I just finished watching the full six hours again last night. I still spread it out over several nights and that's probably how I'll always watch it.
I *love* this trilogy.
There's so much I love about this trilogy it'll be hard to express everything just because there's so much spread out over the entire six hours but here goes with a few:
1. The 3 chapters (plus Clone Wars) combined with the 2.35:1 aspect ration REALLY takes me back to those big TV miniseries "events" in the early 00's like Band of Brothers. That makes this feel more "special" and super nostalgic.
2. I love all the little moments that allow this film to breathe and us to get to know the characters and more of the world they live in. Even the stuff that makes me chuckle like Jar Jar Binks and the epic Anakin's cutting a pear with the force, lol. I love it all. Gungan's extended intro, Anakin's full backstory and scenes of him using his mechanical and racing prowess to help Jedi in need, all the little moments like Anakin and Padme's frolicking in the fields and Kenobi showing Anakin how to be patient. I wouldn't have wanted any of that stuff cut out.
3. The theme of "second chances" that permeates through the entire trilogy, both within the context of the story and the production of this particular cut in the real world. Not just Grievous coming back to life but Anakin reconciling with his mom, Palpatine recruiting a new Sith wonder and getting faith that things will work out which he probably didn't have since Dooku died, Padme bonding with Anakin and hints of a potential romance between her and Anakin and of course the ultimate second chance with Kenobi protecting Luke at the end. Just great all around feels that I pretty much always want in a larger than life sci-fi trilogy, no matter how dire the stakes.
4. The action is just top notch throughout and despite the insane run time I never find myself checking my watch waiting for the good stuff to happen. It's all good stuff. Like I said earlier interesting quiet moments and character development with just enough action to consistently break it up.
5. General Grievous is awesome in this trilogy. His look, voice, and speeches remind me of Darkness from Ridley Scott's Legend making him both interesting to watch on screen and really fun to root against. He's a real powerhouse cutting through the Jedi and Clones to the point where I found myself feeling kind of bad for those who couldn't escape his brutality.
6. Darth Maul is cool. I saw a while back that there was some criticism leveled against him for being shown to lose his first on-screen battle but he was still kicking ass left and right and singlehandedly took out Qui-Gon Jinn before being sliced in half so I don't consider his intro to be any worse than Sauron's defeat at the beginning of FOTR.
7. Mustafar. Wow, what can I say about this sequence that hasn't already been said. One of the best back and forths EVER. Other than the dumb you will try line it was pretty much perfect. I love that both got in each other's heads which you don't usually see, normally it's just one or the other getting the upper hand with the mind****. But no Kenobi was pushing all of Anakin's buttons and Anakin clearly rattled Kenobi with his pledge to fulfill his promise to Padme. GREAT stuff.
Also there's something poignantly "meta" about the whole end to the trilogy. That means that all the characters themselves were really in different places in their own lives as well, having suffered through any number of global and personal issues. A worldwide galactic takeover, lapses back into rehab, the ****storm that Anakin brought on himself, Yoda going into exile, Anakin's choking controversy, and of course Kenobi's own tragedy of losing his apprentice and then having a usurper butcher his work. We really were watching a group of people who'd been through the ringer, both due to outside global events, poor choices, and personal tragedies. It gave the entire trilogy just that extra level of authenticity that was impossible to ignore.
When it's all said and done I just like being in this world and experiencing the ups and downs and ultimate triumphs beautifully captured on screen. That lightsabers battles at the end of ROTS put a smile on my face like few films have.
Sure it'd be cool to see more Prequel stuff but like the T2 future war I can be content with what we got. At least the promise of that war will never be screwed up or betrayed. I like that Lucas' PT is so accessible. Three movies, a single trilogy, done. Or an expanded trilogy if you want to cherry pick the first CW cartoon or Clone Wars or what have you. Otherwise I'm totally fine with the Lucasverse ending on this awesome high note. This was a great win for "what could have been" and for a guy and his family who went through absolute hell and still stuck the landing in the end.
