Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) review

(9/10)

This final addition to the Star Wars saga is a definite crowd-pleaser for all fans of the franchise. The action, story, and emotion is fully driven so that it sucks you in very easily. It doesn't reach the emotional heights of the classics, but it ties the whole story in together.

PLOT:Since the last battle on Geonosis, the clone wars have only gotten more intense. The droid army, under the control of Count Dooku (Christopher Lloyd) and the half-droid, half-alien, General Grievous (Matthew Wood), has gotten more of a threat with new technologies forming often. After Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is kidnapped by the droid army, fully-grown Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and wise Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) must rescure him from the hands from evil. However, once this is done, the remaining Sith threats must be hunted down and destroyed by the Jedi. Obi-Wan is sent to track down General Grievous on planet Utapau, while Anakin stays on Coruscant to keep the Chancellor safe and protect his pregnant wife, Senator Padme (Natalie Portman), who he's been having bad dreams about. The war is looking up until Anakin starts finding out important information about his wife's fate and the Chancellor's excessive knowledge of the dark side. Little does everyone know that an evil plan is unfolding to the Sith Lord's liking that could be the end of the Jedi. It's a great plot executed excellently.

 

ACTING:The performances in this Star Wars were excellent as well. Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen played off each other's dialogue perfectly, playing a top-notch job of Anakin and Obi-Wan. The best performances aside from our two leads would have to be from Natalie Portman as Padme, Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine, Frank Oz as Yoda, and Matthew Wood as General Grievous. These performances were some of the best in the movie aside from the main duo. I was really convinced, drawn in, and linked with the emotions the actors succeeded at creating. There really wasn't a bad performance throughout the whole movie. The minor characters I have to give a mention to would be Temuera Morrison as Commander Cody and Amy Allen as Aayla Secura.

SCORE:The score in this Star Wars is one of the best out of the new ones. Every track was either greatly reminiscent of the original Star Wars films or a new, epic theme to capture the emotion greatly, as did the track, "Battle of the Heroes". I have to give credit to John Williams for taking this film franchise and making the music from it so memorable and so good.

EFFECTS:The effects in this Star Wars had to have been the best effects of all of the prequels. The planets looked more realistically detailed, the battles looked more smooth and epic, the lightsaber combat seemed way more realistic, and the newer alien creatures and Jedi, such as General Grievous, looked cooler and more futuristic. The effects in here must have taken a long time to do, for everything is either beyond our time or unreal. I give credit for the effects team for making this movie so out there.



OTHER CONTENT:This Star Wars is definitely the one to end it all. Compared to its two predecessors, this one has little to no major flaws in its production. The action is lively and exciting, the story is focused on more, and the emotional impact in this one is more enhanced and serious than that of its predecessors. George Lucas really decided to buckle down with the making of this epic Star Wars conclusion. The heights of this Star Wars prequel conclusion may not reach the heights of the original trilogy in iconic imagery and classic-style film-making, but this Star Wars does its job to entertain all audiences.

OVERALL,an awesome Star Wars with and great plot, excellent performances, epic score, realistic and futuristic effects, exciting action, a more focused story, and a larger emotional impact, however, this one had yet to reach the heights of the original trilogy in film-making skill.

Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (2002) review

(5/10)

Most fans see this as a major improvement over its predecessor. However, this addition to the franchise happens to be my least favorite. The acting is bland for the first half of the movie, the script's an awful letdown, and a lot of the movie just feels lazy. However, when the love story, character studies, and epic battles start to kick in, the movie picks up with a near saving grace.

PLOT:After an attempt to assassinate Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the now-grown Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are assigned on a mission to guard her from any further disruption. However, Skywalker's rebellious attitude toward life brings the two into a hunt for the potential killer, believed to be a bounty hunter named Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison). In the search, Anakin takes Padme back to her home planet of Naboo for refuge, and Obi-Wan investigates the mystery planet of Kamino, where an unauthorized clone army is being made in the Jedis' favor. Within the investigation, Obi-Wan becomes captured by the evil Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and finds out about his plans for the dark side. Also, Anakin and Padme start falling in love with each other: something forbidden to the Jedi way. With the making of a clone army, the capture of Obi-Wan, and the young rebellion in Anakin's heart, it is evident the clone wars are about to start and the fate of the Jedi is locked in. It's a great plot executed decently.



