Star Wars Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith

I've been to see Star Wars Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith!!!

To those critics who thought it wasn't a good movie - are you sure you watched the right film?

It was awesome!!

We've had a Star Wars experience in the last couple of days. In preparation for yesterday's movie trip, Hubby, Bro-in-law and I watched Episode 2 Attack of the Clones on Wednesday night. It turns out that I'd forgotten a few key points so it was good to refresh my memory.

On Thursday morning, we got up nice and early for the trip into Leicester Square. Unfortunately it was a grey, drizzly day but that didn't dampen our spirits. At about mid-day we met up with friends who play Star Wars Galaxies and went for a bite to eat.

Some people had made the comment - why go, as you know what will happen? To a greater or lesser extent you know what will happen in most movies, it's the journey to the climax that is important. Even people that aren't Star Wars fans know that Darth Vadar is Luke's father, however without seeing the movie you won't know why and how the Jedi Anakin Skywalker makes the transformation into the Sith Darth Vadar.

As the doors opened to let us into the foyer, a reporter from one of the London radio stations came up to us:
"You're just going in to see the movie, how do you feel?"
Well, durr?!
"What do you hope to get out of the movie?"
One of my friends replied with a conspiritorial whisper, "I don't want to give anything away but I think Anakin is Darth Vader!"
The fixed puzzled grin on the poor woman's face was fantastic. :o)

I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie but Lucas presents this perhaps unbelievable change of heart in such an compelling way. Poor old Anakin's fears and past experiences weight heavily on him - the death of his mother, forbidden love with Padme, his concerns for their future together and his impatience to advance within the Jedi order. This isn't some good flick-switch evil scenario. It is possible to understand why Anakin feels the decisions and actions he takes are justified. Each step takes him one step closer to the dark side as he is subtly manipulated.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. The Odeon in Leicester Square is very impressive. It was covered in massive Star Wars posters. Inside holds about 1500 people in very comfortable leopard print seats! There were some theatre-like decorations either side of the main screen. And the sound system? Oh my! It was fabulous surround sound - at one point a ship flies from "behind" you on your right and then comes into your field of vision. You actually hear the ship before you see it and know instinctively where it will appear on screen.

The atmosphere inside the theatre was fantastic - people cheered when the lights went down, when the curtains opened, when the BBFC card was displayed, when the Star Wars logo came on screen and then ... silence.

Too many times I've been to see a movie that I really wanted to watch and there have been people chatting, making phone calls, russling sweet papers - but there was none of that. Everyone was intent on enjoying the movie - I'm sure if anyone's mobile had rung, that person would have been lynched.

I was grabbed from the very first second of the movie. In fact, I think I only blinked a few times in the first five minutes! This film is definately darker than the others and there are some very stark moments but the storyline covers some very difficult issues. But in contrast, there are moments of trademark humour from the droids and Obi-Wan. The special effects were fabulous but never effects for effects sake. The fight scenes were very dramatic with each character having their own style - from the experienced Christopher Lee to the youthful Hayden Christensen to the CGI Yoda.

Bearing in mind that this is a sandwich film (a sequel to Attack of the Clones and a prequel to A New Hope) the storyline had to serve two purposes - continuation of the existing story and provide continuity with the next film. There were many little touches which helped tie the two sets of movies together. I'm sure I'll need to see the movie a couple more times to pick up all these little points and to fully appreciate the depth of detail in each scene.

After the movie, we retired to TGI Fridays to share our thoughts before coming home, tired but happy.

George Lucas is a fabulous and accomplished story teller. Now, I wonder if we can get tickets to see it again tomorrow ...

Happy Journeys.