Casting, casting, casting.
It turns out this is important. I watched this movie for the first time with my kids, and just like with "Phantom Menace", this entry in the Star Wars series looked better through their eyes. I liked it the first time I saw it back in 2002, but felt that the love story between Anakin and Padme was lacking. Having watched the movie again, it holds its own in the mythology of Star Wars. The overall arc of the six episode story is so strong that it can survive a few bumps in the road. Watching this movie again, I was struck by several good things, and two blaring shortcomings.
First, let's cover the good stuff :). The movie, as I mentioned, continues to add wonderful texture to the greater story. It follows the adventures of Obi Wan, Anakin and Padme as the Galactic Republic becomes more corrupt and travels further down the road to being the Empire. Little things are seen here that add so much depth to the world of Star Wars. We are introduced here to the Lars moisture farm on Tatooine which figures prominently in Episodes 3 and 4. We are introduced to the clones for the first time, which are referenced in the original trilogy. We see the back story for Boba Fett here as well, a character who would end up being one of the most popular of the series (for reasons which still escape me). We see the beginnings of what will become of the Empire. We get to see Yoda training young Jedis (as a side note, I think Yoda really is the star of this movie-the insight we get into his character is the movie's strongest point). We also get to see the complicated relationship between Obi Wan and Anakin, and why Obi Wan can look back with regret that he tried to train Anakin. The movie also has a dynamite light saber sequence at the end, which gave many of us one of the most satisfying moments of all 6 movies.
The action never lets up, and the visuals are indeed stunning. I thought that the most stunning visual comes when Obi Wan goes to Jango Fett's home planet. Rarely has a setting so clearly evoked the moral ambiguity of a place. The planet which houses the future clone army is shrouded in mystery-it does not appear in the Jedi archives, and it is a stormy, murky place which seems soaked with corruption. The other great visual setting is the capital planet of Courscant, which reminds the viewer of any metropolis of our world, be it Tokyo, London or New York. The imagination captured in the visuals is wonderful, as George Lucas gives us vistas and visions.
As for the shortcomings, I noticed 2 main ones. First, the strength of the story is compromised to me by how out of touch the Jedi council seems to be. It is one thing for them to be deceived by the Sith Lord, for to err is human. But it is outside believability that the characters of the Jedi Council would trust Anakin to carry out the vital missions he has been given. I had trouble believing that the wise Jedi council would actually trust this unstable young Padowan the way that they do. The Jedi end up coming off as incompetent. In the end, Star Wars fans know their fate, but I think the story could have been more believable. That transitions nicely into the other shortcoming. The love story between Anakin and Padme is lacking, partly due to the character of Anakin. Dialogue has never been a strong suit for these films, but the other films seem to have actors who can pull off the campy dialogue and make it work. Here, the actor who plays Anakin never seems to be in sync with the tone of the dialogue. I have never seen Hayden Christiansen in anything else, but I am sure he is a fine actor to be able to even be in competition for this role (just like any baseball player is exceptional if they make it to the major leagues). It just seems like his rhythm is off, while Natalie Portman is able to pull off the wooden dialogue. While the movie overall is a strong piece of storytelling, these two shortcomings take away some authenticity, and leave the story less satisfying then some of the other entries in the series.
But that is neither here nor there. I am not the only one to suggest what I have suggested. My admiration for these films remains. In fact, my admiration has grown as I have watched these movies with my kids. My kids simply love the story. As such, these movies can be seen in that light. All 6 movies contribute to the overall story. This is a story that can be lived and relived. The last question that I have to grapple with is this: when should I let my kids watch Episode 3? The scene involving the younglings' demise alone would be enough to depress my daughter for months.
I was able to recently re-watch Episode II and also found more ways to love it this time around. It is an episode unlike any other with Obi-Wan's story taking on a kind of noirish detective feel.
ReplyDeleteHaving also watched Episode V again, my general feeling is both love stories are quite bad on paper. Compare the dialog that Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford had to deliver to the lines given to Natalie Portman and Hayden Christiansen, and they are very much on the same level of cheese and stiltedness. In my humble opinion, the largest factor to blame for the lackluster romance in "Clones" is direction, not necessarily cast.
I submit "Life as a House" and "Shattered Glass" as evidence that Christiansen has real talent. On the other side of the coin, there is Harrison Ford. An actor who, frankly, is limited. I've seen him in very few good roles where he truly comes "alive". But in "Empire" Ford worked with Irvin Kershner, the ultimate director for an actor. Someone who could give more advice than "faster and more intense". And that is what made all the difference in the world.
The good of "Clones" far outweighs the bad, but if George had perhaps outsourced his love scenes to a more perceptive director, we would have truly had an episode on the same plane as the best of the saga.
I like what you have to say here, but I disagree regarding the love story "on paper" in Episode 5. Kasdan added some depth to the dialogue that simply is not matched by Episode 2. Add to that one great piece of improv by Harrison Ford (an under rated actor, in my opinion), and you have good chemistry, and better dialogue than Episode 2. I will admit that I don't have the two pieces of paper in front of me, but screenplays are supposed to a shot, not merely read. So, the dialogue that Kasdan wrote for those actors fits perfectly, while the dialogue given tot he actors in Episode 2 is at times clumsy. We can talk all we want about it "on paper" (and since it is an Oscar category, there is merit in that), but what we see on screen in Episode 5 is worlds better. We certainly seem to agree that Episode 5 is the strongest...I think that the dialogue is better on paper and on the screen.
ReplyDeleteI love your use of the "noir" word. I think that planet does fit into a "noir" category. I think that planet is one of the most evocative of all 6 films.
As always, thanks for reading, and posting. I look forward to getting out to see Hugo soon.