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dangermousiePart 1 is here
I find myself thinking what an unusual topic for a blockbuster ROTS is (and how amazing it is in light of it that it is proving to be a financial juggernaught). You often see movies about heroes triumphing over odds, good triumphing over evil. Often at a great personal cost (see Return of the King), but still winning. But that is the polar opposite of Revenge of the Sith where the main character starts as a good (if flawed) champion and ends up a self-hating husk, and a villain. It is the story of Lucifer's fall (see the lava symbolism) and of good destroyed. I am impressed it worked (I do think it works precisely because we know the outcome. I can't imagine watching this without knowing about Vader. The shock would be horrendous).
In fact, once ROTS starts, there is no good way it could have ended. There would be less bad ways and more bad ways. The way it ended is almost the worst possible outcome, but I really cannot see any happy ending in there, no matter the turn of events.
ROTS seems to indicate that if you are a rebel and are against authority, you are doomed to fall (Anakin's questioning, restlessness and rebel spirit lead to his downfall). But even if you side with authority, you are doomed to fail as well (The authority is Palpatine. The authority are Jedi who screw up so royally and who are rigid and misguided). No way out, indeed.
In fact, the movie takes many action flick cliches and turns them on their head. In some ways this is the anti-Dirty Harry. No, bucking the establishment and disregarding rules and killing bad guys just because they are bad is a horrible idea (see where it landed Anakin). No, the wise old mentor is not infallible. No, going on a quest to avenge/save your lover won't end up well.
Just this once, I'll have to mention the pacing. It starts a bit leisurly but then picks up steam and inevitability.
This time, Mace annoys me even more. He doesn't trust Anakin even when Ani tells him about the Sith. How much proof does he need? And isn't it better to have the Chosen One, the one who brought you the news, there to help? And of course I think there is a parallel between Mace wanting to kill Palpatine at the end of their duel and Anakin wanting to kill Dooku at the end of theirs. Both have been contaminated by blood-lust. If you think about, when Mace enters he intends to arrest Palpatine, and does so all throughout the fight. But after the fight has been hard and after the lightning bolts, Mace decides that no, he must kill Palpy because Palpy controlls the Senate. Why this decision? What has changed between his entering the room and planning an arrest and this moment? He didn't learn anything new after all? No staggering fact has been revealed. But he is angry, his blood is up. Understandably so, but still wrong. Yes, anger really does lead to downfall. But it's not just Anakin's anger that is to blame.
This time I did notice the Padme/Anakin psychic connection. Right before his decision their movements mirror each other and they stare, identically, across miles. She is the one who first breaks the gaze. He turns away only after that. I wonder if there is any symbolism to be had there. This really does lend weight to the idea that part of the reason she died was their link and feeling his immense pain (and of course, the thought that he did all this horrible stuff for her, and she is a political idealist also didn't help).
There is something unsettlingly horrific about his being still loving to her once he turns. Maybe because we prefer the bad guys simple. Someone who has killed children should not cuddle his wife tenderly. He should come home and kick her pregnant belly. But that of course ties in with the Jedi mistake that once someone goes bad, they are irredeemable. Clearly not true. I also found his offering to her the overthrow of Palpatine not the ravings of a megalomaniac, but as a bizarre and twisted present. He can sense her withdrawing from him and he is trying to win her back. It's almost a trade: be with me so I am not alone, and I will give you all this power (similar to his offer to Luke in ESB, I think).
The scene of Anakin grovelling and cringing at Palpatine's feet like a dog is still horrific (so is the earlier parallel when he kneels at his side at the Opera. I want to yell "unclean" and yank him away). We have never seen Anakin grovel, ever and this is watching a person break. When he is begging Palpatine to save Padme, baring his deepest fear: that he cannot live without her, it is so inutterably wrong. And of course I noticed how Palpatine dangles the Padme carrot/stick. Even through the pledge Anakin is shell-shocked. Only when Palpatine promises and threatens that only after cleansing of the Jedi will Anakin be strong enough in the Dark Side to save Padme, you can see his soul seep away and you can almost see him encase himself in ice. And he reminds him about Padme right before sending him to Mustafar. Anakin's anger at the Jedi didn't really work as well as Palpy has hoped (though I am sure it helped) but once he knew the Padme card, Palpatine has latched to it for all it's worth.
And of course, the problem is Anakin's guilelessness. He is not good as a people person, partially because of his upbringing, and partially because really intelligent and intense children often feel isolated and don't grow out of it. E.g. his wooing of Padme in AOTC. Someone who was good around people and at his ease, whether he was really familiar with women, and whether the girl was a long time crush or not, would have been a lot more smooth.
Of course the Jedi are not much help. In order to get rid of absolutes, they create them. Someone who uses the Dark Side is evil and can never go back is one of them. They won't make Anakin a Master or send him to Utapau not because of any good solid reason against it, but because they guard their prerogatives and because this is not how things are done. It's a good thing the new Jedi of Luke are much more flexible. Though I get the feeling that these PT Jedi used to be too, many hundreds of years ago, but just ossified with time. However, because now old Jedi Masters can interact with the Jedi, maybe this will be prevented in years to come.
As to Palpatine: he truly is cursed. Not only does he destroy the Jedi, he destroys everything, even the Sith in his greed. No wonder he is building a death star. He needs it. He has dismantled the Republic's structure, he has no Jedi army to be his generals, I doubt there is much personal loyalty to or love of him, he's got the clones that are aging (so he is stuck either with aging clones or making inferior clones of clones), and he has an apprentice who is there only because he has nowhere else to turn. Vader has no enthusiasm for the job, unlike Dooku. Palpy has nothing.
