A lot of people have a lot of strong opinions about the Star Wars prequels, and most of them are, at best, middling. Well, everyone, the time has finally come for a downright drubbing of the last of that much maligned series, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Man, the geniuses at Screen Junkies are at it again with their Honest Trailer treatment of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. You might think it’s easy to pick at a movie that most people don’t like, but, let’s be honest here, with a film like this, it would be hard to pick out only six minutes that deserve to mocked. But, they managed to do it.
The voiceover is quick to remind us that Revenge of the Sith was considered the best of the prequels after its release in 2005. Talk about an inauspicious honor. The video also notes the high hopes that many people had for this movie, knowing it would be the last in the new trilogy, and, as far as we knew at the time, the last Star Wars movie ever. Anyone who was disappointed by The Phantom Menace (1999) or Attack of the Clones (2002) was, as the video says, hoping George Lucas would be able to "stick the landing" with this third movie.
Well, the overall reaction was that Revenge of the Sith still didn’t quite pass muster. For many, the film helped the Star Wars franchise "finish its turn to the dark side" with another sub-par script, so-so acting and an unfulfilling plot. For some reason, George Lucas thought it was necessary to continue to include things that people clearly hated about the first two prequels. Even though the Jar Jar Binks role was, blissfully, cut to almost nothing in the final prequel, audiences were so adamant in their hatred of the character that just seeing him probably caused a collective groan and "Booo" in theaters all across America. And, midi-chlorians? Don’t even get Star Wars fans started on that one.
One of the most glaring errors in judgment that George Lucas had while crafting Revenge of the Sith was the reduction of Padme’ (Natalie Portman) to nothing more than a pregnant, happy/sad, blubbering mess of a woman. The video reminds us of the time when Padme’ had power as a queen and senator, and wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and do battle for what she believed in. We lost all of that in this movie.
Of course, that’s nothing to say about the big reveal, what ultimately led Anakin (Hayden Christensen) to turn to the dark side and become our favorite movie villain, Darth Vader. So, Anakin gets passed over for a Jedi Masterhood promotion and gets freaked out about his girl's pregnancy, and then just turns his back on everything he’s been fighting for most of his life? How…unsatisfactory and meaningless.
I think it’s fair to say that any Star Wars fan with any belief in the saga at all is now holding out hope for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If the franchise wants to continue, that movie will need to grab the fans like Emipre Strikes Back. Early word on the film is promising, but if the public rejects it, it could all be downhill from there. I’m sure The Force Awakens will get its own Honest Trailer eventually, but let’s hope they don’t give the folks at Screen Junkies too much ammunition.
