[ROTS] *Official* 2nd and Subsequent Viewings: Impressions,, Better or Worse?

For me, I could more fairly judge it after the second viewing. I was so overwhelmed during the first viewing, there's no way I could truly take it all in and judge it fairly. I felt like it was a really good film but it was hard to separate the feelings of sadness for what went on during the film and it being the last Star Wars. Seeing it the second time and knowing what to expect, I could sit back and enjoy everything and critique more. This is a great film. I still need to see it more to be able to compare it to the other films, but I think its by far the best of the prequels and somewhere above ROTJ.

Although the film ends in darkness, its amazing how well the last couple of shots are able to lift your spirits enough to leave with some feeling of hope. One might say, a new hope even.

 

I couldn't agree more with Harlowe Thrombey here.

-Seldon

 

After seeing it a second time, here is my verdict. (opinion, what have you)

It is by far a better movie this time around. I'm also giving it the benefit of the doubt because a really annoying guy was sitting two seats over from me who kept explaining what was going on to the guy next to him: "Hey look, Mace Windu died!" A real life rick olie.

Anyway, as I said it is definitely better the second time. I could watch Anakin's fall with more perspective and it was much better this time; the chancellor's actions during the Anakin/Dooku fight were much more noticable now, even though I saw them and thought they were great the first time.

Unfortunately (maybe, not sure if this is good or not yet) it did not pack nearly as much of an emotional punch. I still got goosebumps during the two sections of the movie that hit me the most last time, Vader's birth/padme's death, and order 66, but it was not nearly as hard. Maybe it's just that you can't duplicate the excitement and suspense of seeing the midnight showing, I don't know. Maybe I was looking for things too much and not really taking it in. But it was definitely easier to watch this time, which could end up a good thing: I really think this is the most well made of all of the star wars, and it would be a pity if I got slightly sick after every time I watched it.

The tie-ins to the OT are still great, I watched ANH on Thursday night after having seen ROTS at the midnight showing and watching ROTS for a second time, strengthened my belief that this movie (and the prequels as a whole) really do strengthen the OT.

But my biggest disappointment is not feeling as much emotionally as before. I don't know if I really want to feel like I was kicked in the gut again - I remember sitting in work on Thursday running the images through my head again and again, unable to sleep or work - and it was horrible. So being able to watch this brilliant movie again without that was sort of nice, I could enjoy the show; but I'm afraid that I just got slightly desensitized to it which bothers me quite a bit.

Mr. P

 

I saw it twice today, and I'm a little burned out. But it was just as good the second time if not better, and your really got to see how clever Palps was, I just watched ANH and it really is crazy how different it seems. The big scenes weren't as shocking but I have managed to cry every time..

 

I was in shock the first time I saw Order 66 and during Obi-Wan's "You were the chosen one..." speech, but the second and third time I saw it I felt like crying. I think this will pack an emotional punch for me for many viewings. John Williams does a great job of adding to the emotion of both of these scenes. Before seeing the movie I wasn't much of a fan of "The Immolation Scene," but its my current favorite track right now because of the emotion of the scene and how well the music works with it.

 

I just got back from seeing ROTS a second time and I love this movie. I still feel somewhat torn because I love the first half, when all is good and the second half is just so tragic. I still cried, in fact, I cried much earlier when Order 66 happened this time. My friend thought I was joking about crying. This is how much I love these movies, that I feel with these characters. I actually missed having that initial shock in watching things unfold.

I don't see the end as stuffing everything in there to set up a ANH, it seems to flow much more naturally to me now. And I still hate seeing Anakin turn like he did. I know how George's sets up Anakin turning but I get really mad still at the Jedi for not displaying more trust in him. Of course, Obi does this rather than everyone but Obi is too involved with the war.

This is George's masterpiece. There will never be another saga like this.

