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Kevin Smith Previews Revenge of the Sith
Eugenia writes "Kevin Smith, the well-known actor/director, was invited by George Lucas to a special advanced screening of the upcoming 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith' film and he wrote down his take on the movie. There are some serious spoilers in his article but it's interesting to see his reaction, as a director and Star Wars fan."
If you didn't want to read the review..
I would. It starts:
"Revenge of the Sith" is, quite simply, fucking awesome."
The book the movie is based on was written in the 70's.
The global economy is a great thing until you feel it locally.
The article is loaded with spoilers, but nice to hear that the reviewer is positive about the movie.
The mirror is here.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
Um, he said it was dark, dark, dark.
1000x darker than Empire.
Way dark.
He also said this is the movie the haters have been waiting for since Phantom.
Where exactly were you going to see it tomorrow night? tomorrow's h2g2 night anyways
I saw the Sign, and it opened up my eyes
"SITH" SPOILERS
You've been warned...
- "Revenge of the Sith" is, quite simply, fucking awesome. This is the "Star Wars" prequel the haters have been bitching for since "Menace" came out, and if they don't cop to that when they finally see it, they're lying. As dark as "Empire" was, this movie goes a thousand times darker - from the triggering of Order 66 (which has all the Shock Troopers turning on the Jedi Knights they've been fighting beside throughout the Clone Wars and gunning them down), to the jaw-dropping Anakin/Obi Wan fight on Mustafar (where - after cutting his legs and arm off, Ben leaves Skywalker burning alive on the shores of a lava river, with Anakin spitting venomous sentiments at his departing mentor), this flick is so satisfyingly tragic, you'll think you're watching "Othello" or "Hamlet".
I saw a gorgeous digitally projected version of the flick, and lemme tell ya': this is a beautiful looking film. The opening space battle sequence is the best in any of the six "Star Wars" movies. Grievous and Kenobi's lightsaber duel is bad-ass, with Grievous rocking four sabers. The Clone Wars end rather early in the flick (about the halfway point), leaving the rest of the film to concentrate on Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, and the resulting slaughter of the Jedi.
Perfect example of how dark shit gets: remember the Younglings - the kid Jedis in training from "Clones"? As a result of Order 66, when Anakin invades the Jedi Temple with an army of Clone Troopers, he enters the Council room to find a gaggle of said younglings hiding behind the seats. They see Anakin and emerge, asking "What should we do, Master Anakin?" The query's met with a stone-cold Anakin firing up his lightsaber. The next time you see the kids, Yoda's sifting through their corpses on the floor.
Yes, it's just that dark - and rightfully so. This is the birth of Darth Vader we're talking about. The only comic moments in the flick are given to R2D2, and while good, they're all pretty few and far between; the order of the day is dark, dark, dark.
Ian McDiarmid and Ewan McGregor steal the show, but Hayden Christensen silences any naysayers who wrote him off as too whiney in "Clones". This is the flick that feels closest to Episodes 4, 5, and 6, because - for the first time since "Return of the Jedi" - there is a clear villain. And for all the shadow-play Palpatine has been upto in the last two flicks, his treachery is about as subtle as John Williams' score in "Sith." Whether he's slowly drawing Anakin toward the Dark Side during an opera/performance art piece with his promise of the Sith's power of life over death, or he's engaged in a balls-to-the-wall lightsaber duel in the Senate with Yoda, his "Little, green friend" (his words, not mine - which I kinda dug, because, interestingly, I think it's the first time anyone's acknowledged that Yoda is green in any of the "Star Wars" flicks), this is the Emperor's movie.
The last fifteen minutes dovetail nicely into Episode 4 (or just plain "Star Wars" for you non-geeks), and the movie is full of link-up moments as well.
- At flick's end, Threepio and Artoo are given to Captain Antilles (with the caveat that the Protocol's memory be wiped).
- The twins, natch, are split up. Leia heads to Alderann with Bail Organa, and Obi Wan hands Luke over to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru (indeed, the closing shot is Owen holding Luke while looking out over the setting suns of Tatooine - mimicking the shot of the adult Luke doing the same in "Star Wars", complete with callback cue from Williams).
- After he succumbs to the Dark Side, Anakin tries to convine Padme that he can overthrow Palpatine, and together, he and Padme can rule the galaxy as husband and wife.
- Vader and the Emperor stand beside a younger Grand Moff Tarkin on the bridge of a Star Destroyer, overlooking the earliest construction stage of the Death Star.
- Yoda telling Obi Wan that, as he heads to Tatooine to hand over Luke an
Since the real article is slashdotted I went out looking on google for a mirror.