I find myself thinking what an unusual topic for a blockbuster ROTS is (and how amazing it is in light of it that it is proving to be a financial juggernaught). You often see movies about heroes triumphing over odds, good triumphing over evil. Often at a great personal cost (see Return of the King), but still winning. But that is the polar opposite of Revenge of the Sith where the main character starts as a good (if flawed) champion and ends up a self-hating husk, and a villain. It is the story of Lucifer's fall (see the lava symbolism) and of good destroyed. I am impressed it worked (I do think it works precisely because we know the outcome. I can't imagine watching this without knowing about Vader. The shock would be horrendous).
In fact, once ROTS starts, there is no good way it could have ended. There would be less bad ways and more bad ways. The way it ended is almost the worst possible outcome, but I really cannot see any happy ending in there, no matter the turn of events.
ROTS seems to indicate that if you are a rebel and are against authority, you are doomed to fall (Anakin's questioning, restlessness and rebel spirit lead to his downfall). But even if you side with authority, you are doomed to fail as well (The authority is Palpatine. The authority are Jedi who screw up so royally and who are rigid and misguided). No way out, indeed.
In fact, the movie takes many action flick cliches and turns them on their head. In some ways this is the anti-Dirty Harry. No, bucking the establishment and disregarding rules and killing bad guys just because they are bad is a horrible idea (see where it landed Anakin). No, the wise old mentor is not infallible. No, going on a quest to avenge/save your lover won't end up well.
Just this once, I'll have to mention the pacing. It starts a bit leisurly but then picks up steam and inevitability.
This time, Mace annoys me even more. He doesn't trust Anakin even when Ani tells him about the Sith. How much proof does he need? And isn't it better to have the Chosen One, the one who brought you the news, there to help? And of course I think there is a parallel between Mace wanting to kill Palpatine at the end of their duel and Anakin wanting to kill Dooku at the end of theirs. Both have been contaminated by blood-lust. If you think about, when Mace enters he intends to arrest Palpatine, and does so all throughout the fight. But after the fight has been hard and after the lightning bolts, Mace decides that no, he must kill Palpy because Palpy controlls the Senate. Why this decision? What has changed between his entering the room and planning an arrest and this moment? He didn't learn anything new after all? No staggering fact has been revealed. But he is angry, his blood is up. Understandably so, but still wrong. Yes, anger really does lead to downfall. But it's not just Anakin's anger that is to blame.
This time I did notice the Padme/Anakin psychic connection. Right before his decision their movements mirror each other and they stare, identically, across miles. She is the one who first breaks the gaze. He turns away only after that. I wonder if there is any symbolism to be had there. This really does lend weight to the idea that part of the reason she died was their link and feeling his immense pain (and of course, the thought that he did all this horrible stuff for her, and she is a political idealist also didn't help).
There is something unsettlingly horrific about his being still loving to her once he turns. Maybe because we prefer the bad guys simple. Someone who has killed children should not cuddle his wife tenderly. He should come home and kick her pregnant belly. But that of course ties in with the Jedi mistake that once someone goes bad, they are irredeemable. Clearly not true. I also found his offering to her the overthrow of Palpatine not the ravings of a megalomaniac, but as a bizarre and twisted present. He can sense her withdrawing from him and he is trying to win her back. It's almost a trade: be with me so I am not alone, and I will give you all this power (similar to his offer to Luke in ESB, I think).
The scene of Anakin grovelling and cringing at Palpatine's feet like a dog is still horrific (so is the earlier parallel when he kneels at his side at the Opera. I want to yell "unclean" and yank him away). We have never seen Anakin grovel, ever and this is watching a person break. When he is begging Palpatine to save Padme, baring his deepest fear: that he cannot live without her, it is so inutterably wrong. And of course I noticed how Palpatine dangles the Padme carrot/stick. Even through the pledge Anakin is shell-shocked. Only when Palpatine promises and threatens that only after cleansing of the Jedi will Anakin be strong enough in the Dark Side to save Padme, you can see his soul seep away and you can almost see him encase himself in ice. And he reminds him about Padme right before sending him to Mustafar. Anakin's anger at the Jedi didn't really work as well as Palpy has hoped (though I am sure it helped) but once he knew the Padme card, Palpatine has latched to it for all it's worth.
And of course, the problem is Anakin's guilelessness. He is not good as a people person, partially because of his upbringing, and partially because really intelligent and intense children often feel isolated and don't grow out of it. E.g. his wooing of Padme in AOTC. Someone who was good around people and at his ease, whether he was really familiar with women, and whether the girl was a long time crush or not, would have been a lot more smooth.
Of course the Jedi are not much help. In order to get rid of absolutes, they create them. Someone who uses the Dark Side is evil and can never go back is one of them. They won't make Anakin a Master or send him to Utapau not because of any good solid reason against it, but because they guard their prerogatives and because this is not how things are done. It's a good thing the new Jedi of Luke are much more flexible. Though I get the feeling that these PT Jedi used to be too, many hundreds of years ago, but just ossified with time. However, because now old Jedi Masters can interact with the Jedi, maybe this will be prevented in years to come.
As to Palpatine: he truly is cursed. Not only does he destroy the Jedi, he destroys everything, even the Sith in his greed. No wonder he is building a death star. He needs it. He has dismantled the Republic's structure, he has no Jedi army to be his generals, I doubt there is much personal loyalty to or love of him, he's got the clones that are aging (so he is stuck either with aging clones or making inferior clones of clones), and he has an apprentice who is there only because he has nowhere else to turn. Vader has no enthusiasm for the job, unlike Dooku. Palpy has nothing.
