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This movie is good actually, and represents the zenith of both Obi-Wan and Anakin's hairstyles! The ending is a bit too much handwaving over a montage, but the bits before that are excellent. Especially the Mustafar lightsaber duel.

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annathecrow

Not sure if I can agree on Anakin's hairstyle, those greasy curls made me go "eeewww" multiple times. Goes with the characterization though, so I guess I can give it points for story-telling.

Obi-Wan's hairstyle is definitely a yes, though.

I think the part that I like the best is the sequence before and up to Dooku's death. But that's mostly because the rest of the story makes me too morose to really appreciate it.

One of these days I need to watch the Mustafar duel and actually look at the sword fighting. I do like a good fight choreography, but the movie is so long and the scene is so long and by that time we're all the way into the Tragedy (TM) and I just. Can't. My eyes just always glaze over.

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I mean, the bits where they're clean and free of the influence of the Dark Side? That. That looks nice.

The story gets really tense after the return to Coruscant, yeah, but the rest has some very good bits, like the entire Mustafar duel and I'd argue also Mace and Palpatine's confrontation. Of course, then after the duel, it goes full into full "nothing to see here, move along!" territory in the handwaving to make things fit with ANH. (Like, seriously, how would Obi-Wan even know the Larses exist?) But the duel itself is good.

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I watch a *cough* fanedit of RotS and there is a great movie in there, once you cut out some stuff and add back in the deleted scenes. But even still, overall this is the best of the PT movies, I think, as there are real stakes here. One of its main weaknesses is totally reducing Padme to the pregnant wife, when she has so much else to offer (and was so much else in the previous films). Putting the deleted scenes back in--especially around the formation of the rebellion--helps rectify this.

I'm currently reading Matthew Stover's novelization at the recommendation of

fleurviolette and it's super good. So far, it deals with the more ridiculous aspects of the film well (isn't there some crazy crash-landing on Coruscant that opens the film?) and gives the needed character development to bridge from the PT to the OT.

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My personal pet theory wrt Padmé is something I have nicknamed the improtstor theory (after SWTOR Revan being called the imposwtor). The real Padmé liked Jedi dick well enough for the first few weeks, but then the shine wore off. One of her handmaidens, however, was really into Anakin, and a Queen shares everything with her handmaidens, including dudes, so Rabé had the time of her life with a hot Jedi boyfriend until it all came crashing down while the real Padmé was enjoying a week-long recuperative leave somewhere quiet. Then she curses her misfortune and goes work for the Rebellion under an assumed name.

Yes, I am aware I should just write the fic. However, I have a very large pile of to-writes already, and am 35k deep in an ~80k fic atm.

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Now that is a wild au! definitely not what I’d expect lol

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I mean, Padmé loses her characterization from the prior two films, so something must have happened! And it's either this or, like, Padmé getting mind whammied by Palpatine a time too many or something.

From:

annathecrow

That is my own pet theory, tbh: that Padmé got mind-controlled, either by Palps (intentionally), Anakin (unintentionally), or ~the Force itself~.

That also neatly explains the horrorshow that is the Ep II romance, where Padmé, multiple times (!), expresses discomfort with Anakin's behavior, yet ends up loving him and marrying him anyway.

(srsly Ep II is deeply creepy in that sense. I wish the movie actually committed to that and hadn't gotten stuck between that and a regular romance.)

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One can sort of explain the romance if one characterizes Padmé as someone who's conflicted about Anakin, but likes the idea of someone who would kill for her and goes "fuck it, I'll kiss the hottie" in the face of death, especially if one adds in a dash of corrupting-the-Jedi fantasy for spice. Ep III Padmé has completely lost the temper and most of the rash inclinations her Ep I-II self has, though, so something needs to happen there.

Ep II could have gone for something creepy, but tbh I think Lucas intended it to be a straightforward romance, so I don't think he would've. One could salvage the romance by leaning a bit on Padmé having rose-colored glasses and making her a bit more ambivalent in her discomfort at the start. (Though notably, once she says "nope!" on Naboo, Anakin completely backs off until the kiss on the way to the arena on Geonosis.) Though any coherent take would require reading against the text in the sense that Padmé would have to have flaws, rather than Lucas's Diamonds on the Soles of Her Feet fantasy.

