Camp HappyBadFun!

It's ALL Peter's Fault!

Jackson, that is. This man has ruined me for life! You see, it is my not so humble or even professional or for that matter, even solicited opinion that the LOTR movies are the finest movies ever made. In every way imaginable. Don't even try to argue with me on this point because I can't be swayed. From the screenplay to the actors, to the CG, to the sets...these movies are proof that geniuses still walk the earth and occasionally, if we are lucky, they sprinkle their little genius dust on us mere mortals and remind us of their existence.

The problem is that the bar has been set so high by Mr. Jackson that everything pales in comparison. Movies I would have once considered good or even excellent are now blasé at best, and more often than not, I struggle to see past the many flaws that seem so glaringly apparent. Perfection sure can be a two-edged sword sometimes.

So what prompted all that? Well...I saw Star Wars III last week. Since it premiered, I've been very careful not to allow myself to become biased in any way by reading critiques or reviews. Had I not exercised such restraint, I think this movie would have been painful to the point that I would have been forced to openly mock it whilst it played before my very eyes, not to mention the eyes of about 150 eager viewers. As it is, I found my own issues right from the start and didnt need anybody else to help me find them.

First, the dialogue was so fricking cheesey it was all I could do to keep from banging my head into the seat in front of me. When the first Star Wars was made, I was 13 years old and related quite well to the interplay between characters. Well, I'm not 13 anymore but the dialogue felt suspiciously like an After-School Special directed by Miss Kiki's 7th grade drama class. Ugh. How do grown adults write this stuff and make millions off it? (And how can I be one of them!! haha....j/k!)

I think what bothered me the most was that the characters lost some of their strength. Padmé went from being this powerful world leader, respected for her sound mind and strong spirit to this weak, helpless chick who got knocked up by a bad-boy. Way to set women back lightyears, Padmé!

Yoda was probably the worst though. Remember the way he had that slow cadance to his speech and the way he always cloaked his words in mysterious phrases? Yeah? Well...get over it cause he don't do dat no mo'. Yoda seemed very human-like to me and I can't decide if they just decided to speed the story up or portray him as younger by making him talk like a southern-california beach bum. All I know is Yoda lost some of his magic and it makes me sad.

Even Obi-Wan seemed different in a pre-menstrual sort of way. I wanted to see the stoicly controlled Jedi we've all come to know and love. It seems Anakin aka Darth Whiner had a negative affect way before anybody realized it. As for Anakin...I won't even bother to comment because he started bugging me in the last movie and it was just more of the same.

In spite of my criticism, this movie does have many redeeming qualities. The plot line was consistant and well thought-out and the CG was everything you've come to expect from George Lucas and we've come to expect a lot! But I think the best quality of this movie, as in all the SW movies, is that evil was portrayed as truly evil and good was portrayed as truly good. There were no grey-shades blurring the lines between the two and THAT is what makes these movies the phenomenal success they are. The seduction of Anakin Skywalker was chilling and heartbreaking but it was very intriguing to watch the dance between him and Palpatine. Truly the best part of the movie.

So did I like it? Yeah...I liked it because I thought it filled in the holes that needed filling in. Was it a great movie? Only because the circle was completed and of course, for the special-effects. And I suppose the fact that Jar-jar Binx had nothing more than a cameo proves Lucas got a few things right.

Posted by PamCHBF at June 2, 2005 08:05 AM