Revenge of the Sith intro

Revenge of the Sith, in my opinion, was a huge improvement on Attack of the Clones both acting and editing-wise. I think most of the actors achieved their potential in this movie, especially Hayden Christensen, was practically the star of the show. The movie also contains some amazing scenes, I think even more than AOTC and TPM put together.

Story-wise however, I felt it to be very rushed, especially the whole idea of Anakin turning to the dark side. The whole latter half of the movie seemed to just fly by and a lot of events that tie the prequels with the original trilogy seemed very rushed. A lot of questions were left unanswered and a lot of new questions popped up. That was probably my main reason for disliking anything in the movie.

Now, this list was very hard for me to make because the movie doesn’t contain as many editorial mistakes, but what I feel to be an inconsistency in the tempo. The first half is very long, each scene gets plenty of time, sometimes even more than needed, while the second half of the movie is nothing but new events, drastic character changes, and huge decisions, all within a very short time period.

Also, the list might seem long because I felt some of the editorial mistakes made in AOTC have been repeated here, but anyways see the list and judge it for yourself.

Obi-Wan's lines in the space battle

Why: Ewan’s performance in delivering the first line (as well as a few others) wasn’t very good. I was a bit disappointed with his performance in this movie compared to the outstanding one he gave in AOTC. Anyways, “Oh I see them, oh this is going to be easy,” is not a good line to have as his first one, especially because he says, “Oh,” twice in one line.

Second, the part where he tells Anakin to forget him and concentrate on the mission and the Chancellor is followed by him saying how he’s running out of tricks, which contradicts the fact that he wants Anakin to ditch him.

How: If there is another cut of him saying the first line, a better cut, then replace it, otherwise just cut it because his next line works quite well as a first line.

As for the second part, “I’m running out of tricks here,” it could be moved to another, earlier part of the film or just removed.

Show more of the actual space battle

Why: During the promotion of the movie, we’ve been hearing that the Battle of Coruscant was going to be the biggest space battle in movie history and that it was going to redefine all scales. Well, to be honest, it did look like a big battle, but the problem is that we didn’t see much of it. If you take a shot from the battle and pause it, you’d see that it’s huge and with many ships, but when you’re watching the movie, all the focus is on the Jedi fighters and their adventure, and almost no attention is given to the huge battle around them. This for me was a bit of a disappointment.

How: If there is more footage of the battle, other than anything that has to do with Anakin and Obi-Wan, it would be good to see that, to actually get a feel for the battle.

It would be good to show more of the different kinds of ships so that people can actually differentiate between them.

The vulture droids should also be a little less goofy; removing their voices would fix this problem.

Maybe have a small subplot of what the clone pilots are up to when Obi-Wan and Anakin are dealing with the buzz droids.

Also, it would really be good to know what’s happening in the whole battle in general. Who’s winning, who’s losing, etc.

R2 and the buzz droid

Why: The conversation between Anakin, Obi-Wan, and R2-D2 when R2 is fighting the buzz droid is really corny and unnecessary.

How: Remove Anakin’s lines, “Get him Artoo,” and, “Watch out,” along with all the R2 shots in the middle. Make the only input from the others Obi-Wan’s line, “Hit the buzz droid’s center eye.” This would make R2 dispose of the buzz droid quickly and without any useless input from the others.

"Spring the trap"

Why: Ewan has this weird smile on his face when he says that line. I guess that smile goes with Obi-Wan’s character, but it just doesn’t look right, especially since he has a very stern expression on his face one second later. This one is not a must and has very low priority in my opinion, but it would look better if it was changed nevertheless. How: Use another cut (a better cut) of him saying that line if it exists.

Droid voices

Why: The voices of the vulture droids need to be totally removed in my opinion. They’re too goofy and make the space battle seem a lot less serious than it should be.

Also, the voices of the battle droids and the super battle droids in the movie are a lot different than in the other movies. They’re kind of high pitched and sound very childish. I think they should be made to sound more menacing, especially the super battle droids.

