Movies
Stryker's got a post on watching movies in this day and age. Basically, lots of commercials, rude patrons, and high prices. I went to see Revenge of the Sith this afternoon, [at a MOVIE MEGAPLEX] with two friends who rarely go to movie theatres. They were not impressed with the whole experience. About 10 minutes of video ads [at a volume louder than most rock concerts], 20 minutes of previews, an audience that didn't really detract from the experience but didn't add to it either. Oh, and of course they wanted to get to the theatre 20 minutes early to get a good seat. With regard to the movie, she liked Episode 1 better, he liked Episode 2 better, I liked Episode 3. We all watched Episode 2 last night, she watched Episode 1 the night before. Fanboy thoughts: (1) As cool as Yoda is in a lightsaber battle, it just doesn't fit. He's much smaller than a human, he usually hobbles around, and yet he can catch a full on strike [which takes strength and leverage]. He should be a badass in other ways. (2) Wookies get a tiny amount of time in RotS, compared to Ewoks in RotJ. And why are they fighting water battles on their jungle planet? (3) I just don't care about any of these characters. Blah blah, I want to be a Master, blah, illegal love, blah, I'm pregnant, blah, Jedi Masters get taken out like paraplegic gnats [and shouldn't some survive, so Vader can spend the next few years hunting them down and killing them?], blah, volcano fight. (4) The political crap is too complicated to be useful as a comment on present day politics. If President Bush = Dark Jedi Master, then he not only wanted a war and pushed for it, he was directly responsible for 9/11 and the creation of the Islamic "army." (5) If we're following the rules of the universe, people don't just die because they lose the will to live. I can accept the Dark Side having something to do with Padme's death, but it isn't telegraphed. Is the Emperor doing it long distance? Is Vader sucking out her life force, to heal himself as he crawls out of the lava? Or due to his previous force choke? (6) So, basically the morals of the movie are "Love is Evil" and " Don't Give a Whiney Angst-Ridden Teenager Ultimate Power." Yippee. How the fuck did Anakin Skywalker grow up, first as a slave on a desert planet that makes Arakis look like WaterWorld, then as a Jedi trainee where he would presumably see a large slice of life, and then suddenly come to the amazing conclusion that life isn't fair? If life were fair he would still be a slave, probably repairing droids and landspeeders. Instead, he's the right-hand-man to the most important person in a government spanning thousands of worlds, and doin' the dirty with the beautiful Senator and ex [Democratically elected] Queen. (7) Uncle Lars, watching the sunset. How heavy-handed with the visuals can you get? So, on the positive side, it's a movie in a cool scifi universe, with amazing special effects. And ultimately I like the "Anankin turns to the Dark Side to save his beloved wife" concept. But, even when I [as TexasBestGrok puts it] check my cynical, 30-something ass at the door, I tend to think about what a great movie it could have been, rather than how much better it was than episode 1. Maybe that's because I went with 2 other cynical 30-somethings rather than an 8 year old, I don't know.
- posted by owlish @ 5/27/2005 09:02:00 PM