NYC, NY Episode III Commentary (Spoilers? :) )

Ehhh? He lost his saber? When?!

 

When he was chocking Obi-Wan on that table. One hand was holding Obi's saber arm, the other was around Obi's neck

 

I am still deciding whether I liked the movie or not...

 

Seen it, loved it If I were to place in the SW list of what I loved best, (favourite first, least favourite last)

#1 ANH (the first and always dearest to my heart)

#2-3 ESB / ROTS (I can't decide - both have uber revelations, making them both excellent IMHO - I'd say ESB is more polished in it's human approach, but ROTS is chocka full of great stuff)

#4 ROTJ
#5 AOTC
#6 TPM

And not that I don't enjoy the prequels, I do

Ok, time for people to bow a little to the EU - Master Vos (as in Quinlan Vos) who gets a mention along with the Outer Rim Sieges is a SOLID EU comic character (as well as his ex-padawan Aayla Secura) DHC all the way, and he did have a cut death scene btw - blasted by the Clone tank on Kashyyyk, hence Meri's campaign lol. I hope it will be restored for the DVD

Some other points as an EU fan -
Did anyone else feel the cutting (or just plain never filmed) of the quips that Annie made in the ROTS novel as he kills the Separatist leadership was a sad - I loved when he says something on the lines of this to Nute "No, my Master said to leave you in pieces" in reply to Nute- "he promised us peace" lmao. Annie was a bad dude in the novel.

Poor Ki-Adi-Mundi lmao. Not only does he lose the wife and children backstory that DHC made post-TPM and pre-AOTC (btw, DHC checked the detail of whether Jedi could marry with LFL before the story was printed - no one knew GL would decide that in AOTC no Jedi could be married lol) .. but now he has a rather awkward entrance to the Jedi Council - in the comics Ki was inducted into the Jedi Council as a Knight and not a Master lmao. So when Annie whines that never in the history of the Jedi Order has a Knight sat on the council, poor Ki musta looked at the floor and shuffled his feet.

Confusing thing for me - the Death Star. Yeah not sure how the EU history stands on this now, but putting that aside - how come it takes them 18 years to make it pre-ANH but only 4 ANH-ROTJ??? Oh, wait, weren't they taking short-cuts enforced Vader style on the building crew. Hmmmm.

Sam - no, Grevious bad throat infection (according to all the background books) comes from the fact he is an early attempt at a Vader-style cyborg. Grevious is like a precussor to Vader - a destroyed body kept going by a life support, though in Grevious case there are malfunctions - hence the cough.

Johnny - lol, yeah I knew about the nekkid senator scandal aka she claimed her playboy appearance = cut from ROTS, whereas GL rebuked that he had cut his own daughter's scene (which included Bai Ling, and Mon Mothma too) - ie the petition of the two (one?) thousand scene. I think this vital "proto-birth of the Rebellion" scene will hopefully be on the DVD maybe. Would be nice

Anyways, I will see again on Sat morning, I need to see a few times to really take it in. But as far as I am concerned this was a great end to the film series of SW, but for us EU fans this is only the BEGINNING!

Oh, did anyone else think the Tantive IV thrusters were a lot bigger than the ANH one? I need to see the classic DVDs, it just kinda stood out to me when we saw cool dude Bail saving the Jedi bums.

 

as for gervious: his cough is GL in the editing room....

i heard that somewhere, actually i think i read it in teh EP3 making of book.

either that or he needs some more MintyChlorians


i loved it way more than 2!!!

1-ROTS
2-ESB
3-AOTC
4-ANH
5-ROTJ
6-TPM
7-ewok adventure
8-ewok battle for endor

 

I thought the movie was great!!

Was it just me though, but did it just seem like one really looooong chapter in a book? I mean to say, that all the other SW movies seemed to have more than one plot line, and stuff going on. This one, although it was cut kinda funny, just seemed to be the one plot of Anakin turning at that was it. Even though it was over two hours, it made the film seem SHORT to me and I left there just wanting more.

So now I can't wait to buy the DVD to see Mon Mothma's scenes that were cut and the scene with the costume that Padme is wearing in the POSTER for the movie and everything else that was cut!

