Acting expectations for Revenge of the Sith.

I love the acting in all the movies with only a couple of complaints. Luke in ANH; the whole "I was going to tashi station to get some power converters" thing. Ahhhh!!!!
And the final kiss between Nat and Hayden in AOTC.
They look like they are trying to pass a lifesaver between each others mouth. I mean come on!!~ Look at it. Who the hell kisses like that??!!
Man alive; if I was Nat I would have him grabbed so tight, air would not be able to escape between our lips. For the Love of God Natalie!!! Put your lips on that boy!!!!

Well, the recent OS article about George hiring a dialogue coach should mean better performances. Anyone who's seen Natalie in Cold Mountain, Closer, and Garden State, knows she can give an awesome performance full of emotion. BTW, I love that last kiss between Anakin and Padme in AOTC. It's like their "savoring" each other.

Nat was great in all those films.

Hayden will be spectacular and there is no doubt in my mind that he owns this role. He was already chomping at the bit back when AOTC was released to get back into it and complete the character arc. We've seen his look and emotions already in all the ROTS previews and pictures. Revisit his performance in Life as a House, when he was 19 and see how fiery and angry he can be. Go back to his TV show, Higher Ground, when he was 18 and see how emotional and distraut he can be. Go back to Shattered Glass and see how desperate and sad he can be. He combined all these emotions already in AOTC and he will explode right off the screen in ROTS.

Well, the recent OS article about George hiring a dialogue coach should mean better performances

I wonder how they took this. It is funny --I always thought Portman was great in TPM as the queen, but weaker as Padme. I suppose she has a harder time with that specific role. But, when your director has to hire an acting coach to teach you, it is almost as if he is covertly implying "you suck at acting". However I am glad that he did it. Lucas wants to make a good movie, and he is sparing no expense. Even though I dont always agree with everything the guy does with my favorite film series of all time, I am rooting for him all the way.

He didn't hire the coach to teach them how to act. The article on the OT mainly focused on small touches that are important and can get easily forgottened filming in blue screen. For example, should Padem touch Anakin's shoulder at a certain point or during a certain piece of dialogue? Little things like that which helps build a history b/w the characters. I'm excited about this. GL really want's everything right and not only in the special effects shop.

Yes, but if the actors could do these things themselves, then they would be truly good. The article said somthing like that in reference to Ian. Hayden and Natalie are not terrible actors, but they are rightfully the focus of most of the critisism. It is not so much implying that they are bad actors, but only that they just need a little help for the role that is required. Regardless, do you really think that they would be so blunt as to say on the official Star Wars site, that thee two leading roles in the film needing acting lessons? Im not reading too much into it,...but I was just making a comment on what might surface in an actors head in this scenario.

Don't think it bothered them in the slightest if it leads to the best product possible. Its part of overall direction and character development in my opinion.

both natalie and hayden have golden globe nominations - there may be an oscar for natalie for "closer" - i think they know what they're doing. and chris was hired as a dialogue coach - not acting. those who have slammed natalie and hayden will be eating humble pie in a few months.

Actually, what happens is that Chris Neil gives Hayden and Natalie the ability to give the best performences that they can. Sure, Ian and Ewan can do fine on their own. But it helps to have a middleman between them and Lucas. Especially given how Lucas isn't fond on feedback and his unorthadox (sp) directing style.

What contrasts the cheesy diologue from the OT to the PT is that the OT cast pulled off the diologue in presentation better than the cast for the PT, and the OT was still self aware of the diologue.

You actually believed, or rather I did at least, that these people meant what they said about power convertors and such things like that.

I expect the acting in ROTS to be the best in the series. I think Chris Neil helps, but everything I have read or heard about the production indicates everyone has given this movie 110%. Also, George Lucas is a good director. I mean, the man takes a twenty-year break, and suddenly he's lableled a terrible director. He has gotten terrific performances from his actors in the past, and I think the force is still with him.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting anything much different from the mediocrity we saw in TPM and AOTC.
However, after reading the article about Chris Neil, my hopes have risen.

McDiarmid's performances will be great.

Where's the article of Chris Neill

Here's the article from the OS, just posted the other day. It seemed obvious to me reading this ? and being a rather brave admission on the part of the OS in this regard ? that GL and McCallum were admitting, by hiring Mr. Neil, that (1) they were well aware of the digs at the acting in E1-2; (2) the story of E3 will demand the most dramatic acting of all 6 episodes, and (3) they knew that, not being adequate of themselves to see to it [GL spends so much time looking at what ILM's doing, etc., etc.], they needed to get some outside help to address this:

"George and Rick both knew that there needed to be a certain amount of attentiveness paid to the actors on the movie," Neil explains. "There was not anybody in my position there for the previous two films and I think there was a discussion about that void that needed to be filled...."

