*The Official Episode III Film Review Thread*

[nightscape94 965]

CHUD.com has four reviews up, that seem a bit more realistic and not gushing.

They also have an editorial that states they should remake the original trilogy...did you happen to catch that????

Tim

[Lurker 5]

Lucas probably should re-make Episodes IV and V. As of now, they stand out from the rest in terms of quality (much higher from the rest) and the story seems to be pointing in a completely different direction. ROTJ almost fits in with the prequels perfectly though.

ROTS is doing very surprisingly well on Rotten Tomatoes - it's over 90%. But let's wait until wider release, shall we...

It's now down to 84%. You can keep track here.

Neil

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Its up to 85 % now, the usually dependable Peter Travers does a poor job in his review.

Still he gave it 2 out of 4 stars, what is fresh and what it rotten by RT.

0 stars=Terrible

1 stars= Bad

2 stars=good

3 stars=verygood

4 stars=excellent ???

[tpigeon 3]

The rule of thumb is:

0 - Abysmal (some critics don't go below 1)

1 - Bad

2 - Mediocre

3 - Good

4 - Excellent

Ted

[Morlock 11]

Here is a really nice comment about John Williams music from Tony Medley, here is an excerpt of his review.

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (7/10)

by Tony Medley

Well, we finally get to learn how Darth Vader got to be Darth Vader in this, the final theatrical Star Wars movie. Even though the movie includes a delicious turn as a bad guy by Ian McDiarmid, who plays Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, ... and incredible special effects, it’s best part is the music score by Academy Award winner John Williams. The music is constant and keeps the tension mounting throughout the slightly over two hour running time.

I love all this good press JW has been getting.

James Berardinelli also liked the score-

John Williams' score is nearly perfect, and contains more cues from the original trilogy than his work for either The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones.

[Lurker 5]

The Philadelphia Inquirer will print it's review on Sunday. All I know so far is that the reviewer gave it 2 stars out of 4.

Neil

[tpigeon 3]

The Inquirer critics are the worst of any major newspaper in the country. Rea is better than Rickey, but they are both 2 star critics if you ask me.

Ted

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

The Inquirer critics are the worst of any major newspaper in the country.  

:roll: This is the kind of data Neil sometimes forgets to mention...

[JoeinAR 1,949]

The Inquirer critics are the worst of any major newspaper in the country.  

:roll: This is the kind of data Neil sometimes forgets to mention...

REMEMBER, they are all just opinions. The Arkansas Dem/Gaz. has a critic, who thinks he's grand, but he's not.

really the only review that matters is your own.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

I know

[Lurker 5]

The Inquirer critics are the worst of any major newspaper in the country. Rea is better than Rickey, but they are both 2 star critics if you ask me.

Ted

This was Rea not Rickey. I don't like her either. I don't think they are the worst in the country though, since I'm not familiar with every reviewer. And besides, it's the same two stars Peter Travers gave the movie and I don't see anyone knocking him.

Luke, I would really appreciate it if you would stop taking every opportunity you get to put me down.

Neil

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

It was not my intention this time, now i see it was unfortunate

[John Crichton 4]

IGN Filmforce has posted their review. On the whole I tend to disagree with them quite a bit, but they are one of the most popular movie news sites on the net so there you are.

They gave it 3/5 but reading the review you'd think it was much less.

[diskobolus 3]

IGN Filmforce has posted their review. On the whole I tend to disagree with them quite a bit, but they are one of the most popular movie news sites on the net so there you are.

They gave it 3/5 but reading the review you'd think it was much less.

Every objection that reviewer wrote about had a direct or inferred explanation in the film, which really shows how little he understood.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

DVD.nl has posted a review of RotS. They too had something to say about the music:

Wat de score betreft is Revenge of the Sith geweldig. John Williams heeft echt iets fantastisch afgeleverd. De muziek draagt ontzettend bij aan de sfeer. Eerdere muziekthema’s uit de vorige prequels komen terug in deze film en op een goede manier. De muziek draagt vooral bij aan de cruciale scènes in de film. Op spannende momenten sleept het je mee in de actie en tegen het emotionele einde maakt het toch wel wat emotie bij je los. In The Phantom Menace en Attack of the Clones was de muziek soms net iets té waardoor een scène in sommige gevallen ‘over the top’ werd. Revenge of the Sith heeft hier geen last van. De muziek draagt hier echt bij aan de dramatische gebeurtenissen.

