Heh. How sad am I? 11 o’clock showing on the day it’s released… at least I didn’t go at midnight – and it was a welcome break from revision. That said, there can’t have been 20 people in the cinema – the Gala Theatre/Cinema in Durham is the most bizarre cinema I’ve seen – they don’t advertise (much), the cinema is (I’m sure) not disabled-accessible. I’m not complaining, though…
Episode III is certainly a fitting end to the new trilogy and beginning to the old one. The effects are like nothing you’ve seen before – both in their complexity and the scope of the imagination behind them. That said, like the previous two “new” films, the dialogue is atrocious, and the acting, at times, wooden (I doubt that delivering 70% of their lines to green screens and imaginary creatures helped the actors). It says something, I think, when the most engaging characters of the film are a droid that speaks only in squeaks and a green, 3-foot high CG puppet: R2 and Yoda seriously rock in this film! Fans will love it – and the uninitiated (are there really any of them left?) will lap up the action and visuals.
Darth Vader’s first breath is as creepy and spine-tinglingly thrilling as you’d expect, and the scene at the very end, which segues nicely into Episode IV, brings a shiver to all who know what’s coming.
This truly is Star Wars for the Matrix generation, far more so than Episodes I and II. Forget the politicking of Episode II and the “look what we can do” of Episode I (although Jar Jar does appear – twice – in Episode III). Don’t try to think too much about what’s happening. Let the visuals and the action wash over you, and nod appreciatively at the little homages Lucas gives to Episode IV and beyond.