More from author
-	Masterpiece Mixtape - Let's Stay Together
-	Masterpiece Mixtape - Midnight Radio
-	Masterpiece Mixtape - Lover, You Should've Come Over
-	Masterpiece Mixtape - (Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night
-	Masterpiece Mixtape - Thrown Away

See news about

activism AKP Al Yamamah alcoholism treatment Angelina Jolie BAE Systems Bill Murray bizarre news BRIT Awards Buick car crash Celebrity Commonwealth Bank Series Cricket Demi Moore extradition formula one France Gambhir genocide geri Halliwell headlines single Health Care Commission Heather Mills Hutu Hyperinflation Impeachment James Earl Katie Holmes Kylie Minogue Mika military tribunal MRSA Mugabe music Pakistan Pakistan Tour Paris Hilton Politics Ponting Prince Harry and Chelsy Rod Stewart Saudi Arabia SCG Secularists security Serious Fraud Office Sienna Miller Stockholm Syndrome Symonds terrorism The Huff Tim Burton Tutsi usic Victoria Beckham Victoria Beckham nude Yves Leterme00710 Worst Nude Film Scenes2nd amendment50 Cent50-Centa-teamA-Team movieABBAAbbie CornishAbi TitmussAbigail BreslinAcademy AwardsaccidentsAdam SandleraddictionsAdeleAdnan GhalibAfghanistanAfton SmithAgyness DeynAir IndiaAishwarya RaiAl GoreAl Pacinoal QaedaAl-QaedaAlan ArkinAlan RickmanAlanis MorisseteAlanis MorissetteAlbert Einsteinalcoholalcohol addictionalcoholismAlec BaldwinAlesha DixonAlex TurnerAlexandriaAli CampbellAli LarterAlicia KeysAlicia SilverstoneAllahAlli SimsAmanda HoldenAmanda PeetAmanda SeyfriedAmazonAmelle BerrabahAmerican IdolAmerican PieAmy AdamsAmy RyanAmy WinehouseAmy Winehouse is planning a massive Christmas bingAnatole TaubmannAndhraAndrew MortonAndy HilfigerAndy SerkisAng LeeAngela MerkelAngelina Jolieanimal rightsAnjelica HustonAnna NicoleAnna Nicole SmithAnne HathawayAnnie LennoxAnthony HopkinsAnthony MinghellaAnti-IconAntonio BanderasAppleArctic MonkeysAretha FranklinAri SandelArmaniArnieArnold SchwarzeneggerArpad BussonAshantiAshely TisdaleAshlee SimpsonAshley ColeAshley JuddAshley OlsenAshley TisdaleAshton KutcherAsif Ali ZardariAsley OlsenAssamastronautAtonementAtonement\'Audrey HepburnAustraliaAvril LavigneAyda FieldBabelbabyBackstairs BillyBackstreet Boysbad influencesBaftaBaghdadBalticBangladeshBar RafaeliBar RefaeliBarack ObamaBarry ManilowBasraBattlestar GalacticaBBCBeatlesbeauty pageantBeckhambecome news reporterBeethovenBelgiumBen AffleckBenazirBenazir assassinationBenazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto assassinationBenazir Bhutto photosBenazir Bhutto stampsBenazir Bhutto willBenezir Bhutto assassinationBeowulfBernardo BertolucciBest ActressBest Dressed in 2007best haircutbest motorcycle movie momentsbest moviesBeth DittoBethlehemBette MidlerBeverly Hills 90210BeyonceBeyoncé KnowlesBeyonc¨¦ KnowlesBilawal ZardarBilawal ZardariBill GatesBillie PiperBillionaireBilly JoelBilly Zanebinge drinkingBipasha Basubird fluBismarckBizarre NewsBjorkBlack CrowesBlack Eyed PeasBlake FielderBlake Fielder CivilBlake Fielder-CivilBlaze Media ProblogbloggerbloggingBlurBMWBo DerekBob DylanBobby BrownBollywoodbombBon JoviBondBond 22Bond girlBond girlsBonoBoratBotoxBoy GeorgeBrad PittBrad RenfroBrainBrandon RouthBrandyBrazilbrazil prisonbread thievesBrendan FraserBrian MayBrian McFaddenBrian WilliamsBridget JonesBridget MoynahanBRIT AwardsBritish royal familyBritish Secret IntelligenceBritney SpearBritney SpearsBritney Spears adoptionBritney Spears body doubleBritney Spears lawyerBritney Spears psychological evaluationBritsBrittany MurphyBrooke ShieldsBruce LeeBruce SpringsteenBruce WillisBruneiBryan AdamsBuckingham Palacebulletproof vestBushBusta RhymesCairoCalista FlockhartCalvin KleinCameron DiazCameron MackintosCamila AlvesCamillaCanadaCanada¡¯s Juno AwardscancercannabisCannesCannes Film FestivalCapri Hollywood Film FestivalCarey HartCarla Bruni-SarkozyCarmen ElectraCarmit BacharCaroline KennedyCarrie UnderwoodCasablancaCasey AffleckCasey AldridgeCash WarrenCasio keyboard

 

Another benefit of having so much plot to get through is that there’s very little time wasted on irrelevancies. The story moves along at quite a pace, and as a result many of the action scenes have an emotional edge to them that was completely lacking in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. The overall tone of the film is much darker and a lot more sinister, with Lucas taking a lot more chances with the story, and the fact that the audience knows where everything is going really adds to the tragedy of the whole situation. Rather than rob the film of dramatic impact, it elevates it, and you find yourself mourning for these characters even as they’re doing their all to win.

Cinematically, this movie just works. George Lucas has given John Williams some amazing imagery to work with, so the combination of sight and sound becomes a real joy. Even the alien environments are a lot more interesting this time around, with cities built in sinkholes and the swampy beaches of Kashyyk serving as great improvements over the somewhat listless backgrounds of the other prequels.



What makes this movie really work, however, is the sly political commentary that hides just beneath its surface. I read an interview that Lucas did with Wired recently where he kept relating discussion back to Fahrenheit 9/11, where he said – essentially – that while he enjoyed the film he found it a little short-sighted. He felt the best place for political commentary was in fictional tales, working as sci-fi and fantasy concepts rather than as straight-out discussion, because the filmmaker’s ideas can get across with a lot less resistance and not be blocked out by audience members who disagree.

The seeds for Lucas’ story might have been planted twenty years ago, but it would seem that the modern day political landscape has inspired him a great deal, with certain pieces of dialogue pertaining a great deal to what the world is currently facing. While this commentary was bubbling along beneath the surface of the first two prequels, it’s a lot more bold and relevant here, and helps elevate the film to a whole other level.

All of this isn’t to say, however, that the film is flawless. While the contrived dialogue has taken a bit more of a back seat, it’s still there, with Lucas writing lines that aim for an epic nature but fall so terribly short. A number of his attempts to inject humour also fall flat, with an interaction between Anakin and Obi-Wan that’s pretty much recycled from Episode II being a particular sore point. I was always more of a Luke fan than a Han fan, and always found the Jedi aspects of the original trilogy to be the most fascinating part. But when you remove the rogue element and focus purely on the stoic, emotionless Jedi, you realise how much of the warmth and heart you’re cutting out from the story, and all of Lucas’ attempts to make up for that can’t help but fall short. Say what you will about Harrison Ford, but he added an element to the original trilogy that is so painfully lacking in these modern day efforts.