bloody hell i cant wait to see the jedi purge scene

to be honest when i read to screenplay i imagined those scenes being as heavy as you discribed

im so happy its a good part.

great review
thanks alot!


i so cant wait for this movie!

less than 2 weeks to go!

You are joking, right? My original response was deleted.

This goes back to what Terry Gilliam talks about on the Criterion Brazil DVD about how he and Lucas are fans of putting less-than-perfect technological solutions into these other-worldly environments.

In Brazil, you have these interconnected computers, but the screens all need glasses, and they still have to shove cannisters into tubes to send documents. In Star Wars, you have space travel, lightspeed, and talking robots, but then you have a beaten up old crate that has to be kicked before it can take off.

And, since this isn't some gayass Star Trek movie, you don't need technological answers to everything.

According to the Making Of book, the Quinlan scene was never filmed.

Nice review, Biggs.

You said that it is the best over the prequals but where do you qualify its placement in the whole series? I hear some placing it under 'Empire' and some are placing it right under 'Return'. Tell me was it better than ROTJ, becuase about half of that movie is muppet and Ewok antics and the other half is the story?

Did you see the digital version?

Okay, I'll try and get some questions answered for you...



It was okay. Is sounded (to me) as he had some sort of un-placeable European Accent...it was definatly not natural. He doesn't get very many lines to speak in the whole movie, he's not seen killing ANYONE so he's kinda redundant, but you put that aside because he's a pretty cool bad-guy...I'd say easily the Boba-Fett of the Prequel Trilogy, he's voice is a little odd...but it's not bad.



Yes twice. Once in the opening battle with Dooku and again tells him in his quarters that he'll be more powerful than any jedi, by giving into his anger - they're similar (not exact) lines to that which he'll use on Luke later on down the road.....



It's hard to rank it. I've only seen it once. After I see it again on Monday I'll have a better idea of where it sits in amongst all 6 movies. I never really put much faith in "ranking" movies anyway - It's definatly the best of the prequels, it's miles ahead of TPM dramatically, acting-wise and story-wise... it's better than AOTC in terms of visuals, Yoda... storytelling... it's just all down to if you buy into Anakins reasoning for siding with Palpatine...



This the key to whole movie. I'm honestly not sure if I did buy it yet. I need to see it again. This will be key to whether the wide StarWars fandom "buys" the whole film. If you can accept that Anakin is as power-hungry and as desperate to save Padme as he makes out, then absolutely - this movie will work for you. If you can't, then you just won't enjoy the film.

My interpretation is quite simple. I believe, Anakin TRUELY doesn't think he's become a sith by bowing down to Palpatine - I think he doesn't trust the Jedi, he's not sure of their motives (as they are made out to be just as sneaky as Palpatine in this film) and in terms of Anakin, he's being used by absolutely EVERYONE. Padme, Obi-Wan, Yoda and Palpatine. Mace is the only one who doesn't like him, so won't use him at all....everyone else is getting him to do their dirty work.

There's a great line by Yoda in the film, where he says along the lines of "A Mistake, we have made" in relation to Anakin being the chosen one - but they've gone for so long THINKING this might be true, it's too late...

So Anakin has to choose to save Padme. Yoda's essentially told him "Let go of the ones you love" and Anakin is too greedy and impaitent for that stuff, so he goes to the one man he know, is knowlegeable to save her - which is Palpatine. But for him - this is his ONLY choice, because he can restore "peace" to the galaxy (in the form of the Empire - which is what he believes will work, re his speach in AOTC and ROTS) and he gets to save Padme, live with her....

It's not until the end, on Mustafer, he ACTUALLY buys in the reasoning by Palpatine that he's better than all the Jedi (because he's killed them all in the Temple easily) that he says to Padme "I can kill Palpatine, we can rule the Galaxy together" and thats when Padme realises all is not well, and Obi-Wan was right...but it's too late.



There's a few closeup shots of "Cody" in ROTS which just look pretty awful. The "head" almost moves in a different way to the CG body at one stage. Keep in mind though, this wasn't a digital projection... so it was a little blurry at times on the screen...but there's a few shots of semi-bodyless Stormtroopers which just look ew...and they're front and center. It's not bad or too distracting... you see it and go... ugh...



