Star Wars Episode III: 2-Way Review
June 30, 2005
On opening night, as expected, I was in line for the midnight showing of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The next day I started reading the novelization by Matthew Stover. Upon completing the novel, I then went for a second showing. My hope was to be able to compare how the movie did standalone, and then how it does when adding in the character insights in the novel, hear is my assessment.
First, I really like the movie. I’m a huge Star Wars fan and did actually like the other two prequel films. Now that we’re past that, I’ll also admit the new trilogy is nowhere near as good as the original, but any additional stories in the Star Wars universe is welcome to me.
Stover adds a pile of thought and characterization to many of those we are interested in. Notable additions include: Dooku, Windu, and Padme. The other huge addition is in his handling of Obi-Wan. Ob-Wan is one of the greatest jedi, yet the film paints him as a bit of a blunderer always needing to be saved by Anakin. Stover makes it clear that Anakin is the most powerful jedi, so in comparison he pales a bit. However, he does fight (and win) two significant lightsaber battles in this story.
Upon watching the film a second time, I felt like many of the pieces fit together nicer than previously. I hadn’t actually noticed any problems on the first viewing, but in the second, innuendoes and intentions were suddenly much more clear.
If you are a Star Wars fan, and want to squeeze just a bit more depth and fullness from this story, I highly recommend the book, I was not at all disappointed.
Tags: book, books, dooku, episode 3, episode III, fan, movie, movies, obi-wan, revenge of the sith, sith, star wars, windu. padme
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