This translates thus:

As far as the score goes, Revenge of the Sith is great. John Williams really delivered something fantastic. The music contributes a great deal to the atmosphere of the film. Earlier themes from the previous prequels return in this film and in a good way. The music particularly contributes to the crucial scenes in the film. It sweeps you away into the action and at the emotional end it really does evoke a lot of emotion from you. In The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones the music was sometimes just a bit too much, making some scenes 'over the top.' Revenge of the Sith is not troubled by this. The music contributes genuinely to the dramatic events.

Just thought I'd post it here for you and our Dutch members. BTW, DVD.nl usually makes note of the music in reviews, especially when Williams is involved.

- Marc,

[Lurker 5]

From the Inquirer's two star review: "We won't even go into the third-act Polis Massa Med Center scene, other than to quote this gem of a diagnosis from one of the attending droid docs: 'Medically, she is completely healthy...[but] she has lost the will to live.'

She's not alone, bud!"

Neil

[StrongBad992648 0]

Neil...honestly now...it's gotten to the point where I think 75% of the people on the boards roll their eyes as soon as they see you posted on a ROTS topic because they know you are going to be singing the same old tune you've been singing for 3 years now.

You post all of these reviews that are so negative towards the movie like you are saying "Look what I found mommy! I was Right!!"

Honestly, I find you to be a great guy, but it irritates me to no end when I see your Star Wars posts. If you are so damn dead-set against this movie...as your actions dictate...then why bother searching for these negative reviews? You don't see me searching for House of Wax reviews even though the original is one of my favorites...

[Lurker 5]

What can I say? I laughed out loud at that.

Neil

[tpigeon 3]

I'm not at all surprised with this review. He is too busy taking potshots and making witty comments about the bad dialogue that he doesn't review the film. Then again, the Philadelphia Inquirer doesn't know how to review movies.

Ted

[tpigeon 3]

Does anyone know anything about Roger Ebert's thoughts on the movie? Ebert and Roeper hasn't been on television in this area yet, and I haven't read anything. I'll be interested to hear what he has to say given his thoughts on the previous two prequels.

Ted

[diskobolus 3]

Does anyone know anything about Roger Ebert's thoughts on the movie? Ebert and Roeper hasn't been on television in this area yet, and I haven't read anything. I'll be interested to hear what he has to say given his thoughts on the previous two prequels.

Ted

Roger Ebert thought Smee was a Lost Boy in Peter Pan.

[Lurker 5]

Two thumbs up.

Neil

[tpigeon 3]

Two thumbs up.

Neil

Any more information than that? Did you see the show, or did you read it in a news story?

Ted

[Lurker 5]

That is all the print ad in the L.A. Times said.

The Philadelphia Inquirer doesn't even have a print ad. I guess Lucasfilm and Fox are letting all the licenses do the marketing for them. Smart.

Neil

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Honestly, I find you to be a great guy, but it irritates me to no end when I see your Star Wars posts. If you are so damn dead-set against this movie...as your actions dictate...then why bother searching for these negative reviews? You don't see me searching for House of Wax reviews even though the original is one of my favorites...

wow, this makes sense, what a wonderful piece of logic.

if you only knew the truth, but your so dead set against Neil posting his thoughts on this, I'd say 75% of the people on this board roll their eyes when they see you taking Neil to task for his opinion which he has every right to do. The you assume, and that does make asses out of you and me, and everyone else here that he's searching for "negative" reviews, instead of just reviews.

:roll:

[John Crichton 4]

The New York Times has posted their review. An exerpt:

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."

The reviewer gives the usual criticisms of the majority of the acting (Ian McDiarmid, again, and Frank Oz get applauded), but has high priase for the story and visuals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/movies/1.../16star.html?hp

(may require a free registration to view)

[StrongBad992648 0]

Joe...it's not hard to figure out my logic. Just give it a try for a few minutes. You can do it.