Well, it's the best of the Prequels, which I measure all these films against. I don't really like comparing them to the originals. Like I said above, I need to see it again for making a call on "ranking" it if I have to. As a movie It's better than AOTC, it's MILES ahead of TPM and it's better paced that ANH. Actionwise it's better than ROTJ, thought storywise and actingwise it's not as good as ESB.



They'll be blown away by the Purge Scene, as everyone will... even if you've read a script... this is a ripper of a scene. The opening battle is stunning and the Lightsaber Duels are all lovely.



I just didn't like the pacing of it. They basically chatted for about 2minutes beforehand, and then started going at each other...so it was kinda an awful start... and like the duel in TPM - there is no chat/banter between the two of them, it's just go-go-go with visuals, sfx and score... which is unfortunate...because thats what made the Luke/Vader duel in ROTS so classy, was the fact they both were "hunting" each other the whole time, both physically and in their mind...

I dunno, the second half was better because the just seemed to be in more Peril (on the lava bed) and we get some fantastic acting from Ewan on the side of the lava river as the burning Anakin screams that he hates him....it's a tear-jerker ladies!....



- Memorable line would be Mace's "SIT DOWN" line to Anakin when he has a tantrum about not being made a Master. It's complete owning of him. Very cool.

- Shitloads of limbs get severed, like I said...there's a drinking game in amongst all the heads being removed...GG has the best death of them all, you feel like standing up and clapping right after Obi-Wan fries him...

- None of that other stuff is in that you mentioned.



- No he doesn't kill her, you don't actually see her die anywhere in the film. I believe she could be therefore part of the TV series - as Obi-Wan "recalibrates order 66" so perhaps she's one of the Jedi that goes into hiding too perhaps?....there's obviously going to be a few who are able to escape the order from Palpatine...it's a kind of messy portion of the movie for me.

- Palpatine takes care of all 3 in about 15 seconds. They all go down so quick, if you blink they're gone. Plo Koon lasts a little longer, but they're all gone. He's clearly pretty ace with the ol' Lightsaber....

- They're pretty much all ambushed, Ki-Adi fights back a little, but they're all swamped with Stormtroopers and wasted. Aayla is shot in the back a few times...it's all done so you just go "oh fuck" and your heart stops...it's a fantastic portion of the movie, like I said...the one I'll remember for a long time.

There we go, hope that helps.

________________________________________




Except, he doesn't care about the Jedi, he doesn't care about Palpatine, he knows pretty much everyone is using him by this stage. All he DOES care about, is saving Padme - thus because Yoda's told him to let go of his fear of loss, accept death etc etc...the only person telling him what he wants to hear (Darth Plagueis/Immortality story) that he figures out Palpatine is a means to an end. He is the Sith Lord, but then...Anakin wants power as well, he's not allowed to be a Jedi Master - so he'll better than them ALL - AND save Padme. It's a pretty sweet deal to make from his point of view (and there is some dialogue which he explains to Padme from "My Point of View" about what Palpatine represents him)

How much of the temple slaughter is shown? Do we see Vader kill anyone in the temple? I know he kills the younglings and how that plays out offscreen but just curious if anything else is in there.

Hello and thank you Bigg for all the infos!

I have a few questions :

How Plo Koon, Saesee Tiin, Agen Kolar and Kit Fisto are Killed?

Where can we see the red clone commander and the commander Neyo?

Thank you

Do we know if anybody who has seen the market screenings, and is commenting on them, has seen the digital cut of the movie?

Don't we know for a fact that the Qui-Gon voice over scene was filmed? I mean, there's been pictures and descriptions by reliable sources.

What was your initial reaction when you left the theater compared to your reaction when you first saw AOTC?

Biggs,

What scene is it where Padme has the dreads and is wearig the peacock dress? And is it still in the film? Is there any mention of a rebellion possibily forming against the empire?

And in all seriousness, were you aroused by pregnant Padme in any of the scenes?

Mace told Anakin to sit down? LOL, that's funny. I don't think it's a tear-jerker as much as everyone says it is, in my eyes Anakin got what he deserved.

So much for the rumor of her surviving in the movie and possibly ending up in the TV series.


