Just saw the movie. Good flick, goes great with the series of movies. I would say it is #3 of all 6 for me.

Gripes:

-R2D2 did seem a little more badass in this movie, which didn't fit to me. Although the getting out of the ship thing I always assumed was due to Anakin or some little ejecter in the ship, not R2 himself as someone complained about.

-The Anikan/Padme seens were worse for me in this movie then the last one. I did not mind them too much in 2. This one though it seems like every cheesy, predictable line ever used in a movie was used here. (The seen between them on lava-land was the worse.)

- I have to agree, the Darth Vader "Noooooo!" was just no good at all, ruined the whole scene for me. I could have lived with him slicing up a couple droids and the Emperor having to restrain him instead.

- Ran out of popcorn too soon.

Likes:

- Thought Anakin going to the darkside was done well. I think you were supposed to see that he had divided loyalties to both the Council and to Palpatine, and kept trying to go both ways. The fact that Anakin still had good in him, and was not totally evil was something I thought they tried to make clear to people. It is important because in the end he does still have that good left in him, as he finally fulfills his destiny and balances out the force by killing the Emperor in Return of the Jedi.

- Liked the wrap up of the story lines, or rather the filling in of blanks. Why Yoda went into exile was a big one for me.

- The final two lightsaber battles were very much worth it. Yoda/Palpatine and Anakin/Obi-Wan were my favorite battles in all the movies perhaps.

- Outside the Senate, when they showed people walking in was one of those people with the two long 'tentacle' like things that are part of their head. Anyways, she had some really nice hoo-haws on her.

I think my main gripe was that his conversion was so... quick. :)

This is how it went down basically.

"Oh no, I killed Mace Windu. What have I done! I am confused... dark or light side?"

"Join me."

"Ok."

"Then rise, Lord Vader."

:)

But yeah, it still was a notch above Ep. 1 and Ep. 2. Heh.

Anakin vs. Obi-Wan has to be best lightsaber battle in the entire series. It was incredible. The juxtaposition with the Palpatine v. Yoda battle was perfect.

The Maul/Qui Gon/Obi Wan fight still owns... and based on that scene alone, I think Ep. I was the best of the new trilogy. I still can't believe they killed off Darth Maul. He was a bad-ass mf. They should have killed Palpatine and kept Maul. Lucas could just edit the original trilogy to account for it. He's done worse...

Ep. III was a bit of a disappointment. It was flashy and pretty, but no more so than Ep. II, and it was hard not to groan at most of the dialogue and plot devices throughout. Many of the criticisms have been covered here. Every line between Anakin and Padme was painful. The "NOOO", the lost her will to live, etc. So many wooden performances. I guess I should be used to all that by now.. They were there in the last two films, and I overlooked them and enjoyed them anyhow. I guess it has just gotten old, and it's disappointing that Lucas never learns from mistakes and improves his game.

The end of the Anakin/Obi Wan duel was satisfying, but the rest was just irritating. In one jedi duel after another we see people throwing one another around with the force. Here you've got two jedi standing on a pipe over a lake of lava and neither thinks to toss the other over? Even the way it ended.. These guys force jump all over the place like crazy. It's no big deal. Then Obi Wan is on a big fricken rock, and all the sudden it's like, "I have the high ground now, muwhahahahaha. Don't even try it, fool." WTF.

The killing of the jedi kids: best scene in the movie. Finally a scene that has real emotional impact. It needed more of that.

Well what exactly was Anakin supposed to do once Obi-Wan gained that position? It was either go away or get beaten down. It's not like he could go left or right at that point.

And I think they didn't force push each other, 1) because the fighting was so furious they had no time, and 2) the other would have countered and BOTH would go in [not good].

As for wooden performances... Star Wars since the beginning (with Ep 4) has had wooden performances. Only a few rise above it (like Harrison Ford or Ewan McGregor). It can't be helped with these movies.

I thought that when I first saw pictures of it and again when I saw the movie - it is like it is too narrow, or small or something.

I don't know this for sure but I think the actor inside the suit in the originals was taller and had a bigger head.

It would have been better if Vader emerged from the egg shaped chamber (ala Empire strikes back) rather than on a reclining gurney. The ''Nooo'' scene would have been better if it just showed his hand crushing a droid or just his shadow.

In Ep III, Vader is one skinny dude. He must have put on weight as he grew into middle age for Ep IV and they had to redo the suit

Big difference between the heat of battle and calm planning. With a fight raging, high ground isn't as big a deal. When you are looking to start a fight, it is a bigger deal. Kenobi on high ground with firm footing is a big advantage. He has already figured out the only way for Anakin to continue the fight, and his counter is ready.

This scene bothered me at the time, but thinking back, it really does make sense.

Both fights were pretty good, but neither make my top two. The fight with Darth Maul was much better both from a skill standpoint, and from a coolness factor.

The Luke/Vader battle in Jedi is probably the most powerful fight. Right after Vader threatens to try to turn Leia and Luke goes to the edge of the dark side (with the swelling music in the background). This fight wasn't as good technically as the others, but it is still the most powerful.