ACTING:The acting in here is pretty okay. For the first half of the movie, I felt the acting was lazily done. I felt like the actors weren't really feeling their performances until about halfway through the movie. Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen didn't pick up their performances as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker for a little bit. Most of the actors appeared this way, but when they really got into their roles, the performances turned out excellent. Some of the best performances in this movie would have to be from Natalie Portman as Padme, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, Frank Oz as Yoda, Christopher Lee as Count Dooku, Pernilla August as Shmi Skywalker, and Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine. After the acting picked up, the performances became pretty well done.

SCORE:The score in this Star Wars, still composed by John Williams, is mainly composed of borrowed themes with the exception of a few new and unique themes. The score was pretty alright in this one.

EFFECTS:The effects in this Star Wars have to be some of the best yet. The effects of the great battles between the droids and the clones as well as the details put into the several new and different aliens, such as the Geonosians and the Kaminoans, were brilliantly done. I was really impressed with the effects in this Star Wars.



OTHER CONTENT:This Star Wars movie just seemed to be a great letdown to me. There were many good moments to it, however. The battle scenes, love story, and character study of Anakin really brought the movie together. The battle contains roaring, exciting action, the love story is excellently detailed, and the character study of Skywalker's dark heart is a key part in the overall story with most of the emotion emanating from it. Besides the acting problem, the script was a major kill point for me. The script at a lot of the parts in the movie just seemed too silly, especially the banter between C-3PO and R2-D2 on Geonosis. The script just ruined a lot of the movie for me, as did the lazy feeling of the first half of the movie. The first half of the movie feels lazily done. From the beginning up to either Anakin's search for his mother or the execution on Geonosis seemed fairly lazy. The effects there seemed not as creative, and the acting at that moment seemed to follow. Also, the movie feels very derivative at some points where you can tell they borrowed another movie's cliche. I'm sure most fans of the franchise will disagree with me on all of these points, but I can't help feeling this movie was just pretty out of it for the most part.

OVERALL,a neutral-feeling movie with a great plot, slow-to-pick-up performances, alright score, exciting action, detailed love story, and a key character study drawing the story together, however, the script was ridiculous for the most part, the first half of the movie felt underdone, and several cliches in here felt familiar.

Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace (1999) review

(7/10)

Most Star Wars fans really dislike this addition to the series, but I actually enjoy it a bit. The movie is quite problematic with more entertainment value than deep emotion or story, but I find it to be a good start to the prequels. The effects, score, and memories this withholds for me make it all worthwhile in the end.

PLOT:When the galactic Trade Federation cuts all trade routes to the planet Naboo, two young Jedi are sent to negotiate the disagreements out. These Jedi include the young apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). However, when the Trade Federation becomes hostile under the Sith Lord's rule and starts sending battle droids to invade the planet, the Jedi must act and save Queen Amidala (Keira Knightley), the Naboo leader. Along the way, the Jedi meet many faces, including Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), a clumsy Gungan from Naboo; and young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a very skilled boy from Tatooine with much hidden power in the force. With these small alliances made, the Jedi and Queen decide it's time to act and fight back against the Trade Federation, freeing them of their treaty idea and freeing them for all trade. It's a decent plot executed fairly well.



ACTING:The acting in this movie is fairly good. There are some good and bad performances. The best performances would have to be from Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson as the wise Jedis, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. These two seemed to play the best parts as the movie's leaders. Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman, and Ray Park also played excellent roles as Queen Amidala, Padme, and Darth Maul. The return of original actors Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, Kenny Baker, and Frank Oz for C-3PO, R2-D2, Chancellor Palpatine, and Yoda was pretty awesome as well. The voice acting was about as good as the live acting here in some cases.

