. And some of the battle scenes simply fall flat. Mercifully the political overtones were kept to a minimum, but Vader's you're either with me or against me line which induces Obi-Wan's follow-up of "Only a Sith thinks in absolutes" completely contradicts what was actually established earlier in the film, but that's been covered in another post this week.
Those quibbles aside, I think fans of the series should be happy with how it has been concluded. Our lifetime of waiting has been rewarded.
# posted by Paul Zummo : 9:47 AM