Funny, that was one of my wife's biggest gripes (I honestly hadn't thought of it at the time). I can't argue with the points many people are making and there were some bad lines, but overall I enjoyed the movie a lot and thought it was a vast improvement on 1+2. In fact, the main disappointment I felt when I walked out of the theatre was that Lucas couldn't have done a better job on Episode 1+2 if he did this for 3.

The Helmet for Darth Vader was designed and fabricated by a computer for this version, resulting in a perfect balance on both sides. Whereas the previous helmet was hand done and asymmetrical.

the best actor in Episode III was Ewan McGregor. when he's standing on the higher ground rock, and gives his last speech to Anakin (standing over the lava), you just really could see that Obi Wan was just so disappointed and angered at Anakin. he was so angry at that point, that it really made me realize that his original intent on going to the lava planet wasn't to kill Anakin, but to compel to him, and maybe redeem him. even when they first started fighting, in retrospect perhaps Obi Wan was pulling his punches. letting it be a stalemate. but it seemed as once he got onto the rock and said it was over, at that moment you could just see how furious Obi Wan was, shouting "you were supposed to bring balance to the Force!" and "you were my brother!". it was then that you could really see that Obi Wan acknowledged that Anakin couldn't be saved, and that he needed to die.

great acting.

I said the same thing watching the movie, pretty funny.

Man, some of you guys are really f'in nitpicky. If I was as anal I would probably have had a hard time enjoying the movie too.

Very, very not safe for work but the latest sexy losers strip has a pretty funny 'star wars' parody. No, I won't post a link.

You weren't the only one to notice that. I liked that short part very much. :)

I thought the same thing when I watched it... I really liked that part.

ditto for me.

Honestly, from the moment that Anakin saw Obi Wan, It was on. I was on the edge of my seat. At least in this movie there was a definate climax. I hate movies that feel anti-climactic that should be.

OK - I have not seen episodes one and two, and have no interest in seeing them or episode three..but I have a question. I know from reading magazines that Natalie Portman's character in the first movie, maybe even the second, was Queen Amidala (or something like that), but I read in a magazine today that her character is now Padme...can someone explain this to me???

On her planet the Queen basically serves a term in office. So when she was done with that she went with her normal name I guess, and went on to be a Senator.

Her full name is Padme Naberrie Amidala

Pointless trivia

I'm pretty sure that Padme is Tibetan for 'flower'.

Saw the movie today, enjoyed it quite a bit, my wife did as well. Easily the best of the new trilogy IMO.

Saw it today and I have to agree with Richard Roeper (ugh), this is the best Star Wars film since Empire Strikes Back.

Sab , I hate to tell you this, but your "Geek Rating" just went off the charts. :eek:

Okay, add me to the list of those on the first weekend.
Random thoughts ... my wife liked it better than I did, and we both seem to have liked it more than our son did, he said II was better than III (but he hasn't seen V or VI yet). ... I wish I hadn't read the script online before hand, kinda limited my ability to get totally into it, but when you've got a 7 year old, you gotta do some due diligence ... My wife is apparently the only person other than his mother who enjoys Haydn Christiansen. Her quote? "He pulled it off perfectly, the whole sliding to evil thing" Me: "Huh?" Her: "Didn't you think so? His face and his eyes said it all, he didn't have to say anything else." Me: "You are alone in the world sometimes, you know that?" ...
I thought the crosscuts between the scenes were outstanding ... Yoda is a bad mo'fo, his entrance into Palpy's chamber got the biggest laugh in the theatre tonight, with the little flick that bounced the two guards off the wall ... Mace got pwnd ... McGregor as Obi-Wan now seems outfuckingstanding to me, transition to Sir Alec is near perfect ... Yes, the love scene dialogues are hideous, the tortured cry of Vader at the end is nearly as bad ... Of all the plot holes I've seen/heard bitched about on the 'net, the one that bothers me most is the notion that Yoda knows when a mosquito farts in the swamp because of the ripple in the Force but not a single Jedi notices anything beyond an oddness about Palpatine. He's a f'n Sith Lord, I'm thinking that's gotta set off some car alarms or something ... Did I miss something somewhere or did it feel like something was edited out regarding the older kid killed at the temple just as Bail Organa arrives? That's the one place, about the time you catch a glimpse of his face, in the whole movie where I felt like something had been cut down. It just felt random & I thought maybe we were meant to see him escaping from Anakin or something earlier.

On the whole, damned good stuff, probably my second most enjoyed in the series behind IV.

Yea, that was really random and we'll probably have to wait for an extended version 10 years from now to figure out what led up to that.