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Yeah I’d chalk it up to inconsistent writing. At least we have fanfic aus!

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Tho I liked RotS, I definitely agree with you that Padme was greatly reduced, given that the deleted scenes showed that she was a crucial, founding member of the Rebel Alliance.

Fantastic! Glad you’re enjoying the film novel! Matt Stover does a great job writing prose and the more emotional aspects of Episode 3. It really expands on the film while staying consistent with Lucas’s vision.

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Thanks for the recommendation!! :) I finally finished Mindor--sooooo good!--and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of RotS. Stover is quickly becoming my favorite SW author after Zahn.

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Wonderful! You’re welcome! 😊 Glad you’re enjoying both of Stover’s novels. One of the best SW writers out there!

Edited Date: 2022-08-04 07:58 pm (UTC)

From:

annathecrow

Report from the trenches:

Battleship is still rolling on. Right now we're having a bit of an artificial cool-down, so the main mod can recuperate from a bad cold, and everyone is using the opportunity to finish up WIPs that were sacrificed in the process of tag hunting. I'm working on a story I started really early on and abandoned because it got too long. (Was supposed to be one scene, now well over 6k and still not done. For an exchange with turnover of fic in hours, this is... not ideal XD)

I have written so much fic. I hope I'll get to keep some of this productivity after battleship. :D Most of it is Star Wars, but not all of it! I can't wait for the works to reveal, I really hope that some of those stories will find someone who loves them - apart from myself because I definitely do.

Now, back to the writing...

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If you want to continue your exchange roll with something with a more chill creation period,

fffx (10k+ fic or art equivalent) is still accepting nominations for today and tomorrow! There are already noms for KOTOR, SWTOR, TCW, and the PT; I at least am planning to request all 4. *tempts*

From:

annathecrow

Ohhhh nononono XD 10+k work limit is way too high for me. I would die. I've written something that long a few times, but it's either been a fluke, or it was a longfic that took me half a year to complete.

I am very strongly considering ficinabox though. 👀️

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Oh I meant to ask what folks think of the new Andor trailer?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Spa40JJxMo

I'm not won over but I could see why people are liking it.

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Agreed. Not quite won over either, but I have no expectations.

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it just doesn't feel like star wars? but who can say. I'll watch it, because I'm a sucker, lol. I guess it's best going in without any expectations.

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Yup, that’s mainly it. It doesn’t feel like SW even though it looks like it had a higher production budget than Kenobi. I hope it’s a good show, or at least entertaining.

I kinda got some spy drama vibes. Maybe Mon Motha could have more character development, not only as a senator, but as a spy for the rebellion during the early empire days. But maybe I’m asking for too much lol

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I'm really hoping that Mon Mothma has a decent part in this, and not a cameo! She's always been such an enigmatic figure with a lot of potential.

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annathecrow

Finally managed to watch it. And... dammit! I like it! Did not expect that. Also awkward, I still haven't seen Rogue One...

This is definitely trying to be another The Mandalorian, having lots of throwbacks to the Star Wars mythos while doing it's own thing. But... I think that's good! I'm intrigued by all the new parts of the universe it teases to show. I mean, it could end up a trainwreck, but it looks good.

...and also it, well, looks good. I admit, I really enjoy the quality Disney can afford to give these TV shows. Even when it's a mess, it's usually a very pretty mess.

Mon Mothma doesn't look like Mon Mothma (I would honestly not recognize her if you people didn't mention her), but I do not care, I am super curious about her now.

Hm. Hmmmm.

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I like the third act of Rogue One but I find it on the whole to be a little overrated--although definitely the best of the Disney films by a long shot.

It's interesting that it's the R1 team, not the Mando team (like BoBF and Kenobi were) for Andor. Not that I don't like the latter, but I'm glad we'll see a new approach. And it makes sense, since the main character is theirs.

