On Revenge of the Sith

I finally found the time to see the film this afternoon.

I was bored out of my skull. I think that the film could be edited down to an hour, tops, and be the stronger for it.

Political posturing, the Kashyyyk interlude, the pitched battle between the Clone Army and Grievous’s forces on some godforsaken hellhole, I think the film could safely have ditched all of these.

I didn’t hate the film, but neither did I like it. Some parts I despised, some parts I thought were executed well. It was, to be frank, a schizophrenic mess.

I think I laughed at all the wrong parts. The deathly serious dialogue between Obi-Wan and Anakin on Mustafar was absolutely hilarious. Padme’s hissy-fits, downright comical. Palpatine’s unsubtle hints that “Ooh, I’m a Sith lord, hear me roar,” squirm inducing.

I would have liked to have seen Thrawn. How neat it would have been to see Thrawn in consultation with the Jedi Council planning the attack to drive Dooku’s fleet from Coruscant’s orbit. I would have like to have seen Xizor, as much as I despised Shadows of the Empire. How neat it would have been to see Xizor as Palpatine’s scheming toady looking to seize the reins of power at a moment’s notice.

It could have been a better film. The film could have done more to justify Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side. Had Padme’s death in childbirth been moved up in the film, Anakin’s decision to learn the secrets of life from the Dark Side would have taken on added meaning. Instead, Anakin’s decision was based on a fear of something that might not happen, and that make Anakin a weak character.

So, Revenge of the Sith. To quote Gerald Ford, “Our long national nightmare is over.” The Star Wars prequels have been a nightmare as the fantasies we had as children diminished.