Too Young To Be Grumpy

Having witnessed the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, I was expecting Star Wars Episode III to be subtitled "Revenge of the Shit", however, having seen it on Saturday I was pleasantly surprised.

Despite actually enjoying the film, I do believe the film has some drawbacks. First up, I don't believe the film would make much sense to anyone who hasn't seen either the first film they made (Episode 4), or the last films they made (Episodes I and II). It is very much a part of the larger vision. Also the film is perhaps 80% action, which some people might find boring. Again, I think this is because it's part of a plot that is spread over 6 films, so it loses some of its flow.

However, if you have seen any of the other Star Wars films mentioned above, this film will probably come as a very good suprise. If you saw Episode I or II, you'll enjoy the action sequences which were lacking from the first two. The visuals really are stunning; particularly the cityscapes which contain so much detail that I really just wanted to have a browse around (a screensaver based on these would rock!). If you have seen Episode 4 (the first film they made nearly 30 years ago in 1977), you will suddenly get a fuller picture of how Darth Vader came to be as he is, and how Luke and Leia ended up apart. The cues into the old films, such as the introduction of Darth Vader's generals, was a master stroke. Personally I believe Anakin's turn to the dark side came a bit quickly (Palpatine: Come to the Dark Side, Anakin, and save Padmé; Anakin: Oh ok.), but I guess they wanted to keep this film firmly in the action genre.

After the film I wondered whether it would be worth Georgey Lucas remaking the other Episodes with the same people, but then I realised the only person in the old films, that might look different, was Obi Wan (ignoring minor characters like Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, and potentially the upgraded Yoda), so that was also pretty good foresight on George Lucas behalf.