 

Also keep in mind, if you over view it, it'll really damage the emotional wallup. I mean, the opening weekend's not even over yet! lol
I've seen it three times. While I'm getting choked up less and less, the underlining emotion is still there. (But, sadly, even Passion of the Christ lost some punch the second time. It's just how things go). A film simply can't have the same impact over and over again, but it can generate the same basic emotions. It works out good for AotC, where you really only need to be saddened at Tatooine. The rest gives you an adrenaline rush that's easy to get over and over again. Total sadness isn't as easy to regenerate.
That said, it's still easily the most emotional and impactful. I still feel empty come second half. I also experienced new emotions from the first two times. I could also take time to enjoy some subtleties which I couldn't do the first two times.
The film is standing up nicely.

 

I liked it a lot more the second time. I was less tired, I was not anticipating anything since I had seen it. I picked up a lot more things I had not seen the first time around. Overall, it only keeps getting better. I'm looking forward to my 3rd viewing soon.

 

Just got back from my third viewing. Still very emotional to see Anakin tell Obi-Wan that he hates him. The "Leia's Theme" chokes me up every time, I love that music! I like the prequels and this could be my favorite film of the entire saga.

 

I'm trying to space out my viewings. Once a week so far, two showings total. Will go to a digital viewing next, either during this week or next weekend. I don't want to burn it out.

 

Just got back from my third viewing. Loved it even more. I have upgraded my rating to, as Garth would say, "8 billion stars".

When we were leaving the theatre, there was a little boy about five years old walking out with his mom saying "Mommy, is there going to be a Star Wars Episode Four?" with total sincerity. It was pretty hilarious.

 

Had my 3rd viewing last Friday. The emotions from the first 2 viewings are pretty much gone. Although I still choke up when seeing the Jedi massacre, and the funeral.

Now I've begun analyzing the dialogue and looking for little visual touches here and there.

I'll be seeing it for the 4th and last time on Tuesday, where I'll be focused on remembering the dialogue. I have yet to be bored in any scene, even the Anakin/Padme ones.

 

Four times. Still too much to love!
I'm not making the mistake I made with AotC. I didn't want to overdo it, so I restrained myself from too many times in the theatre (8 times over 2-3 months, still top record for theater views of anything lol). When it came out on DVD, I missed seeing it presented the way it should be, in a huge theater. With RotS I'm not taking the theater experience for granted. No sirree Bob!

 

Second time last night. I cried. A lot. I couldn't help it.

 

It was much better the second time. I even got a little teary eyed.

 

This'll be a double post since it should go in Favorite Scenes but I didn't make the connection until just now after my second viewing:

When you see mechanical Vader on the ship watching the construction of the Death Star, what planet to show next but Alderaan - the first victim of the Death Star.

Didn't pick up on the connection immediately but when I realized what George had done, I was like "Whoa... this place is gonna be toast in the next movie (oops - is that a spoiler for those who haven't seen Ep IV?)

 

Just saw it for the 2nd time last night. I was surprised at how much power the emotional scenes had even on the second viewing. My inner nitpicker focused more on the annoying things this time around, though I think I enjoyed the film about the same.

Some thoughts:
-The opening space battle really is a visual feast,
especially the opening tracking shot set to war drums.
I still didn't like the "Obi-Wan in peril" stuff that
much...I would have preferred it to be just them
fighting and dodging, though I'll give GL credit for
trying to do something different.
-I enjoyed the Dooku battle more this time. I loved
his expression when Palpatine says, "Kill him!" Also,
I picked up on Palpatine trying to get rid of Obi-Wan,
which I missed the first time around - that Palpy,
always thinking.
-The dialogue between Padme and Anakin doesn't bother
me except for the "you're so beautiful" exchange and
the "hold me" line. Take those 30 seconds out and I
think it works great.
-Anakin's turn worked better for me the second time
around. I do think it would work better overall if he
didn't say, "What have I done?" or if they added in a
line after that, but I feel like I understand his
motivation much better.
-The duel. Perhaps I was too adrenalized to take it
all in the first time, but my god, the intensity and
emotion. I think this will look even better on DVD
because there's a lot of middle range shots that are
hard to comprehend on a big screen.
-The "NOOOOOOOO!" for Vader just doesn't work for me.
Just too darn hammy.
-Padme's reason for death still seems stupid to me. GL
had it fine with her force choke injuries, why even
add that extra step?
-Overall, the film seemed sadder the second time
around. When Yoda said, "Failed, I have," I almost
lost it - and I NEVER lose it in movies.