How: Remove the vulture droid voices, and then re-dub the regular battle droid lines with the same lines but in the regular old voices like we heard in TPM and AOTC. Re-dub the super battle droid voices with something deeper and more menacing and maybe more robotic. It might even be interesting if they spoke in tones and sounds, kind of like R2-D2, but also deeper and more menacing.

General Grievous

Why: Out of all the Star Wars characters that came and went, General Grievous is one that I can say I totally despise. He’s totally useless in the whole movie; he’s nothing more than a little touch-up to the story.

I really hate the way he talks, the way he walks, and especially the way he coughs every few seconds. I really want to know what the point was of showing him coughing in every scene he’s in. If you want to show that he’s still part organic, fine…have him cough once, not every little while, and especially not when we see him for the first time.

His walk makes him look like a crippled old man, not a cyborg built for perfection. I think he needs a bit more stature. He’s always slouching and looking really old. The Grievous in the Clone Wars cartoon looks much better, and looks more like an actual threat than someone who’s just there to be a nuisance to the audience.

As for his talk, his accent I can deal with, but some of his lines have to go. In other words, Grievous needs an extreme makeover.

How: There’s one easy way to take care of a couple of problems: make Grievous get injured on the bridge of the Invisible Hand, this way his coughs and his weird walk could be justified. This can include anything from getting hit by one of the heroes, to a metal beam falling on top of him as the ship is falling apart. Of course, lots of bits and pieces of the ship would have to be shown falling along with the one that hits him. His walk should be more upright prior to that incident, and his cough should also be eliminated until after it. A bit of CGI work would be all that’s needed. This would really make the scene of him arriving on Utapau look better because we would know why he walks and breathes like that.

Second, improve some of his lines to make them less cheesy. I’ve pointed them out and made them into individual points that you’ll see later on.

Lastly, his scenes on the Invisible Hand are pretty useless up until the point where he orders for ray shields. They should be played with a bit to look better and have some kind of meaning. I think there’s something in the novelization where he kills one of the neimoidian pilots that makes him angry. This could be added to show off his authority a bit and develop his character.

Destroyer droid rolling sound

Why: The destroyers in TPM and AOTC made a very distinct rolling sound when they moved, but the ones on the Invisible Hand made almost no sound while moving. I think the sound of their movement should be more pronounced, at least to make a voice in the audience’s minds say, “Oh, I know that sound!”

Obi-Wan smiling while destroying droids in the elevator

Why: Again, Ewan gives a weird smile at the wrong time. He’s practically smiling as he’s destroying the droids, which to me just looks like a cut scene they had lying around in some closet somewhere and just decided to use it for whatever reason.

How: Use another cut if it exists, or if Ewan is going to come in for additional shooting (which he just might if you keep on reading), then just re-shoot that little segment.

"Oh, it's YOU!"

Why: When Anakin drops back into the elevator, Obi-Wan actually ignites his lightsaber out of surprise! The first thing that came into my mind was the line from “Alien Resurrection,” “Who were you expecting, Santa Claus?” This part should be cut…cuz he’s a Jedi for crying out loud!

As for the dialogue that follows, I found it a bit un-Star Wars-like, and a bit unprofessional. Maybe it wasn’t the dialogue as much as it was the actors’ performances in delivering the lines. Anyhow, it should be fixed up to look better.

How: If possible, use a better cut of that segment. If not, re-shoot it if the actors are coming in for re-shooting. If not, then just cut the whole segment and show R2-D2’s antics separately.

Dooku's entrance

Why: Dooku entering the room with the Jedi and the Chancellor was a bit too sudden. I felt that a few lines of conversation were missing between the Jedi greeting the Chancellor and Dooku’s entrance.

Secondly, as soon as Dooku enters, Palpatine says, “Get help.” Just where does he expect them to get help from? Go all the way back to Coruscant and bring a bigger group of Jedi while Dooku and Palpatine just sit there singing “99 Bottles of Beer on Wall?” I don’t think so.