And I am all for Neil having and voicing his own opinion. I'm not some stupid 12 year old posting on a website. I understand the concept of hypocracy. I am simply making an observation about his tendancy to post all of the negative reviews, and leave out little tidbits that actually put a bit of a positive spin on things.

Oh...and I can use sarcastic smileys too. :roll:

By the way Neil...as I mentioned before...I quite like you as a person (we met in Boston) and I don't mean my comments in a nasty way. Sorry if it seems like it.

[King Mark 3,631]

Damn,I just missed Ebert and Roeper on TV

k.M.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Lucas in Cannes about prequel critisism:

Legendary director George Lucas hit out at critics of his first two Star Wars prequels yesterday - just hours before third prequel Revenge Of The Sith premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The legendary filmmaker insisted there are plenty of fans who like the first two prequels, The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones, but that most of them are under the age of 25. He added that most people who dislike the two films tend to be fanatics of the original trilogy, released between 1977 and 1983. Speaking at a press conference at the French event, Lucas said, "The older ones (fans) are loyal to the first three films I made, and they are the ones in control of the media. The films that these people don't like - which are the first two prequels - are fanatically adored by the under 25s. They are always at each others throats about it."

Interestingly, he's not wrong.

[Adam 1]

Damn,I just missed Ebert and Roeper on TV

k.M.

Roeper was much more positive. He said it was the third best Star Wars movie. Ebert liked it but spent most of his short amount of time criticizing the dialog. They praised Natalie Portman, though, and then showed a clip where she seemed not that good. But its hard to tell from a short clip.

- Adam

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

Lucas in Cannes about prequel critisism:

Legendary director George Lucas hit out at critics of his first two Star Wars prequels yesterday - just hours before third prequel Revenge Of The Sith premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The legendary filmmaker insisted there are plenty of fans who like the first two prequels, The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones, but that most of them are under the age of 25. He added that most people who dislike the two films tend to be fanatics of the original trilogy, released between 1977 and 1983. Speaking at a press conference at the French event, Lucas said, "The older ones (fans) are loyal to the first three films I made, and they are the ones in control of the media. The films that these people don't like - which are the first two prequels - are fanatically adored by the under 25s. They are always at each others throats about it."

Interestingly, he's not wrong.

You have fine examples here.

Luke, watching for throats while covering his.

[RuBen_Kenobi 19]

I was a huge fan of the originals. I´m 23 and I like the prequels, so Lucas is rigth as always

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Roeper was much more positive. He said it was the third best Star Wars movie. Ebert liked it but spent most of his short amount of time criticizing the dialog. They praised Natalie Portman, though, and then showed a clip where she seemed not that good. But its hard to tell from a short clip.

- Adam

Eberts review on his site is puzzling.

He gives ROTS 3.5 stars and then spends most of the review saying how bad the dialogue and how poor the acting and direction is.

It reminds me of Filmtracks review of a Harry Potter score.

[King Mark 3,631]

So far:

Generally received with enthousiasm:

The story in general

The opening space battle

The light saber duels

Other action sequences

Jedi Purge Sequence

Birth of the Twins

The way it fits with the OT

Ian McDiarmid

Visual Effects

The score by JW

Yoda

Grevious

Almost no Jar Jar

Some say good some say not:

Hayden Christensen(at least improved from AotC)

Generally negative comments:

Natalie Portman

Mace Windu

Wooden dialogue delivery in some Anakin-Padme scenes

Bad scene pacing in early middle third of movie

Some cheezy dialogue lines

Vader rising from his table and starting to walk around.

I know more or less what to expect,so from me the film will be succesful depending on it's emotionnal impact and WOW factor despite the known negatives.

K.M.

[John Crichton 4]

Good summary KM. I would add that the majority of what I've read, but not all, say that the Anakin-Padme relationship scenes in general are better than Episode II. Several also complained of some "cutesy" moments the first half of the film.

[diskobolus 3]

I agree with most of KM's observations.

