So I decided to go see Star Wars, Episode 3, before it left the theatres. I'd seen every one up till now on its first run in the theatres, and it's apparently part of the zeitgeist of my generation that the ticket get punched for each one. I saw the first one at a less impressionable age than some, and so wasn't as impressed with it as that generation--my lodestone for SF movies remains 2001, having grown up on a steady diet of Heinlein, Clarke and Asimov, and that was the first SF movie that really tried to get it right (unlike Star Wars, which simply tried to get the effects spectacular, physics notwithstanding).

I know I'm a little late to the party, in terms of reviewing this film, but it's tough, given today's technology, for a movie to ride on special effects any more, just as it was easy to do so in 1977, because so much of the field laid unplowed. So the effects were simply what was expected, and had lost their capability to amaze.

How did I like the movie?

As I've already said, not being a Star Wars fanatic, I had no expectations. Or rather, given the previous two pathetic Lucas efforts, my expectations were that it would be bad. It lived down to them, but managed to barely maintain my interest for a couple hours, if only to see if it could manage to not be as bad as its predecessors. In that, it succeeded. Barely. I do think that, that had I been Lucas, and wanted to goose the box office draw, I would have at least put out a rumor that Jar-Jar Binks would be killed in some drawn-out and gruesome manner, if not actually doing it in the movie. I'd have paid double the price to see that.

I'm putting together case studies for system failures as part of my day job, and I think I may do this as one for a failure of management. The Jedi screwed the puppy big time, though the Anakin character seemed too weak and pussilanimous to begin with to be the appropriate subject of a proper Greek tragedy.

But mainly, it increased my admiration for Natalie Portman as an actress. She was given a role so pedestrian and devoid of character (unlike her putative daughter, Leia, in the pre-sequels) that it seemed a travesty of her talent. I'd always thought her a good actress, but the first two movies of this series were disappointing. But in this one, George Lucas' wooden dialogue skills brought her talents fully to the fore. Any intelligent woman who can mouth the words "Hold me, Anakin, hold me like you did by the lake on Naboo," and keep a straight face deserves the Oscar.

> Any intelligent woman who can mouth the words "Hold me, Anakin, hold me like you did by the lake on Naboo," and keep a straight face deserves the Oscar.

Come now, how hard could it have been considering she burnished her vocals in Mars Attacks.

No, 2001 was not the first to try to get it right. You've got to check out
DESTINATION MOON. It was roughly based on a Heinlein book, and it was made with his guidance.

I concur on Destination Moon, a superior effort in nearly all respects. One detail that particularly impressed me in DM was that the movie attempted to get the celestial geometry correct -- the landing is near Harpalus (NW near side, nort of Imbrium) and things like sun angle and Earth elevation above horizon are all correct.

In contrast, in 2001, not only does the Moon change phase during the 3-day journey from the space station to Clavius Base (jumping from waning crescent to waxing gibbous and back again, etc.), Kubrick never bothered to get the earth elevation in the sky correct. At Tycho, the Earth is shown looming close to the horizon. In fact, at 43 degrees south latitude, near Tycho, the Earth would be about halfway between the horizon and zenith. In 2001, Tycho has been relocated to one of the poles or limb.

I would also think that Destination Moon would appeal to the libertarian sensibilites of this board, in particular Heinlein's opinion of government-sponsored boondoggles. Check it out -- you'll like it.

Wait for the upcoming movie "Serenity" - the continuation of the much-missed TV show Firefly. Best science fiction I've seen on television, ever. Scientifically plausible, great characters, well thought out society, and it has a very Heinleinesque flavor about it, including strong women, contempt for government, etc.

Better yet, get the Firefly box set on DVD. You'll love it.

I have to concur with Destination Moon. There were a great many places that they could have said "aw to heck with it, nobody will know the difference" ... but they didn't.

And I too am looking forward to Serenity.

I would have preferred if Lucas hadn't taken the last 10-15 minutes of the movie to "wrap it all up". I understand that the movie was made after 4-6, but there's no way to watch them in order from 1-6 and have the same impact that 4-6 had. In fact, I don't think that anyone would want to watch Luke make out with his sister in any of the other movies if they knew about the relationship going into it. Certainly the end of Ep. 5 would be pretty pointless and lackluster if watched in order.

That "plot wrapup" seemed forced and pointless to me. Not that the rest of Ep. 1-3 seemed flowing and insightful or anything...