Wendy DeCora.com

This morning I saw Star Wars : Episode III. I went with Wil and Stacey in Davenport and we had a really great time.

I tried to post this from my phone, but it wouldn’t go through for some reason. Apparently, the Force wasn’t very strong with me…

Here it is, the last line I’ll ever stand in:

And now for those who HAVE seen the movie, my thoughts…

In short: It ruled.

In a few more words: I laughed. I cried. It was better than Cats. I want to see it again, and again, and again…

Ok, I didn’t actually cry (unlike the end of LOTR:ROK), but I was seriously moved several times. Those moments of silence and darkness after the words A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… appear and before the title and the fanfare and the scroll are just so awesome. I was a bit melancholy that that was the last time I’ll ever see it “new” again.

People clapped at the titles. That was fun.

One of the main reasons I think this movie was so great is that I knew where we were going and mainly what was going to happen (not because I’d read about the movie, just because it had to get you to the original trilogy), and yet I was still transfixed and I did not want it to end.

The special effects and sound design remain amazing. I’m always just taken with how grand the spaces and worlds they create are. The sheer scale of things. Of all the fantasy/sci-fi type movies I’ve seen, Star Wars does ‘big’ the best. Always has, all the way back to that very first opening shot in the original film. And the soundscape is just as impressive. The sound of the ships and the lightsabers and the blasters and everything. It is just so cool. Nobody does it better than the kids at ILM.

On to the actual plot: Obviously, Anakin turns to the Dark Side. But it was interesting to learn about Darth Plagus(I think that was the name) who was Darth Sidious/Chancellor Palpatine’s master. Apparently this Darth Plagus was the ultimate uber Dark Lord who was so powerful he could raise the dead or create life by manipulating midochlorians. Which I took to mean that he was actually Anakin’s father. Which lent even more to my belief that Anakin was always destined to be on the Dark Side. The Jedi kept talking about him being the Chosen One to bring balance to The Force. But since at the time, it appeared that the Jedi and the good side of The Force were in control, that always seem to me to mean that there had to be more bad created to balance the good. Got to be careful how you read those prophecies…

As for the movie being “dark,” oh how it was. And Anakin’s final battle with Obi-Wan where he’s cut to pieces and ends up burned is just shocking. For me, the moment where the black helmet is placed on his head, while the image is horizontal and it slides in from the left side and for a moment you just have that profile literally gave me shivers. I thought Hayden Christensen did a great job. Much better than Episode II.

There were so many great little details at the end to tie this into the original story. I wanted to rush home and watch the original film. (But I didn’t because the CSI and ER season finales are on tonight.) They touch on the destruction of the massive senate chamber (Yoda still rules), how C-3PO and R2-D2 end up with Captain Antilles, and how 3PO gets his memory wiped and therefore doesn’t remember any of these first three episodes come the original trilogy, and the inside of the ships at the end that have those familiar white interiors, is really good.

It ends with Leia and Luke being taken in by the families who will raise them. And the very last scene on Tatooine, with the moons, and the sunset and the young Owen and Beru holding the infant Luke was just perfect.

I’ll see it 3 or 4 more times. At least. I’m not ready to let the saga go quite yet.