The removal of the Yoda/Qui-Gon scene is what bugs me the most. That was a significant moment and helps explain Yoda and Obi's change in Jedi philosophy in the OT, as well as their ability to become force ghosts. Plus it would have been a nice bookend for the prequels to hear Liam as Qui-Gon again. The scene following it with Yoda telling Obi "Oh, we're going to be learning some stuff from your former master" just doesn't cut it. The "spirt of Qui-Gon" scene added much more depth, and removing it diminishes the impact of what Yoda tells Obi.

The complete removal of Mon Mothma is also a damn shame... her scene with Bail and Padme helped establish the "birth" of the rebellion and gives significance to her cameo appearance in ROTJ. Completely cutting her from the film was a mistake in my opinion.

I swear, it sickens me how many good character/plot developing scenes were cut from the film. Judging by the TPM and AOTC DVDs, we aren't likely to get ALL of them on the ROTS DVD.

50 bucks says you're talking about a shot in which it's really just Temura Morrison wearing a costume with no CGI whatsoever.

None of the "Slaughter" is shown. It's all implied. We have a few long-shots of Clones taking out the odd Jedi here and there, the scene where Anikan/Vader takes out the Jedi-Kids is implied, but not shown. It's very well done though far better than the Sand-People thing in AOTC



Sorry, I think I made a mistake earlier on - it's Kit Fisto who lasts longer in the Mace/Palpatine duel.

Plo Koon is shown getting shot out of the sky in his Jedi-Fighter by Clones There's a shot of a Jedi being taken out on a Speeder bike, not sure of his/her name Kit Fisto gets taken out by Palpatine as mentioned above.

There's a whole shitload of Clone Commanders, of all different shapes and sizes take your pick.



Mine wasn't a digital projection.



Very similar feelings "I must see this movie again" - pretty much everyone I have spoken to has said the same. I don't think there were any non-mixed feelings from any of the media I was with. Everyone needed to see it again to make a judgement.

It's good though - it's definatly not bad there's just these niggly moments here and there (like I said earlier) where I felt a little weirded out by the whole thing. The most notable "ball drop" was the whole Birth of Vader scene, when he does his Frankenstein thing it's pretty gay.

Up until that point (especially after the purge sequence) you're able to forgive just about everything

Also, as an aside when Palpatine "dons" Anakin with his "Darth Vader" name, there's almost another "being" whispering the words to them both, it's subtle but you can hear it Palpatines voice is VERY different here it's almost like everything is coming from another voice altogether

You'll understand it when you see it very creepy



No rebellion, no dress no dreads. It's all been cut. Padme has little to nothing to do in the whole film, other than sit home in the apartment and be preggers. The entire movie is focussed on Anakins fall.

________________




I promise you, it's CG. You'll know the scene I'm talking about when you watch it it's not distracting too much it's noticeable, thats all. I wouldn't get your knickers in a bunch over it, there's plenty of other great CG to no even have to worry about that stuff.

The Obi-Wan/Boga stuff is seamless (for example) it's really well done.

I saw the film last night. I thought it was breathtaking, a hundred times better than I expected, and truly moving. (Sorry George, I hated Menace and Clones.) The best thing about it for me is that the characters have believable inner lives and feelings again -- they're not just pretty (or ugly) faces and props to hang CG costumes on. It's non-stop action for the most part, but very inventive, and you never lose sense of the tragic gravity of events. The death of the Jedi after the issuing of Order 66 is profoundly haunting, and not just the murder of the younglings.

I can't say much more than this, but I'll say that the power-grab by Palpatine has a lot of resonance with current events. You'll know what I mean. ("So this is how liberty dies -- with thunderous applause," says Padme.)

Spend the next couple of weeks in a state of joy, guys. You're about to see the best Star Wars movie since Empire, and one of the best science fiction films of all time, a dark jewel that will haunt you the rest of your life. Lucas has finally come through.

I wouldn't go that far...

...however, Order 66 is the most amazing moment, it's just so tragic. I agree wholeheartedly about that.

So Biggs, one more question. How exactly is the Vader breaking from the shakles at the end cheezy? Is the "Nooo!" line overdone, or it because of the CG work? Thanks.

great review man, you lucky bastid. Don't pay attention to people like slave that are bent about grammar, perhaps they should shut the fuck up and see what type of review they could post.