How: Add a couple of lines before Dooku enters, like Palpatine saying, “I’m grateful that you’re here; we’d better hurry before they come.” Obi-Wan and Anakin could say a line or two also.

Second, cut the words, “Get help,” but continue his sentence normally.

Duel with Dooku

Why: The duel was fine, but I felt that a lot of really cool parts of it were cut for some reason. The fight starts off very suddenly, and during the fight we barely see any really impressive moves. If there is more footage that was cut, it needs to be re-added because the duel was too short.

It would also have been much better if there was a bit more dialogue between the characters, something to suggest why he let them board the ship and allow them to reach the Chancellor. If something like this was filmed, it should also be re-added.

Obi-Wan doesn't block any of the battle droids' shots

Why: When Obi-Wan engages the super battle droids, they open fire on him, but he doesn’t attempt to block even one shot. He just runs up to them and chops them up. It’s a miracle he didn’t get hit.

How: If it was filmed, show him blocking some of the shots. If not, use Ewan or a double to film a shot or two of Obi-Wan blocking a few shots.

Palpatine cheering for Obi-Wan

Why: Cringe! I thought it looked really goofy when Obi-Wan destroyed the two super battle droids and we saw a close-up of Palpatine going, “Yeah!” A chancellor wouldn’t say “yeah,” plus there was no real need for it. I think it should be cut from the movie as it interrupts the fight and has a high cringe-inducing factor. Actually most of the shots of Palpatine watching the fight are totally useless. They ruin the tempo for no reason.

Anakin looking at Dooku after he throws Obi-Wan

Why: This I consider a very easy and very important change. The shot of Anakin looking at Dooku after he had just thrown Obi-Wan to the ground ruins the tempo of the scene. If that shot was cut, the fight would look a lot more dynamic and lot cooler – and make more sense than it does now, because Anakin hesitates for too long in that shot.

"Kill him, kill him now"

Why: When I first heard this line, I got the feeling that I heard it somewhere before. But besides that, I got the feeling that there was something wrong with it. I think it’s because Palpatines’s laughing while he’s saying his previous line which suddenly takes a twist into a very serious line. If he could be made to say both lines more seriously, without laughing, I think it will be a lot more effective. Also, if more dialogue is added to further convince Anakin that killing Dooku is the right thing, it would really help.

How: If another cut exists of him saying that line and possibly the one before more seriously, use it. If not…well then it might need to be re-filmed.

Also, a think a line like, “Anakin, he has to die!” should be placed just after Anakin says, “I shouldn’t.” A line like this is more of a command than the first one, which Anakin accepts as coming from someone older and wiser and puts away his Jedi ways to obey that command. A perfect beginning for falling to the dark side.

Shackle sound

Why: This is a veeeery minor thing, but when Anakin is saying, “He was an unarmed prisoner,” the sound of him opening Palpatine’s shackles with the Force is too loud. It should be turned down a bit to make his line come out clearer.

"His fate will be the same as ours"

Why: When I read this in the script before seeing the movie, I was expecting Anakin to say this line to Palpatine with a bit of annoyed anger in his voice. This is because he should be feeling outraged that Palpatine would even consider leaving Obi-Wan behind after learning that he’s alright. So when I saw the movie, I was pretty disappointed to see that Hayden just read the line like he’s reciting a love poem or something.

How: If there’s another, better cut, then use it. This line cannot be cut as it’s vital in the story. One other idea would be to just dub over it with Hayden saying it in a more stern voice.

"Republic cruiser approaching"

Why: It would be useful if just before Grievous says, “Prepare for attack,” someone else said, “Republic cruiser approaching!” When you see the shot from space it’s not easy for a first time watcher, or a multiple watcher for that matter, to notice the other ship approaching and knowing which ship is which, etc.

No sound before elevator

Why: There’s a couple seconds in the film, just before Anakin says, “Elevator’s not working,” that you feel like someone pressed the mute button because there is no sound at all. You would expect to hear huge explosions because the two ships are exchanging heavy fire.

How: Add the sound of explosions in the background of the shot of the elevator button.