Regardless, I loved what I saw and now can't wait to see the *rest* of it. And I must say, I think Aayla had one of the more brutal deaths, but at least she died on the MOST BEAUTIFUL planet ever. LOL. At least she had flowers at her funeral.

 

BTW: forgot this before

1. ROTJ
2. ESB
3. ROTS
4. ANH
5. AOTC
6. PM

Yep, that about covers it...

~DG~

 

Im still unsure of my order right now with #1.. but it looks something like this:

1. ROTS/ROTJ
2. AOTC
3. ESB
4. ANH
5. TPM

 

Sorry, if this is long, I'm verbose when I'm excited.

So when Annie whines that never in the history of the Jedi Order has a Knight sat on the council, poor Ki musta looked at the floor and shuffled his feet.

I thought Depa Billaba was also appointed to the Council as a knight, and not a master, so I was a little "Eh?" at that part. But like a good Jedi would, I pushed that thought aside and focused on the moment.

I will freely and proudly admit that I loved the Ani/Padme scenes. Not as good as the Han/Leia banter, but it's a whole different kind of relationship, I think. To me, the dialogue, atmosphere, interaction - everything between them seemed much more natural and realistic. That is, I could easily believe that a 23-year-old man would watch his wife brushing her hair and tell her she's beautiful, taking into account his upbringing. I couldn't buy Anakin saying in AOTC that the kiss was a scar on his heart - beautiful dialogue in general, but not fitting for those two, in that context.

Maybe they didn't have the chemistry that Han and Leia had, but they gave off the air of a comfortable couple, so I loved it. Especially when Anakin twirled her around.

Why were the babies so frickin' huge? Those must've been some mad pre-natal vitamins Padme was taking. But they were so cute at the end.

Grievous - Kitty Raptor! Poor guy had a phlegm problem, apparently. Too bad he completely burned up - the blaster fire might have cleared his lungs a bit.

By the way, Obi-Wan taking Grievous out with a blaster - *****!

I loved loved loved the banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin in the first half. In fact, it was almost a little weird to see them so at ease with each other. I guess I'm not used to seeing that, with the way TPM and AOTC were. But there's not much more I can say except those two were the team.

Palpatine = Smooth Criminal. This year's winner of the Bad Mutha Award. Coolest part with him was when he told Anakin that he had to know the Dark Side in order to really be powerful in the Force.

I caught the mention of Vos. Was hoping Aayla would say something, too.

R2 = plucky as ever. And he knows everything! All Luke needs to do is just ask him, "So, did you ever hang with my dad?" R2 and Palpatine, for me, definitely stole their scenes.

I was hoping for a little more of the Wookiees. I guess this means that throughout the EU, Chewie's thinking to himself, "Hey, I knew that Yoda guy everyone's talking about..."

The very last shot. Good god. Money shot.

And then, the immolation scene...

But I'm still so pissed off at Obi-Wan for just leaving Anakin to burn. Hey, Obi, you know what? Luke was ready to go so far as to die in order to redeem his father, despite the fact that he had a twin sister, friends, and an entire Rebellion to lead waiting for him. So no crap about having to go save other people instead. Will of the Force, my astromech.

As for which is now my favorite, I've never been able to decide. I suppose if I had to choose, I'd go with ESB, and then ROTS and the OT following behind, with the PT behind that. But I mostly go by favorite scenes. In no particular order, except for the first one, because it really is my favorite:

1) ROTJ - duel, the way Vader saves Luke
2) ESB - Han and Leia's first kiss. Awww.
3) AOTC - Obi-Wan/Jango rain fight
4) AOTC - Anakin's "I killed them all!"
5) ESB - Vader's "I am your father," and subsequent mental exchange between him and Luke
6) ANH - Vader/Ben duel
7) ROTS - the entire first half? Okay, the Immolation Scene
8) ANH - twin sunset. I know how you feel, Luke...and that goes along with ROTS twin sunset end
9) TPM - hmm, every time Obi-Wan smiles?

Oh, who now thinks that Darth Plaguis created Anakin?

 

Oh, who now thinks that Darth Plaguis created Anakin?

See now, I made that very observation to Kris Krajewski sometime after Palpy revealed this...

