Revenge of the Nerds

Yesterday had many strange parallels to the days I attended Episode I and Episode II of the Star Wars prequels.

I took the day off from work.

It was a rainy day.

I enjoyed the movies with a good friend (DJ, Chris, and Kurt, respectively) and a new friend (Harry, Frank, and Patrick, respectively).

And all three times, I walked out on a high, having relived childhood memories of seeing lightsabers and Jedis and spaceships on the big screen.

However, yesterday's experience with Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith has one huge difference from the previous two: an hour after the movie, I still liked it.

Is it the brilliant movie we all wanted Lucas to produce? No. We've aggrandized Lucas to mythical status, only to learn that while is a master craftsman at telling stories with pictures, he simply can't tell a story with people.

Is the dialogue stilted in Ep.III? Yes, but far less so than previous episodes. Thankfully, the humor has returned to Star Wars. Perhaps this was the influence of Tom Stoppard, but the movie only takes itself seriously when it needs to, a posture that Ep.II should have taken.

Is the acting poor in Ep.III? Again, yes. Hayden Christiansen may be a fine actor for certain roles, but he simply was never up to the task of portraying the hubris-ridden hero of this Sophoclean fable.

Is there intermittent hokey-ness? Yes. Most disappointingly, what should be the most gut-wrenching, sad, emotionally impacting moment of the entire movie induces an exasperating laugh.

Are any of us who have had faith in Lucas surprised by these complaints? Of course not.

Revenge of the Sith excels by having a compelling story, perhaps the most compelling story of the entire Star Wars series, and I mean all six movies. Contributing the most to the power of the story is Ian McDiarmid. He achieves what only Alec Guiness before him could do—make ridiculous sounding lines carry the portent those lines intend. The movie is incredibly sad, moving at times, and though I didn't cry like that pussy Spielberg, there was some wistfulness enveloping my head when "Directed by George Lucas" was wiped onto the screen.

We also must remember why we really go to moves like Star Wars. As DJ puts it, "Were the ships cool?" Special effects and fights, that's what we go for. And on all counts, Lucas and his crew at ILM has outdone themselves. The movie's opening is breathtaking. The scenes on Kashyyyk were somewhat superfluous, but supercool. The editing is phenomenal, squeezing frightening, portentous moments out of mere seconds. The penultimate lightsaber battle (which we all knew was coming) delivers everything you could hope for and more.

All in all, Revenge of the Sith is as good a movie as the original film ("A New Hope," as George wants us to call it). Some bad dialogue, some bad acting, but a classical story with interesting characters, painterly special effects, and a wry sense of humor. If you are displeased by Revenge of the Sith, you either don't like sci-fi movies or you need to see a doctor and get a prescription to cure you of your fan-boy psychosis. When taken out of the context of the the Star Wars phenomenon and taken at face value, Revenge of the Sith is simply a very fun, very satisfying movie.

Thank you, Lucas. It's about time.

Postscript: A classmate last night made an observation that, while exhibiting that fan-boy (in this case, fan-girl) psychosis, I simply must share: If Kashyyyk is a tropical forest planet, how did Wookies evolve to be incredibly hairy?

UPDATE: I think Will (scroll to the bottom) wouldn't feel so bad if he wasn't drinking a wine cooler. (Via Waxy.)