I understood well, watching E1 & E2, that these were supposed to have a different feel than E4-6, in overall style: a more formal and structured aura for "a more civilized time." And given the character backgrounds of both Anakin and Padmé, of course the romance was going to be a bit awkward! For the story GL wrote for E1-2, the acting was pretty much what it was supposed to be.

Do not forget that ? as GL said time and time again in the various DVD commentaries ? that there is a deliberate structure and style to these films (the whole 1930's/Flash Gordon serials thing) and that he is perenially concerned that these norms are observed throughout the films.

Therefore, what I see happening with ROTS is that GL is going to permit the story to test the limits of his format as much as he feels comfortable, without allowing E3 to be turned into some action-melodrama like Executive Decision or all these others like it that are the norm of Hollywood today. And Mr. Neil was brought on board to do for the actors something of what Irvin Kerschner did for E5, to sharpen the dramatic effect and really test the Star Wars style templates.

Very well said. *applause*

That makes me feel a whole lot better now, thanks Lord Inq.

Yes, well said,Lord_Inquirator.

Hayden Christensen will suck like the whiny little wimp he is.

Natalie Portman will once again give a wooden manniqun perfomance.

Ewan McGregor will be excellent

Samuel L. Jackson will be very good.

Jimmy Smits, I can take or leave.

The real acting powerhouse will be Ian McDirmand. He is going to be the absolute best, and will make this movie. I really hope it puts him on the map more, he deserves it.

Well i think Hayden will be great as Anakin / Vader in III !

"Well i think Hayden will be great as Anakin / Vader in III !"

Gee,looking at your screen name, I wonder why? lol

Im not expecting GlenGarry/GlenRoss here. Its a SW film for Christs sake. Its romanticized dialouge with campy humor mixed with some Iago from Othello with McDiarmid - who really does give an exceptional turn as Palpatine/Emporer. Does anyone remember how truly wooden Hamill was in RotJ or how painfully bad Fisher was in all three films? Or how about how bored Ford was in RotJ because he wish they had done the right thing and killed him off in ESB? It didnt make those movies bad.

"This is my biggest gripe with critics: Saying that the acting is bad. Forgive me if I'm wrong and out of place, but who watches these movies for Oscar-quality acting? If you're setting the expectations that the acting should be like that in Mystic River or American Beauty, then you're just fooling yourself and bringing in a preconceived bias against the movies."



Ok, for starters let me say that I don?t necessarily think all of the acting was bad. The script, writing, dialog and character development was a bit shabby in my opinion. I think Lucas should spend just as much time and money in the script writing, dialog, and character development as he did for the special effects. Having a tight script and dialog only helps to reinforce the story and compliments the effects. Also, I think that films like Return of the king and The Matrix are great examples of Oscar level material (for the sci-fi/ action genre at least).

I expect to see quality acting and script writing in any sci-fi or action film that I see, and I feel that all the ones who lack quality acting or script writing are just bad films, unless they were intended to come off that way. As a viewer of a film I expect to be entertained with quality, I expect to be amazed and pulled into a story. If I don?t get that, I am disappointed. Star Wars has a lot to live up to considering that the OT is part of many people?s youth and childhood. I for one can say that Star Wars was part of my childhood in a major way and that I have the highest expectations for the prequels.

I think that Ian McDiarmid is just going to wipe the floor with everyone in this film

The promotional picture, where he is standing back to back with Hayden Christensen, just had me in hysterics The expression on his face ! The rubber mask ! The dramatic increase in weight !

I really hope that the acting isn't too serious in this film. The thing that makes Star Wars so great, is that even though it is a genuine classic, it is also really amusing

I think some people will be pleasantly surprised on May 19th coming out of the theater. Everything we have seen of Hayden so far has been spot on...the emotion is pouring out of him. And I have see more emotion in a just a few shots of NP than she got across the whole of AOTC *though that was her character..not bad acting..IMO* so it will be heartwrenching to watch her character's eventual fate. Ewan and Ian will be their normal quality selves...and maybe even SLJ will impress me this time *something he hasnt done in the last two epis*