Again man thank you very much for this review, after 14 hours of work on my birthday this turned out to be the highlight of my day

It's awful. Very tacky and cheesy.

It's just not well acted, it's overdone and the "nooooo" line is just bad because it's Vader (James Earl Jones) saying a line, in a manner - which in my mind Vader would NEVER say.

It's just not very well done at all. Up until that point the whole thing is creepy and spooky, then you get thsi psuedo-frankenstein moment, that's right out of a bad B-Movie...

That moment didn't bother me. After all, he's not only lost his wife, he lost himself in order to save her, and then has been convinced by Palpatine that he killed her himself.

If the "nooo" was a little much, the destruction of the droids and the environment around him -- as if Bad Force Mojo is just spraying out of him -- more than made up for it.

Is the last line of the movie is C3P0's "Oh no."? And is anything said at the funeral, or on the star destroyer bridge at the end? How much time in minutes is the end after the last line? And were you "moved"?

Biggs, can you pretty please describe the Separatist slaughter? Like, who says what, what order they get killed, what body part is chopped off, etc? You can't marry anyone but me!

Eh...

It's all opinions.

However, it's not nearly as good as you're making out. Don't get me wrong, it's good...it's just not great. It has some moments of greatness, but stuff like the Vader scene just doesn't work...and there's a few of them like that.

We'll see how it stands up once the general public watches it.

It's as good as I expected it to be....I'm satisfied with the conclusion.

Nute Gunray doesn't beg for mercy?

Ok, I'll have to see it of course. CGI doesn't bother me at all. But there have been a few times already when someone has said something looked "too CGI" when in fact it wasn't CGI at all.

Does Plo Koon get his line of dialogue, and is Barriss Offee seen? What shot is Luminara Unduli shown in?

For about a second, but then he's cut in half and it's over.

______________




Yup, that's the best way to watch it - same way I did. It'll be good to see it again....

Sorry I hope I'm not annoying...lol...I just love my Jedi and Separaist homies.

Wow, Obi-Wan really is a bastard.


Thanks for the review, Biggs.

What if I just want a fun movie where I don't really care if I buy it or not?

I mean, come on - the whole series is absurd. I don't care if I buy things emotionally or not, they are fun.

I have seen the movie too, via press screening, and I wanted to add a few things.

One of my favorite sections concerns Padme and Anakin "watching" each other, Anakin from the temple, and Padme from her apartment. They are connecting from across the city and it's very touching and free of dialogue. If I recall, it is scored with "Padme's Ruminations" from the soundtrack.

In terms of Anakin raiding the temple and killing children, it is indeed made clear by Palpatine that if they are to keep their power they will need to take out all of their opposition, and quickly, while their guard is down. It isn't simply Anakin saying, "I love Padme so I will kill some children." It's Anakin realizing that now that he has turned, he needs to keep it that way.

It's a great movie with a solid story and very good acting. Grievous is very much in the style of the sci-fi serial of the 30's with his super villain gestures and dialogue, and it really fits the style that George Lucas wanted for Star Wars with an almost comic book quality to him.

In terms of music, one more note: The altered version of the title theme as heard on the soundtrack is NOT the way it appears in the film. It does end quietly like the other five films rather than move into the action music (the action music immediately following the main theme on the album is scoring the raid on Grievous' hideout on Utapau.

= ) It's great!

I have seen it as well today...

Though I haven't had time to read the other reviews (so pardon any repeats), I'll post some thoughts...

The romance works in this film. I had trouble buying into it in EpII, but in this film, they are really in love.

The Ani-Obi duel was very well done, but I'll need to see it again to be truly convinced. Reason is, it moves **so** fast it is hard to tell if it's just flashing sabres (that was a little distracting) or smooth sword-fighting.

The famous shot of Anakin with the Yellow eyes turning and looking, is actually a reversed shot.

We do not see the shot of the Emperor's shuttle approaching Mustafar in the film.

There is a very "strange" shot when Palps rescues Vadar after the Duel. He kneels down by Vadar, and touches him in an almost fatherly way. Very odd.

The Mace/Sidious Duel takes a bit of time to grow on me. I wasn't impressed with the sword fighting, but the entire scene is still very good.

Hayden does a good job in this movie. His acting is actually pretty solid in my opinion. And I found the dialogue to be the least "wooden and clunky" of the three prequels.