...and perhaps Palpy learned this from Plaguis so he could create Anakin?

Hmmm...


- Johnny

 

Darth Plagueis/Plagus/Stupidnameous didn't create Anakin... Palpatine did. He learned the secret to manipulating midiLALALALALALALALALALA (sorry) to create the ultimate Force-wielding warrior.

A while back, after AOTC came out, I had a theory that Palpatine used all of his great scientific resources (i.e. the Kaminoan cloners) to have an embryo created teeming with the Force and without needing a father's genetic material. This isn't too far off.

And Aayla Secura had the WORST DEATH EVER. She might as well have tripped on an exposed root or something.

 

And Aayla Secura had the WORST DEATH EVER. She might as well have tripped on an exposed root or something

Agreed.

 

an embryo created teeming with the Force and without needing a father's genetic material

That could work, especially since Shmi thinks there was no father. She could've been asleep/drugged/mind whammied while the embryo was being inserted.

Yeeeahhhhh...the horrendous M-word...Palpy's a bad man, but I didn't want him sullying his vocabulary with that word.

Lucas could've at least come up with a better Darth name for the master. Darth Dearth? Nox? Mortuus?

Aayla - I forgot, did they shoot her in the back? Or did she turn around before they opened fire?

 

Darth Noxious? Darth Nauseous? or perhaps Darth Dodgers (Of The 24th And A Half Cennnnntury!)?

I'd have liked a bit more exposition on how a Sith master chooses the name of his apprentice.

 

It's all still settling in for now, but first impression:

WHOA!

It was like a whirlwind tour, the final inning, when the coach just empties the benches and throws everything he's got out on the field to secure the victory. And indeed GL did; ROTS finally fulfills the potential of the PT. It's as if a different, younger director took the reins up at last! (Enough mixed metaphors for you...?!)

My only grumble is about its furious pace; as DarthGyos notes above, the editing was a bit too judicious. If the PT were an hour's program, it would be like draggy for the first 40 min., then a mad rush for the last 20 -- out of balance! I wish some scenes would've been left to linger, so that their "weight" could fully settle in. (Wouldn't Obi-Wan have been more than seemingly mildly upset that it was Anakin slaying the younglings and bowing before a Sith Lord before his very eyes?) And with all the hype and pre-release images of the fantastic -- the most fantastic -- planetscapes ever created for the saga, I wish we would have seen more than just the few glimpses we got! And yeah, whither Shaak Ti (mmmm, Orli!) and Mon Mothma, that were supposed to have been in? And wasn't there a scene with Tarkin, more than the glimpse at the end??

But still. This was SW Awesomenitude in abundance, unabashed and unrelenting. When's the last time you cheered for a movie wherein the bad guys win and all is (temporarily) lost?? 1980?

The list:
1. (tie) ANH
1. (tie) ESB
3. ROTS
4. AOTC
5. TPM
6. Blade Runner


(Seriously, why do a lot of you seem to uphold ROTJ so much? I mean, if the Clones could wipe out the entire realm of Jedi, how could they wind up defeated by Care Bears? And Luke's hair in ROTJ blah blah blah . . . )

 

CARE BEAR STARE!

Shutting up, sir..

 

I think Aayla had one of the more brutal deaths, but at least she died on the MOST BEAUTIFUL planet ever

Yea that planet actually made me gasp. Does anyone know the name of it? I think i can honestly say that was the most beautiful planet in the whole saga

 

skunkpunk1 - Aayla is on the planet Felucia - if you are a SW Hyperspace member, go check out the "Reversal of Fortune" online strip because it's all Aayla at the time of ROTS, so you see Felucia.

