'night

[ksmith]

Tried to watch Revenge of the Sith. Gave up.

Couldn't Hayden Christiansen have bothered to, well, try? You know, make an effort?

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

In this dreadful excuse for special effects even Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor are dreadful. I blame the director and writer of this drek: Lucas. I know they can act brilliantly, but if the director won't let them do anything but whine and act out of character (Obi-wan would never have left Anakin to die alone but would have administered a coup de grace, damnit) what can they do.

This movie so annoyed me.

[mithriltabby]

Try setting the audio track to a language you don’t speak and the subtitles to English, and pretend the movie has been very badly translated.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't think it's poor Hayden's fault. The script was so *incredibly* bad, and the direction so unbelieveably stilted, that I don't think anybody could've done anything with it. Even Natalie Portman looked bad, and I *know* she can act. :)

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I was tempted...

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

The good ones managed, though. Christopher Lee showed more acting chops in a single expression than HC managed through half the movie. And McGregor and Portman both showed, some light in their eyes.

Maybe it was inexperience showing, but HC seemed to be sleepwalking. I mean, the pitch of his voice never even changed. He was like a bored high school junior being forced to read for a part in the school play.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

See comment above. Maybe it was lack of experience in dealing with dreck, but he just stood out.

Although dealing with my character acting out of character would have bugged me too.

[scbutler.livejournal.com]

My editor talks about being at the ranch the day the decision was made (long, long ago) to turn the Wookies to Ewoks in Revenge of the Jedi, thereby making them much more marketable as toys.

That was the end of the franchise right there.

[sleary.livejournal.com]

As a Making Light commenter pointed out when the movie was released: her ability to recite Lucas's lines with a straight face is compelling evidence of her acting ability.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

The dialogue was pretty bad. But I could still detect animation in the actors' faces, except for--

--oh hell, I'm just going to get off the guy's back.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

That's telling.

I'm familiar with the old story that Lucas consulted a lot with Joseph Campbell as he developed the first three films. Those were solid stories, even with Ewoks.

Personally, I would have preferred Wookies, but I had heard that the Ewoks also served to accentuate the David vs Goliath aspect of the rebellion. At least, that was one reason I heard for their existence. If they cynically put forth what I think was a decent argument to cover a pure marketing decision, well, that's kinda sucky.

[scbutler.livejournal.com]

I have to confess the Ewoks drove me insane. Koalas defeating an advanced tech with logs and tripwires? Uh-uh. You could at least have made a case if it was Grizzlies (Wookies). And after the great set-piece with Jabba that opens that movie, too.

And there is such a thing as hewing too close to the archetype.