The final (or third, depending on how much you care) Star Wars film is troubling because its first twenty minutes are among the best that the series has to offer.
"Episode III" opens with some battle in the endless Clone Wars. Obi-Wan and Anakin are trying to save Chancellor Palpatine from General Grievous, blah blah blah. All one needs to know is that they're trying to get somewhere to do something. It really is best to tune out any details of the plot because they're either a) dependent on a ten-year-old's intricate knowledge of the backstory or b) completely superfluous.
This whole sequence zips along, the CGI looks fabulous (finally), and it's funny without pandering to children.
It also contains a minutes-long opening shot (always welcome). The shot starts out encompassing the entire battle and slowly zooms in to focus on the two Jedi ships.
Above all, this sequence has a sense of place. The Jedi crash-land in a loading dock of Grievous's ship. They figure out where they need to go on the ship by looking at a map. External views further ground the action. At all times, the audience has a sense of where everything is happening. Later, when the ship accelerates towards the planet, the change in orientation is easily grasped.
The end of the sequence is both thrilling and metaphorical: "Episode III" crashes as spectacularly as the ship. The following twenty minutes--a rehash of the endless talking-head and "landing strut" scenes of "Episode I" and "II."--kill the buzz. The tour-de-force opening sequence only enhances the depression at the realization that "Episode III" is just as disappointing as the other prequels.
(I'll try to stop writing about "Star Wars" now.)
"Episode III" opens with some battle in the endless Clone Wars. Obi-Wan and Anakin are trying to save Chancellor Palpatine from General Grievous, blah blah blah. All one needs to know is that they're trying to get somewhere to do something. It really is best to tune out any details of the plot because they're either a) dependent on a ten-year-old's intricate knowledge of the backstory or b) completely superfluous.
This whole sequence zips along, the CGI looks fabulous (finally), and it's funny without pandering to children.
It also contains a minutes-long opening shot (always welcome). The shot starts out encompassing the entire battle and slowly zooms in to focus on the two Jedi ships.
Above all, this sequence has a sense of place. The Jedi crash-land in a loading dock of Grievous's ship. They figure out where they need to go on the ship by looking at a map. External views further ground the action. At all times, the audience has a sense of where everything is happening. Later, when the ship accelerates towards the planet, the change in orientation is easily grasped.
The end of the sequence is both thrilling and metaphorical: "Episode III" crashes as spectacularly as the ship. The following twenty minutes--a rehash of the endless talking-head and "landing strut" scenes of "Episode I" and "II."--kill the buzz. The tour-de-force opening sequence only enhances the depression at the realization that "Episode III" is just as disappointing as the other prequels.
(I'll try to stop writing about "Star Wars" now.)
Yes, this is the best picture of the crash in question that I could find.
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