I think the actress who plays Mon Mothma is the same who plays her in the PT (like with Bail Organa)? Which is cool. I always thought it was a missed opportunity not to show more of the growing Rebellion in RotS.

Edited (clarifying who I'm talking about!) Date: 2022-08-08 09:36 pm (UTC)

From:

kittywhite

The excellent novel adaptation has already been mentioned but for a licensed product the PS2 game was surprisingly good too.
There's even an alternative ending where Anakin wins the duel on Mustafar.

From:

sathari

Oh, my, an Anakin-wins game ending? I... think I might need this in my life.

From:

sathari

Okay, I'm late to the party, but! I love ROTS--- before the new ST came out, it was in fact my favorite of the Star Wars movies. I loved the whole political mess in particular--- and, yes, the implication, which IIRC Matt Stover plays up a little in the novelization, that one of the themes of the PT is that separation of church and state is good for both church and state, and that the Jedi and the Republic Senate practicing the opposite is a significant factor in the fall of both "church" and "state". *snerk* And, yeah, the duel at the end is amazing by my lights; I loved seeing the pure artistry of lightsaber combat and also the characterization implied with some of it, how Anakin and Obi-wan were both experts at their respective styles (*cough lightsaber forms cough*) and also knew each other so well as partners. It's one of the few places in, especially, the PT where George Lucas's "silent movie" storytelling style worked for me. And also that moment when Anakin's having the Vader mask lowered onto his face... is when IMO we see that with a different director Hayden Christiansen could have played the hell out of Anakin Skywalker. The wide horrified eyes and then the resignation, OMG. (Honestly, I think that moment is what primed me, or at least one ofthe things that did, to absolutely adore Adam Driver's portrayal of Ben Solo|Kylo Ren, because his entire performance is filled with those kinds of moments.)

Also, I am jumping on the "let's explain what happened to Padme" bandwagon--- my theory has long been that she was having pregnancy-induced thyroid problems (seriously, what they did with her makeup looks like the illustration of "outward symptoms of hyperthyroid condition" that's in, like, every endocrinologist's office, and elevated thyroid levels happen in even a normal pregnancy, with a chance of them going beyond normal and into problem territory) and that none of that was caught because she was having to keep her pregnancy a secret and so wasn't getting the level of prenatal medical care she needed... and that arguably Anakin was in fact right to be worried about the risks to her health from the pregnancy.

From:

annathecrow

"Hayden Christiansen could have played the hell out of Anakin Skywalker" -- I've always thought he was terribly wooden, until I actually started going over Episode II for fic-writing purposes. And then I had my mind blown a bit. Now I'm bummed that he got such a mess of a script because he was really good. He could do cute, he could do messed up, he could go from one to the other like flipping a switch. Only the movie can't decide what it is and it's trying to do sixty things at once, and there's not enough space for proper acting, dammit. SO FRUSTRATING.

The hyperthyroid condition I need to research. I honestly doubt it was intended, unless someone on the make-up team was seriously Galaxy Braining, but it's certainly interesting!

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If you have Disney+, they just released a doc about ILM that's fascinating and uses a lot of the pre-SE OT film. I've watched about 3 episodes. It's well worth a look if you like that kind of bts thing!

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Thank you for the rec! Just starting watching the ILM docuseries.

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oooh yay! Let me know what you think :)

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It’s a good docuseries! I enjoyed watching the old footage and the scale model sets.

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Have you seen the Vice documentary? It's even better (imo)--at least, the first episode is (the only one that's free so far, lol). It's on Youtube, "Icons Unearthed." Marcia Lucas is interviewed!

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Yes! Just watched the first episode. It’s good! A bit more critical of the prequels but still over all a good documentary. I like to see more of Marcia Lucas’s perspective on the film. Even her version of the prequels would be interesting!

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Totally! I'm so curious about her story--she was such a respected film editor, got an Oscar for SW, and then was totally erased from the story. Apparently the interview with her was six hours long. I'd hope they'd release more of it!

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Agreed! She definitely deserved the credit since she edited the original Star Wars film. I’m also shocked that Disney/LF didn’t really mention her in their docuseries. Was it because she criticized their version of the sequels? 👀

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