... Malmoe, Sweden
Well, this is what I found.
It's just the beginning of the full article but atleast it confirms wether Kevin likes or dislikes the movie.
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20046
Hopefully someone will have a real mirror up soon.
Mvh: Ezel
Prosp long and liver.
This is for those of you that want to know what Kevin said, but don't want to read the spoilers. Here is a brief and concise quote from the beginning.
"Revenge of the Sith" is, quite simply, fucking awesome. This is the "Star Wars" prequel the haters have been bitching for since "Menace" came out, and if they don't cop to that when they finally see it, they're lying. As dark as "Empire" was, this movie goes a thousand times darker...
Maybe you should educate the morons of tomorrow so they'll stop believing the leaders of tomorrow. - Dogbert
Kevin Smith liked it. He said he really liked it.
Not only is the production quality really high, but apparently they also go retro in a few scenes so as to provide a tie in to Episode 4.
Evidently the action and dialog run much less awkwardly than in previous movies, and the plot is extremely dark. There is less comedy and more drama. They deal with some pretty heavy subject matter.
But let me reiterate. Kevin Smith is raving and drooling about this movie. My hopes have been suitably elevated. Now, I'm off to preorder a ticket.
Slashdot. It's Not For Common Sense
"SITH" SPOILERS
You've been warned...
- "Revenge of the Sith" is, quite simply, fucking awesome. This is the "Star Wars" prequel the haters have been bitching for since "Menace" came out, and if they don't cop to that when they finally see it, they're lying. As dark as "Empire" was, this movie goes a thousand times darker (spoilers removed), this flick is so satisfyingly tragic, you'll think you're watching "Othello" or "Hamlet".
I saw a gorgeous digitally projected version of the flick, and lemme tell ya': this is a beautiful looking film. The opening space battle sequence is the best in any of the six "Star Wars" movies. (General Spoilers Removed)
Perfect example of how dark shit gets: (very cool, very dark spoiler removed).
Yes, it's just that dark - and rightfully so. This is the birth of Darth Vader we're talking about. The only comic moments in the flick are given to R2D2, and while good, they're all pretty few and far between; the order of the day is dark, dark, dark.
Ian McDiarmid and Ewan McGregor steal the show, but Hayden Christensen silences any naysayers who wrote him off as too whiney in "Clones". This is the flick that feels closest to Episodes 4, 5, and 6, because - for the first time since "Return of the Jedi" - there is a clear villain. And for all the shadow-play Palpatine has been upto in the last two flicks, his treachery is about as subtle as John Williams' score in "Sith." (Spoilers Removed)
The last fifteen minutes dovetail nicely into Episode 4 (or just plain "Star Wars" for you non-geeks), and the movie is full of link-up moments as well.
(Spoilers Removed)
Look, this is a movie I was genetically predisposed to love. (spoiler removed). Now, twenty six years later, I finally got to see that long-promised battle - and it lived up to any expectation I still held. I was sad to see the flick end, but happy to know it's not the end of the "Star Wars" universe entirely (I've read stuff about a TV show...).
"Sith" doesn't happen; "Sith" rules.
Mod parent down! Way down! Fast!
Summary: Kevin Smith admits he is predisposed to like a Star Wars movie, but still calls it great because it is not as cheesy as the first two. He says that if you complained about the first two being kiddie, you now have no excuses. He then goes into rather gory detail about all the little tie-ins and close-ups and endings that you thought could never be put together in one movie. He raves about the space and saber battles.
All in all, I think the review was okay, but don't trust Kevin Smith after Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. I saw that movie and wanted my money back. Haven't seen anything new of his since.
My little site.
Personally, I think most of the hate directed at the previous two, Jar-Jar comments aside, was a media invention.
Well, chalk up another piece of anecdotal evidence; I thought those movies blew. They were weak; they were derivative; I didn't care about any of the characters; the acting was stilted and unbelievable.
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
I believe that H2G2 = Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Cf. h2g2).
I've never seen HG2G used before.
www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
I hate being such a nerd here, but R2D2 isn't the protocol droid, C-3PO is.
Sleep is for the Weak
I'm sorry, the Geoge Lucas of the 70's knew about pacing. Episodes IV, V, and VI were very fast and snappy.
But Lucas only directed Episode IV. V and VI were only produced by him.
You forgot when Obi Wan refers tries to use north as a direction in space.
So if this movie is as even nearly as good as K.S. seems to go on about then maybe suffering through the first two will seem less painful.
He praised the other ones as well. Ignore him and perhaps he'll go away.