I *love* this trilogy.
There's so much I love about this trilogy it'll be hard to express everything just because there's so much spread out over the entire six hours but here goes with a few:
1. The 3 chapters (plus Clone Wars) combined with the 2.35:1 aspect ration REALLY takes me back to those big TV miniseries "events" in the early 00's like Band of Brothers. That makes this feel more "special" and super nostalgic.
2. I love all the little moments that allow this film to breathe and us to get to know the characters and more of the world they live in. Even the stuff that makes me chuckle like Jar Jar Binks and the epic Anakin's cutting a pear with the force, lol. I love it all. Gungan's extended intro, Anakin's full backstory and scenes of him using his mechanical and racing prowess to help Jedi in need, all the little moments like Anakin and Padme's frolicking in the fields and Kenobi showing Anakin how to be patient. I wouldn't have wanted any of that stuff cut out.
3. The theme of "second chances" that permeates through the entire trilogy, both within the context of the story and the production of this particular cut in the real world. Not just Grievous coming back to life but Anakin reconciling with his mom, Palpatine recruiting a new Sith wonder and getting faith that things will work out which he probably didn't have since Dooku died, Padme bonding with Anakin and hints of a potential romance between her and Anakin and of course the ultimate second chance with Kenobi protecting Luke at the end. Just great all around feels that I pretty much always want in a larger than life sci-fi trilogy, no matter how dire the stakes.
4. The action is just top notch throughout and despite the insane run time I never find myself checking my watch waiting for the good stuff to happen. It's all good stuff. Like I said earlier interesting quiet moments and character development with just enough action to consistently break it up.
5. General Grievous is awesome in this trilogy. His look, voice, and speeches remind me of Darkness from Ridley Scott's Legend making him both interesting to watch on screen and really fun to root against. He's a real powerhouse cutting through the Jedi and Clones to the point where I found myself feeling kind of bad for those who couldn't escape his brutality.
6. Darth Maul is cool. I saw a while back that there was some criticism leveled against him for being shown to lose his first on-screen battle but he was still kicking ass left and right and singlehandedly took out Qui-Gon Jinn before being sliced in half so I don't consider his intro to be any worse than Sauron's defeat at the beginning of FOTR.
7. Mustafar. Wow, what can I say about this sequence that hasn't already been said. One of the best back and forths EVER. Other than the dumb you will try line it was pretty much perfect. I love that both got in each other's heads which you don't usually see, normally it's just one or the other getting the upper hand with the mind****. But no Kenobi was pushing all of Anakin's buttons and Anakin clearly rattled Kenobi with his pledge to fulfill his promise to Padme. GREAT stuff.
Also there's something poignantly "meta" about the whole end to the trilogy. That means that all the characters themselves were really in different places in their own lives as well, having suffered through any number of global and personal issues. A worldwide galactic takeover, lapses back into rehab, the ****storm that Anakin brought on himself, Yoda going into exile, Anakin's choking controversy, and of course Kenobi's own tragedy of losing his apprentice and then having a usurper butcher his work. We really were watching a group of people who'd been through the ringer, both due to outside global events, poor choices, and personal tragedies. It gave the entire trilogy just that extra level of authenticity that was impossible to ignore.
When it's all said and done I just like being in this world and experiencing the ups and downs and ultimate triumphs beautifully captured on screen. That lightsabers battles at the end of ROTS put a smile on my face like few films have.
Sure it'd be cool to see more Prequel stuff but like the T2 future war I can be content with what we got. At least the promise of that war will never be screwed up or betrayed. I like that Lucas' PT is so accessible. Three movies, a single trilogy, done. Or an expanded trilogy if you want to cherry pick the first CW cartoon or Clone Wars or what have you. Otherwise I'm totally fine with the Lucasverse ending on this awesome high note. This was a great win for "what could have been" and for a guy and his family who went through absolute hell and still stuck the landing in the end.