SCORE:The score here is brilliantly done by the great composer, John Williams. Williams takes this Star Wars movie's score and turns it into a beautiful thing, from intense battle themes to calm and curious compositions, with "Duel of the Fates" being the key track in the movie's soundtrack. Williams seemed to really do a great job on this one.

EFFECTS:The effects in this Star Wars movie are actually really great. The visual effects of the planets from Naboo to Coruscant are very well done; I have to say the Naboo city is one of the most beautiful fictional cities I've ever seen. The effects of the aliens, also, from Jar Jar to Sebulba, and even to Boss Nass and the battle droids. Along with the score, the effects would have to be one of the best things about this movie.



OTHER CONTENT:Most fans seem to hate this addition to the Star Wars canon, but I actually like this one a good bit. The movie may have not much of an exciting plot, some apparently annoying performances, and a completely different feeling from the original trilogy, but this seems to start off an entirely new generation to the Star Wars franchise. This was the first Star Wars I ever saw, and I have to admit, it has stuck with me throughout my childhood and entire life. I just like the way George Lucas did everything; however, the lack of emotion and a tangible plot seemed to throw the movie into a bit of dismay. This Star Wars is very problematic, but it has stuck with me so long, I could hardly care.

OVERALL,a good Star Wars movie with a decent plot, fairly good performances, brilliant score, really great effects, and many childhood memories, but the plot isn't very tangible, some performances can grow annoying, and the feeling the original gave is completely lost.  

Monsters University (2013) review

(7/10)

This prequel to the popular Pixar favorite was actually a pretty fun ride through the origins of the popular monsters with college humor laid throughout. However, a lot of cliches and borrowed elements were used to make this movie.

PLOT:Ever since he was little, Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) has wanted to work as a scarer at Monsters, Inc., the biggest company in their world. So, he goes to the best college in their world for the job, Monsters University. While there, he meets and rooms with a younger and much friendlier Randy Bogg (Steve Buscemi) and forms a rivalry against young Jimmy Sullivan (John Goodman), the slacker with a praised family name in scaring. They enroll in scaring class but due to their weaknesses, Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) kicks them out. Mike is devastated and Sulley's mad, but then Mike gets the idea to enter the Scare Games, the college's most famous event, and prove himself to the Dean that he can be a scarer. However, Mike must deal with Sulley's attitude and turn his loser sorority, Oozma Kappa, into a winning team. It's a good plot executed very well.



VOICES:The voice acting for the most part was about as good as the first movie. Billy Crystal, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi all played very great and still-fitting parts of Mike, Sulley, and Randall. The new voices were really good also. Helen Mirren played a great part as the strict Dean Hardscrabble. There really wasn't a bad performance in the movie. The other shiners would be Joel Murray as Don, Sean Hayes as Terri, Dave Foley as Terry, and Charlie Day as Art.

SCORE:The score in this movie is mainly made up of borrowed score from the first Monsters movie. It's still good though, with a few new and cool themes throughout done by the great Randy Newman.

ANIMATION:The animation in this movie is very colorful and pretty detailed for the most part. The animation of the various monsters was pretty cool, especially on the freaky-looking Dean Hardscrabble.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie was a pretty good addition to the Pixar canon of movies and pretty fitting prequel to the older classic, Monsters Inc. This addition added a lot of color, college humor, unique perks, and interesting points as a Pixar movie. I loved some of the dialogue and the big climax near the end; not to mention, the movie was pretty funny by itself. I also enjoyed the references the the first movie this made. However, some of the jokes and plot elements seemed a little cliched at times and it made this seem like just another animated movie at times.

OVERALL,a good Pixar movie with a good plot, good and fitting voice acting, borrowed but good score, colorful and detailed animation, some funny moments, good dialogue and a good climax, but this seems to borrow a lot of familiar cliches and plot elements from past movies.