Chat corner 121: Revenge of the Sith

[annathecrow]

Welcome to the Monday chat corner!

This week belongs to the last movie of the Prequel trilogy “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith”.

I won’t bore you with the usual leading questions; if you have something to say (or ask?) come forth!

For the interested, same topic from 2022 and 2021.

Comments

[annathecrow]

Fun fact! This movie came out in May 2005, meaning it's old enough to drink in my country. Which, I know, small potatoes compared to OT, but let me enjoy the outrage of feeling old before it gets (ha) old.

ANYWAY. If RotS was an alcoholic drink, what do you think it would be?

[atamascolily]

This might be too easy, but Fireball Cinnamon whisky, on the rocks.

[havendale]

There was an old man from Naboo
Who had heard a Sith legend or two
Of Darth Plagueis the Wise
And his sudden demise –
What a lot of things that old man knew.

Er, anyway. ROTS is far and away my favourite of the PT! Which is not to say that it’s flawless: in particular, poor Padmé really gets the short end of the stick between having her subplot cut and then angsting to death. Not a terrific last outing for the PT’s most prominent female character, and losing the setting-up-the-Rebellion subplot also means, disappointingly, losing one of the only glimpses of mother-and-daughter connection in the Lucas films. That complaint aside, I do think ROTS, relative to TPM and AOTC, absolutely shines when it comes to editing/pacing: it finds a nice rhythm between gee-whiz action scenes and quiet political drama, and apart from slightly trimming the prize fight at the lava factory, I can’t point to anything I’d cut.

What particularly stands out to me about ROTS is that, of all the PT, it feels the most like the product of a particular political moment in the States, with Palpatine and Vader!Anakin both employing the with-us-or-against-us rhetoric of national security. IIRC, Lucas claimed to have plotted out the PT well beforehand, but I still tend to think that had ROTS been made either pre- or post-Dubya, we’d have gotten a very different film.

[sathari]

Ooh, it's my favorite of the PT too! Though I'm entirely too fond of the duel on Mustafar.

And, okay, this makes me a fandom heretic, but despite being old enough to remember when at least part of the OT came out and certainly to remember when it was the only trilogy--- not to mention buying the original/Zahn-authored sequel trilogy in hardback as they came out!--- from the period after I first watched ROTS (which was well after it came out; I saw the first two parts of the PT in theaters but was in Other Fandoms when ROTS came out, and I'm glad I waited because I hit it from the right direction and at the right time in my life even if it was an accident) until the ST came out, it was actually my favorite Star Wars movie, period. Damn it, I like the stories of the PT better even if they're not any better executed, and Anakin tends to come across to me as a man more sinned against than sinning, as it were.

What particularly stands out to me about ROTS is that, of all the PT, it feels the most like the product of a particular political moment in the States....

Okay, so apparently I never think it's a bad time to trot out the fact that Lucas also claimed to have based Palpatine on Richard Nixon. Also the fact that, this being the case, I really wanted either Anakin or his grandson to get John Dean's story, lol--- betray the Emperor, turn to the Light, become friends with some of the rebels, and then have a nice life that includes literally teaching other people how to avoid the temptations of the Dark Side (I don't currently have the link on me, but for a long while, Dean co-taught an ethics CEU for lawyers on, basically, how not to end up in the middle of a Watergate situation). (Damn it, now I want fanfic of a redeemed-and-survived-ROTJ!Anakin teaching that class to Luke's up-and-coming Jedi school. And also being a better mentor to his grandson than Luke was to Ben Solo Organa, not that that would be hard but I think Anakin would pull it off with flying colors, not least because I contend that Anakin as a Jedi is nothing so much as a Jedi like Ben's father.)

[yourlibrarian]

Mostly what I have to say, is that I'm glad we're now getting the immediate aftermath of the events in Ep 3, much like Clone Wars gave it to us after Ep 2. Apparently we won't be getting a lot of it, since Bad Batch isn't going to run as long and I'm assuming we're not getting more of Kenobi?

[atamascolily]

The novelization by Matthew Stover is hands-down the best tie-in novel for any of the movies, and is a strong contender for best novel in Legends, in my opinion. It really makes me feel the tragedy as it's unfolding in a way the movie itself couldn't quite manage except at the very end.

[fleurviolette]

Agreed! Stover’s writing is solid, and expands a lot on RotS.