Episode IV: welcome to the Darth Side

disclaimer: i am NOT a film critic. i'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy...ay mali! what i meant to say was...i'm just a Star Wars fan who wants to share my two cents worth on the last installment of the series. read on!

i was able to catch Episode III: Revenge of the Sith last sunday w/ my family. although it was the last main feature, the theater was packed. we were lucky to find seats before the show.

as i was watching the movie trailers, i kept telling myself not to expect too much. i didn't want to set myself up for another disappointment. after all, i was there to relax and watch a movie.

basically, the movie can be divided into two parts: pre-Darth Vader and post-Darth Vader. the initial action sequence transported me back to the space battles in Return of the Jedi. i could almost see the Millenium Falcon whizzing through space after coming out of hyperdrive. for a few seconds, i held my breath as i watched the Republic starfighters and Imperial shuttles zap each other into oblivion. i felt like a kid playing Space Invaders (the upgraded version. hehe.).

after the battle scenes, the plot hit a plateau. frankly, i found this part pretty dragging. i can understand that the characters need to have their dialogues to give the viewers an idea how Anakin morphed into Darth Vader. but really...i'm pretty sure George Lucas could have given the actors better lines. i mean, he was the writer of the classic trilogy and their dialogue was witty, hilarious, and downright memorable (see my Episode III post for details). w/ this film, it was like watching a sci-fi soap opera. my sister and i practically gagged while we watched Anakin and Padme's cheesy scenes...

come to think of it, it was more like watching a Pinoy telenovela (w/o the occasional slapping, hair-pulling, lengthy dialogue, close-ups of the buckets of tears rolling down the protagonist's face, and the lead's lover getting amnesia after a car accident...). i suddenly missed Hans and Leia's playful banter. *sigh*

before i saw the film, i saw a picture of General Grevous. i thought he was going to be one of those antagonists who would give Obi-wan a really tough time.

when i saw a "hunchback" robot that had a bad hacking cough, legs like a spider, and a penchant for running away from his opponent after a few minutes of exchanging light saber blows, i was pretty disappointed. although it did give my sister and i something to laugh about ("o, ayan nanaman si lolo o!" and "yes, ang galing ni lolo!".

the pace picked up the moment Anakin finally succumbed to Palpatine and turned to the Dark Side. i won't give away the details in case some of you haven't seen the film yet.

what i can say, though, is that i was finally wide awake after this. some of the scenes were heartbreaking and if i were a Jedi Master, i would have squeezed the life out of the young Skywalker. as expected, Yoda and Obi-wan survived. i finally understood why Yoda chose to stay in the swamps of Dagobah and why Obi-wan turned into a hermit.

i enjoyed the parallel fight scenes of Anakin-Obi-wan and Emperor Palpatine-Yoda. my sister and i were actually cheering for Yoda (i just love to watch him fight. hehe.). after all, he wasn't the alpha Jedi Master for nothing.

my favorite scene in the movie was when Padme and Anakin were simultaneously (and separately) operated on. while the Emperor's robots were fixing Anakin and struggling to keep him alive, Padme's life was quickly slipping away. a turning point in the scene was when Padme took her last breath and, a few seconds later, Darth Vader took his first (deep) breath while wearing his trademark black helmet. it was spine-chilling.

"tapos na??," my dad asked the moment the credits came out. well, it was understandably a cliffhanger considering that the 1977 version should pick up where they left off. i made it a point to catch the name under "Screenplay by"....ah yes. it was George Lucas. *sigh*

"pagbigyan mo na. matanda na kasi sya eh," my sister reasoned. hahaha!

after i watched the classic trilogy, i just could not help but make them my benchmark. it's really hard to live up to that standard. overall, the prequels were disappointing...BUT entertaining nonetheless.

i guess whatever George Lucas created after the first three versions, it still boils down to resurrecting and reliving the characters that we've grown to love and the fans coming together to pay homage to the Geoge Lucas' legendary classic that we will always keep in our hearts. (now who's being cheesy??)