It's still too much to take in, but I think my saga
favorites list goes:

ESB
ANH
ROTS
CW Cartoons
AOTC
ROTJ
TPM

ROTS may move up...I need to view it a few more times.
Padme's death and Vader's "No" aside, I don't think
any part of the saga can compare with the last hour of
ROTS.

 

Like a vast number on here, I saw it once and thoroughly enjoyed it. The film has exceeded my expectations. One of the best as they say.
Its also the most emotional star wars film. Consequently, after seeing it a second time Im gonna give it a few weeks before I see it for a third and final time, mainly because some scenes for me are just distressing and makes me tear up.

When watching the movie though I was kinda perturbed as to how fast paced it was. But upon the second viewing I appreciated that it did calm down a bit and noticed a few more details.

 

2nd viewing make it better. I was able to see thigns I missed before and was really able to obsorb more. I really like ROTS

 

I've seen it four times now, and each time during the "Order 66" scene, by the time I see Yoda drop his stick, I have teared up. The betrayal is so heartbreaking, and the music just finishes you off . . .

This is much more powerful - dramatically, emotionally, and viscerally, than any other film in the saga. It is also a different type of Star Wars, so much heavier and tragic . . . but far and away, number one in the series for me.

 

Today I saw it for the fourth time. This time I managed not to cry during the purge but the force choke still got me. Hayden, Natalie and Ewan are perfect in that scene. After I saw it again, I was like "man it is just too hard to watch again." but now I'm already thinking I want to see it again...

 

In some ways, it's the most frustrating of all the films in the Saga.

Why? Because there is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much cool stuff in ROTS that is touched on so very, very quickly.

The extreme pacing of the movie provides much of the emotional wallop, but sometimes I find myself wishing for a little more in certain scenes...

 

I watched it again today for the second time. It was even better than the first time that I saw it. I didn't laugh as hard at the humorous moments because I knew what was coming, but it made the sad moments all the more heartbreaking and it gave the plot much, much more depth.

The first time I watched it, I loved it, of course, but I didn't really get Anakin's fall to the Darkside like I did the second time. It seemed a little hurried the first time and not quite right. The second time I saw it , I understood what was happening better. What was going on from Anakin's perspective and what he was doing.

He truly did try to uphold the Jedi ideals when it came to the Mace/Palpatine confrontation. Sure, he probably didn't have the most selfless of motives in wanting to keep Palpatine alive, but he was trying to uphold the Jedi Code. It was Mace who broke the code and betrayed the Jedi. And with the manipulation and con job that Palpatine had pulled on Anakin its very easy to see how Anakin could believe that the Jedi had truly been corupted. Anakin truly thought that he was doing the right thing and that just made it so much more heartbreaking. Especially his devestation about what he sees as Padme's desperation.

 

Garth, I love your avatar of Anakin. Badarse. Anyways, I think that's the one thing about the movie I wish it could have been--longer. There is so much stuff in it that if you blink, you miss it. Upon more viewings, it doesn't go by as fast, I just think we wanted to hold on to the scenes much longer. How can I put this, we wanted it to be in ANH speed. Yeah, I rather like that.

I will be going to see the movie again on Thursday, barring anything coming up.

 

I think basically all of us would enjoy a seven hour version of ROTS just because it would be Star Wars. But it probably wouldn't be very watchable. I love the pacing of ROTS, and it makes me think that TPM and AOTC could have benefited from some quicker editing. I know that's the general idea behind The Phantom Edit and Attack of the Editor (or whatever its called.) It wouldn't take much, five or six seconds here and there, some redundant scenes chopped could have really tightened up the narrative. I think that the former is supposed to be a little over 90 minutes...I think that type of chopping is a bit extreme, but after watching the opening space battle in ROTS...that pacing is just perfect...nothing extra and everything you want. From the Making Of book, there were a lot more parts to the space battle before they enter the ship, which would have been neat to see of course, but I think it would lessen the effect that the lean, mean opening has now.