Saw it yesterday. Some observations:

• Ewan McGregor was just simply awesome as Obi-Wan. His performance was easily the best part of any of the six movies.
• Hayden Christiansen was a little better than Ep. II, but still not quite Vader, if you asked me. And, yeah, the transition from light-dark could have been handled a little better - but I can't really think of a better solution for this.
• There was one guy, probably about 30, in my theater who was dressed in Jedi robes. This wasn't a midnight show or anything - this was a 4:00 weekday matinee, and he's the only dork in costume. I thought to myself, "No matter what happens for the rest of my life, I'll always know that at some point, at some time, there was someone more lame than I could ever be."
• End of the movie could have been a little better. But I don't get the "frankenstein" gripes... the poor bastard just got both legs hacked off, and was walking on robotic limbs for the first time... what'd you fuckers expect, cartwheels? But, yeah, the "Nooooo!" bit was a little gay.
• The chick outside the opera was the hottest piece of Star Wars cheese since Leia in ROTJ. Maybe hotter. I think I'm going to sense a great disturbance in the force when this comes out on DVD.
• Palpatine was a bit overdone. Ian McDiarmid could have toned it down a bit.
• Yoda was pretty awesome. I enjoyed his fight scenes against the clones.
• The Jedi who tried to arrest Palpatine got slapped like bitches. That scene should have been extended a bit. Or maybe they could have been taken out with some force-lighting, and only Windu knew the counter-move. I dunno... but they basically stood there to get stabbed. Disappointing.
• I expected Dooku to put up a better fight... and to say SOMETHING to the emperor before getting decapitated... instead, he just stood there and took it? Why not speak up? At that point, he's toast... it was unbelievable that he wouldn't rat out the emperor and at least give Anakin something to think about.

For the most part, I liked the movie. Better than the last two, although I didn't hate those as much as some fanboys. I've just enjoyed having new Star Wars flicks over the last six years, and I hope Lucas changes his mind about more sequels.

Man... I sooo wish we still had QOTM.

What I was thinking is, maybe he was so powerful that he was able to mask his abilities from other Jedi, or at least deflect them enough that people could sense a 'dark disturbance' but couldn't tell where it was coming from.

Actually Mace suspects something about the chancellor but isn't sure.

Hard to see, the dark is.

They obvious sense the dark side around them, but there must be something about the dark side that inables the ability to pinpoint it.


I....I looked it up. That's right...what? :)

Just some more thoughts

• Kit Fisto did go out like a bitch. Take that you squiddy bastard!
• the twilek Jedi died. :( I had heard a rumor that she survived the massacre.
• the twilek outside the "opera" was indeed hot. Almost made me miss the George Lucas cameo.
• the best shot in the entire Prequel Trilogy has to be the last shot of ROTS, with Owen and Beru holding Luke with Tantoine's suns as the background.
• Yoda kicks ass
• Lucas can't write romance. The romance in KOTOR was better written.
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars really does a good job leading up to ROTS.
• The Yoda/Sidious and Anakin/Obi-wan fights were great

This was true at the viewing I saw as well. I thought it was a funny scene... Yoda just dismissed them with a sort of "yawn" attitude.

Well, we're talking about a small range of competition here.

1. This is clearly the best of the three prequels (I have yet to see anyone say otherwise).

2. A New Hope ("Star Wars") and Empire Strikes Back are generally accepted as 1-2 (and personally, I can't see how anyone can dispute that).

So it just boils down to "is this movie better than Return of the Jedi? Dunno. I bash ROTJ more than most, but my immediate reaction was that it still bests this movie. I really need a second viewing of Sith to make up my mind about it. I was severely disappointed when I walked out of the theater, but the more I've thought about it the more I've found parts I really liked (but the ones i've HATED still remain).

that was George Lucas' son.

George himself is in the movie, in a blink you might miss it part. right when Anakin goes into the water ballet you see an alien with blue skin standing by the entrance, think that was him. i read Lucas appears at the water ballet scene as an alien with blue skin, and that was the only one in the theater scene in any type of shot.

and i read, in Time, that his son plays a young Jedi who dies. might've been just a way to get his son in the movie for fuck's sake. don't think a backstory is needed.

i kinda agree with this, him being a Sith Lord would probably mean he knew how to mask his abilities and how not to affect on the Force.

RoTS is better than RoTJ. so my Star Wars ranking is ANH, ESB and now RoTJ.

GL in ROTS

what is KOTOR?

Knights of the Old Republic, a Star Wars video game.

I don't know. I did get the sense, though, that having Wookies in RotS was Lucas' way of apologizing for the Ewoks in RotJ.

Lucas is a lot of things, an apologist he is not.

I don't get it then. Is that video game part of the story thats in the movies? Or why are people comparing the movies to that video game?

Because it's one of the best Star Wars games to ever be made, and when it game out many considered it to be the best use of the Star Wars brand since the original trilogy.

Further thoughts:

Obi-wan riding the lizard thing was one of the dumbest, most useless moments in the all 6 Star Wars movies.

The entire "General Grievous" storyline seemed like wasted screentime to me.

Also... anyone been following the box office numbers on this? $16.5 million at the midnight showings alone and over $50 million in the first day. Almost no doubt in my mind we're seeing a record-opening here.

My thoughts:

Do we know the backstory on General Grievous? He appeared to be half-organic/half-machine...but what else?

Ewan McGregor was the standout actor.

Palpatine becomeing "disfigured" was a pretty damn cool movie moment for me.

Obi-Wan got really old between Episodes 3-4, while Luke/Leia only aged like 18-20 years.

Scenery, particularly on the volcanic planet, was very impressive.

Evidentally Grievous was featured in the Clone Wars cartoon series on Cartoon Network, but I didn't see it.