Spatula Forum

"Rise... Darth Vader."
Shoot, I know I shouldn't get my hopes up after the tepid "Episode I" and the better-but-flawed "Episode II." But watching the teaser trailer for "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith" yesterday before I caught "The Incredibles" (review to come later this week of that one), I turned into a 13-year-old fanboy again. Lucas may not make the best movies anymore, but he sure knows how to tease you. The "Sith" trailer is short, just over 90 seconds, and about half of that is actually old, effectively used footage from the original trilogy, and a voiceover from the late Alec Guinness which nicely sets the stage for Anakin's fall in Episode III. As the suspense builds, we then get a series of ultra-fast quick cuts of action from "Sith" -- which, if you download the trailer, can be slowed down a little bit to get a better look at what goes on.
Some promising stuff here, including:
* Anakin looking more evil, including jaunty yellow eyeballs (apparently yellow eyes means evil)
* Some great-looking intergalactic space battles, including prototype X-Wings and TIE fighters from the looks of it
* More Yoda lightsaber action!
* Padme (Natalie Portman) shows us where Leia got her dubious "double-bun" hairstyle from in "A New Hope"
* My personal favorite shots in the teaser, a horde of a hundred of so howling Wookies ready to tear into somebody or something with a vengeance.
* A few shots of a boiling "volcano planet" where, ever since I can remember, Jedi geek lore has it that Obi-Wan and Anakin have their final terrible confrontation which apparently leaves Anakin a crispy critter.
* "Money shot" of Darth Vader himself, newly minted and ready to kick Jedi butt!

There's a whole cottage Internet industry devoted to tearing apart "Star Wars" (an entire lengthy thread I read on one forum dissolved into an argument about whether Darth Vader's HANDS were too small in one shot), but I try not to take it too seriously. "Episode III" certainly has more promise than the other two prequels, and leads up to the events we've all been waiting to see since 1983 or so. The very nature of the story means it'll be darker and meaner than any "Star Wars" movie so far (translation: no Ewoks or Jar-Jar). Let the countdown to May 2005 begin!