Monday, May 16, 2005

Win, Place, Show

Movie Review | 'Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith': Some Surprises in That Galaxy Far, Far Away

A.O. Scott's review of the final Star Wars film is worth reading. Without giving away much, he creates anticipation for what should be the best moviegoing experience of the year:
This is by far the best film in the more recent trilogy, and also the best of the four episodes Mr. Lucas has directed. That's right (and my inner 11-year-old shudders as I type this): it's better than "Star Wars."

"Revenge of the Sith," which had its premiere here yesterday at the Cannes International Film Festival, ranks with "The Empire Strikes Back" (directed by Irvin Kershner in 1980) as the richest and most challenging movie in the cycle.
Excited yet? My hopes for this film are high; we watched the two existing prequels and while they're not very good, they weren't quite as bad as I remembered, and some of the scenes had taken on a new resonance based on revelations made in all the various trailers for the new film. Nothing can make up for the fact that, in Scott's words, "Mr. Lucas's indifference to two fairly important aspects of moviemaking - acting and writing - is remarkable," but for some reason I believe this movie will be great.

By the way, Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune gave it 4 stars, and Roger Ebert gave it 3.5. It's going to be a long week of anticipation!

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