Ki-Adi-Mundi is on Mygeeto (he is killed by Commander Bacara btw), a snowy planet. If you look further along where he is walking, you see some of those "War of the World"/"The tripods"-mix droids that made an appearance in the Clone Wars cartoon *cough.cough.hack* sorry had a Grevious moment with the thought of the last few chapters of the cartoon lol

In fact, someone on the TOS message boards posted this, is easier for me to copy/paste -

"Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto Killed by Palpatine on Coruscant
Ki-Adi-Mundi Killed by Commander Bacara on Mygeeto. Tries to defend himself.
Plo Koon Starfighter blown out of sky on Cato Neimoidia.
Aayla Secura Shot in the back by Commander Bly on Felucia
Barriss Offee Shot and blown up by tank on Felucia (Deleted Scene)
Stass Allie BARC speeder shot down on Saleucami
Luminara Unduli Killed by clones on Kashyyyk (Deleted Scene)
Shaak Ti Killed by Anakin in her quarters on Coruscant (Deleted Scene)
Cin Drallig, Bene, Whie Killed by Anakin on Coruscant
Zett Jukassa killed by Clones on Coruscant"

I best add Quinlan Vos to that list -

Quinlan Vos, shot whilst observing the battle on Kashyyyk.

Sorry Meri

An extra note is that Cato Neimoidia where Plo Koon is shot down is the "Bridge world" that the artists are referring to in the Making of book. I actually thought that wasn't in, so was nice to see

Lieutenant Piett - that's an easy one, there are about 20 years between ROTS and ANH. The Clones made for AOTC have a limited life, I think it may be said in the film, or maybe the novelisation. Doesn't matter which source (and EU counts btw, sorry it's something everyone will have to accept now since from the year 2005+ EU is carries on the SW name, even the new cartoons unless made directly by GL is actually EU - or non "G-level" canon ). So the clones degrade. Now the official word from people asking on the TOS forums is that by the time of ANH, in the corrupt Imperial regime the new Stormie clones being made may not necessary be from the Jango heritage. There are now other donors. Some not so quite up to the job, but with a little political edge or the ear of the Emperor. Hence why the Stormies in the Classic era can't shoot straight. That is if you forget the dramatic effect that heroes can't be killed

Anu, not 100% sure about Depa Billaba (isn't hard to check, I'd LMAO if her entry on the TOS databank says she was a knight, some LFL will have to skuttle fast to hide that one. If it does, I may take a screengrab just to wave at them from time to time
And I agree, I like the Anu/Padme scenes. And guys - SHE EMOTES told ya she could

Someone described the Grevious death scene as the Indiana scene from the market. I also thought the scene with the plane as Indy gets beat up lol.

I was still thinking Palps and Annie's mom actually, well you know. She was always uncomfortable when she told Qui-Gon about this I had no *cough* to get my baby. Palps is Annie's Dad!!!!

 

. . ."the Anu/Padme scenes" . . . ??!

Whoa -- Anu, all this time you haven't really been in the Midwest, have you??

tim -- See, Palpatine was embarrassed to have a son named "Annie" . . . (<sing> "The Son of the Suns will come out, tomorrow . . .")

This knowledge of "deleted scenes" is torturous. It seems incredible that given all that is Ep.III, one can miss for what's not in it!

Then again, three words: Tragic Jedi Babes.

The ROTS Official Souvenir magazine sold at Cel.III, in its plot synopsis, cites stuff that also was conspicuously missing: not only that Bariss definitely meets her fate on Felucia, but also Qui-Gon's communication with Yoda while Yoda's meditating on Polis Massa -- Yoda hears his voice, 'splaining about the Living Force etc. This seems quintessential to the whole saga!! I wonder why it was cut -- it's kind of lazy to just have Yoda mention this phenomenon; the "show me, don't tell me" rule, broken is.

Nevertheless, I can't wait to see ROTS about 10 more times.

 

The Polis Massans were just plain silly. The nurse droid chanting "Oobah, oobah, oobah" (presumably Polis Massan for "Push 'em out! Shove 'em out! Waaaaaay out!") made me think of these insidious things !

 

Gods I hate those things. Personally I don't agree with the idea that Palpy or Plaguis "created" Anakin. I think Anakin was the prophisized person but took the long and wrong way around to fulfiling the prophecy.

 

wait...

QUINLAN DIED!?!?

did i miss that, was it cut, or what?

 

Vos's name was mentioned but it is assumed that Yoda & Obi Wan are the sole survivors from the purge.

 

yeah Obi-wan mentions "Master Vos" leading the attack on Mos Petty, or Petit Four, or Andy Petitte or whatever crazy name that planet has.

 

i thought there'd be some stragglers left around the galaxy considering they weren't all at the Temple...