The opening battle will be unbelieveable when/if Lucas does this movie in 3D.

Obi-wan has a classic line after killing Grevious with the blaster. He drops it saying "How uncivilized."

I did not notice JEJ name in the credits. But it was weird to see Vadar (in the suit) asking about Padme.

All in all, this is easily the best of the prequels, and in my personal Top 3 for all six.

I'll try and post more or answer questions later. The wife demands my time.


Oboe

They have reason to be. All of those stories predicting a bad box-office performance for this film will soon be forgotten.

I can't wait to see it again myself, and I'm a highly critical viewer who could barely get through Clones once.

Is that slug like Nos Monster still in the Utapau sequence? I thought Obiwan encountered it or something when he fell into the bottom of the sinkhole? Something like that?

It's running the same visual-theme as Obi-Wan kneeling down beside Luke and touching him fatherly-like same sort of image!

Is the picture of a big sequoia tree? Or has she got her act together?

And does Vader still cut the guys head in half at the temple doors like in the novel?

How does the Padme force choke play out in the film.. is it like "Holy crap!" if you don't know it's coming.. well-executed? etc?

I promise (no I don't, this ) is my last question. You obviously didn't time the duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan, but is it still a lengthy duel? Does it live up to the promise of 10 minutes, or does the intercut scenes with Yoda vs. Sidious make it seem longer than it is? I hope it isn't a 2 minute fight..

Thank you Biggs! Plo Koon's death is in the film, no cut!

Does he speak in the movie a little?

The intercutting between The Palpatine/Yoda Duel (In my opinon the better one) and Obi-Wan/Anakin makes BOTH duels seem to last alot longer they both last a fair amount of time, and both have set pieces (the more odd one is Obi-Wan swinging lightsaber in two Tarzan-like, clashing with Lightsaber with Anakin and landing on some floating debris on Lava. It sounds cool, but just looks a bit strange.)



No, doesn't say a line just gets wasted.

Thanks for taking the time to write the review it was great..

Thanks for the reviews

Can't wait to see III,

Hey Biggs,

Does Padme still put the janipor snippet into Obi-Wan's hand, when dying? And if so, does Obi-Wan begin to study it, like it was just another saberdart or is it done better\differently then that and how much is it emphasized by the camera, music and such?

Thanks in advance.

is there Duel of the Fates playing during the Palps/Yoda battle?

To the people asking for Quinlan Vos, he´s mentioned in a line by Obi-Wan "Master Vos has moved his troops to Bos Pity", during a Jedi Temple chat with Anakin. (It was one of the clips from the Trivial Pursuit game.) Do any of you reviewers remember if that line is still in?

Haha, I actually have a question of my own, regarding other Expanded Universe-references: Do any of you remember seeing EU ships or vehicles (besides the Juggernaut tanks) in the film? Cameos of any kind? (Of course if you don´t know much about things in the EU, it´s impossible to answer.)

You're talking about Hitler's "Machtergreifung" in 1933, right? *Old European chuckle*



After all, didn't Palpatine manipulate the midichlorians in order to create life...?


I still think a five minutes longer movie, including the birth of the rebellion and Qui-Gon, would have been a better choice. But it's good to know those scenes are not included, so I'm "prepared" for that.

Fuck YEAH!

I've always found that rubber-faced fucker to be far more annoying than Jar Jar.

I shall look forward to this moment!

Yes, the Bos Pity line is included. I'm surprised I even remember that. I've never been one to follow all the other Jedi names.

As far as the choke goes, I actually thought it could have gone better. It was still powerful, but Portman didn't seem to play it up enough. It looked more like she had some popcorn piece stuck in the back of her throat, and was trying to get it, rather than being choked like the guy from EP IV or Ozzel.

And I guess what strikes me as odd about the Palps kneeling by Vadar scene is that it seemed that he really cared about Vadar, which seemed very non-Sith to me, especially the way the Sith are referenced during the movie, particularly the selfishness.



Oboe

I don't remember if Duel of the Fates was playing... sorry.

Sorry to keep mentioning various scenes, but the scene where they put the helmet on Vadar was truly powerful. The look of fear and confusion on Anakin's face just bore into me.

Very good stuff.