Dialogue delivery in some Anakin-Padme scenes

... isn't as bad as people are making it out to be.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

How does it compate to the AotC romance (both in performance and writing), ie "I wish I could just wish away my wishes," the sand monologue, and general chemistry?

Ray Barnsbury

[diskobolus 3]

Much, MUCH better.

[mahler3 478]

Well, it's safe to say I think Lucas has almost redeemed himself - ROTS is far superior than the first two prequels and Williams score does indeed shine thoughout. Finally a sound mix that utilises his score properly!

The first half hour of the film features some enjoyable humour, consisting primarily of one-liners as opposed to the awful cheese enduced humour from TPM & AOTC, R2D2 in particular has some good moments. Lucas' pace is good and the film does deliver a satisfying resolution to the saga IMO. Diskobolus is right that in general the romance writing is better, save for a couple of cringe-worthy lines.

Not sure if I liked Vader's tantrum near the end of the film, it felt too contrived and uncomfortable. Other than that, the drama and narrative is very good. I can see why the film was rated 12A as young children will find some scenes too disturbing. Special mention goes to the final shot of the film which was very well realised, a perfect coda.

There is not a huge amount of unreleased music which has already been noted by other members, but there are some good uses of Yoda's Theme and the odd brass flourish here and there. The use of Duel of the Fates & Qui-Gon's Funeral was good, but I found the re-use of The Tide Turns and Anakin Defeats Subuklba cues careless. Battle of the Heroes works much better with the film, it didn't really grab me initially. I defy anyone not to feel an adrenalin rush during the closing statement of Anakin's Dark Deeds as coupled with the film - another perfect example of Williams' genius!

By the way, I have to admit to laughing to myself when the Main Title crawl began, Neil & some other members will no doubt too!

The inclusion of the Throne Room music would not have made sense during the film's End Credits, so recording it specifically for the CD is a fitting salute and finale to the saga and ultimately I think it was a nice touch from Williams.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Generally received with enthousiasm:

The light saber duels  

this isn't quite true, while most mention they are spectacular, I've read several reviews that say the thrill is gone, Ebert mentions the fights going on forever before anyone gets hurt. Its just another example of "we have to top the previous one, make it bigger, longer, etc mentality"

[deimos 0]

I was a huge fan of the originals. I´m 23 and I like the prequels, so Lucas is rigth as always

I'm 22, and I like MUCH better the OT than the PT. I'm in no man's land according to Lucas.

I can't believe I still don't know when I'm gonna see the movie. Just to fit my friends' free time. I'm really tempted to just go on Thursday morning and see it on my own and then see it again with them. When this post starts poping out forumers' reviews from Thursday I'm gonna feel doomed.

[King Mark 3,631]

I have the same dilemna,my friends want to see it when we can all get togheter(schedual permitting),plus we can't wait in line because my one of them is bringing a friend that's from the US.That doesn't sound like we can get good seats in a good theater on first weekend,and I want perfect seating.Almost tempted to see is once before so I don't get frustrated if viewing conditions aren't the best when I see it in group.

K.M.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You don't have any friends.

Right?

[King Mark 3,631]

Ha!

K.M.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I simply told the same guys I saw AotC with about a month ago that we're going Wednesday May 18th at 8pm.

So we're going Wednesday May 18th at 8pm.

[King Mark 3,631]

And run into a crowded,almost sold out theater,only to be sitting in the last row on the side near the Exit not in range of any of the speakers and having to view the whole thing sideways while the guy in the giant Darth Vader costume is sitting in front of you blocking your view of the screen?

K.M.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Hey my costume isn't that big!

[deimos 0]

I have the same dilemna,my friends want to see it when we can all get togheter(schedual permitting),plus we can't wait in line because my one of them is bringing a friend that's from the US.That doesn't sound like we can get good seats in a good theater on first weekend,and I want perfect seating.Almost tempted to see is once before so I don't get frustrated if viewing conditions aren't the best when I see it in group.

K.M.

A pity we have a whole ocean in between, I would feel overwhelmed to see RotS for the first time with honorable King Mark on the next seat.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

He's not even in the Phantom Zone Trio anymore?

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Wouldn't you know that?

Mark, I booked tickets three weeks ago.