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| Synopsis: |
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| You should be
aware of the story by now … in
Revenge of the Sith the Clone Wars reach
their climax, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
is revealed as Darth Sidious, Anakin
Skywalker turns to the Dark Side and
the story of Star Wars is completed. |
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As
I trudged down the unusually grey streets
of Putney towards the local cinema, I considered
with heavy heart what was about to happen.
Like most of my generation, Star Wars is ingrained
in my psyche – I’ve played Jedi
in the playground and collected the figures
and other merchandise. Who hasn’t hummed
the Imperial March while striding to important
meetings and attempted the Jedi mind trick
when speaking to the boss about a rise? Just
me? Well, this was it - the end of an era.
I didn’t hold out much hope, to be honest.
After being disappointed by the first two
prequels (low points – Finding out that
Darth Vader was known as ‘Ani’
to his friends and, well, the whole of Attack
of the Clones) I was sensing anything but
a disturbance in the force. Still, I really
wanted to believe. I had heard that Revenge
of the Sith was the one of which the prophecies
were spoken.
Unfortunately, it turned out I’d heard
wrong. By the time Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor)
was shouting in dismay ‘You were supposed
to be the chosen one!’ he was echoing
my own thoughts. Don’t get me wrong
– Revenge of the Sith is the best of
the prequels, but it still wasn’t really
any good.
Perhaps the best way to explain it is to use
the trilogy’s newest character as a
metaphor for the film itself. The leader of
the droid army, General Grievous, is rendered
completely in CGI and looks convincing enough,
but you feel he’s been introduced as
a marketing ploy, he coughs and splutters
his way through the script; wields far too
many lightsabers and, when it comes down to
it, there’s just not enough humanity
in him.
The problem is that the film hangs on the
believability of Anakin’s fall. It is,
after all, what we’ve been waiting for
since Empire Strikes Back. Unfortunately,
the reasons for his turning are speculative
at best and completely unconvincing. To try
and avoid a spoiler, Anakin has a problem
that he thinks only the Sith can help him
with, so he joins the dark side. Unfortunately,
the solution to Anakin’s problem is
never really promised by Palpatine, he just
offers an ‘if you join then we might
be able to do it together, it would just mean
killing everyone you know’ deal. After
two and a half films of skulking in the shadows,
this makes the culmination of his plan to
seduce Anakin basically involve him walking
up to Anakin and asking ‘have you ever
considered being a dark lord of the Sith?’
I fully expected him to offer a leaflet.
As if realising the tenuousness of this, we
also get a ridiculous moral dilemma chucked
in for good measure. Discovering that the
Jedi want to rid the Republic of Supreme Chancellor
Palpatine, Anakin seemingly finds this morally
reprehensible, even though he’s just
found out that Palpatine is Darth Sidious,
the evil enemy of the republic!
Even if that logic can be defended, the script
definitely can’t. It grinds and clunks
like a learner driver changing gears. Padme,
formerly Queen of Naboo and a well respected
Senator, now has ‘state the obvious’
disease, spending most of the film telling
us what her emotions are. Her horrible love
dialogue with Anakin from Episode II also
makes cameo appearance, this time with a bizarre
conversation about how beautiful she is. All
the cast have to chew over risible dialogue,
but perhaps my favourite moment is between
Obi Wan and Anakin. Discussing the Jedi vs
Palpatine moral dilemma, Obi Wan states ‘Senator
Palpatine is evil!’ Anakin’s deft
reply? ‘In my point of view, the Jedi
are evil’. How can you argue with that? |
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So there it
is, like the setting twin suns of Tatooine, Star
Wars has faded and vanished behind the horizon.
I just wish it had gone with a bang rather than
a whimper.
: Phil Hoyle |
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Youthwork -
The Partnership ...
ALOVE,
Youthwork Magazine, Youth For Christ, Spring Harvest and
Oasis are working together to equip and resource the Church
for effective youth work and ministry. |
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