Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections

A dark lord rises and the tragic downfall of a hero is made complete, as is a series of films that have enraptured audiences worldwide for almost thirty years now. The current trilogy which came to a close in Episode III has enraptured us at times, but has also enraged us. To say that fan reactions to Episode I and II were mixed is, well, unnecessary to even mention, if you are breathing and interested enough in Star Wars to be reading this review. Yet in Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith, director and creator George Lucas does what some might have considered impossible: He has taken the bloodied and beaten pieces from the first two episodes, and melded them perfectly with the original trilogy.
Perfect is a scary word to use. To elaborate, it isn’t this film that is perfect. It was Lucas’ ability to meld together the silly showcases which were the last two films and the great pulp storytelling of the original trilogy which was miraculously perfected. Episodes I and II seemed to revolve around set pieces. A pod race here and a slightly tweaked light saber duel there were the centerpieces of those films. In Episode III the story is what drives us to the inevitable conclusion. And the actions and reactions of a small cast of characters which the viewer actually cares about are what hold the set pieces together, as opposed to the set pieces being strung together by some mandatory plot developments. An example: Seeing two Jedi Knights fighting Darth Maul in the first Episode was neat. But…who was Darth Maul, and why are they fighting? Yet when Obi Wan and Anakin, Master and Apprentice, come head to head, their conflict is deep, and the audience feels the purpose behind each swing of the saber.
Episode III is a tragedy. Again, no one breathing could really enter into this film without knowing some of the overarching details. Yet just as countless crowds flocked to see Titanic, despite knowing the boat would sink, countless fans will take theaters by storm to finally see for themselves how Darth Vader came to be. Part of the tragedy felt in this film is its inevitability. We all know that Darth Vader must arise. We all know that the Jedi order must be slaughtered. Yet none truly knew just how those events came to pass. In that way the viewer is at an advantage over the characters in the film. We are privy to the future of the galaxy, while they are forced to live out the present course.

Spoiler Warning!
Yet Anakin is not entirely stuck in the present. He has premonitions about the future. He sees visions of his love, Padme, dying in childbirth, and he seeks to guard against that happening at all costs. It is his very passion to protect his love that ultimately turns him to the dark side, and ironically, it is his conversion to the dark side which ultimately kills his lover. There is much which can be said of the spirituality of these themes, and of the Star Wars universe in general. It is news to no one that the “Force� which is so prevalent throughout this series, and the path with which to follow this Force, is very eastern mystic in nature. To attain great power in the Force, one must empty themselves and become one with the Force. Yet Jedis seek to serve others with their great power, while those of the dark side empty themselves as well, they take their anger and hatred and empty it in surges of great power against others.

Watching Episode III invokes shades of CS Lewis’ great work The Screwtape Letters, in which readers get inside advice on how demons, or Satan himself, works to turn people away from God. Viewers see Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord, coddle and tempt Anakin Skywalker, manipulating everything possible in order to pry him away from the Jedi order. The ultimate turning point comes when Darth Sidious convinces Anakin that turning to the dark path will ultimately save a love, or even prove the love he has for Padme. Just as the Evil One uses even the purest appearances to draw one away from the Light, so Sidious uses love to manipulate Anakin into a new creation of hate. It is frightening to know that one can be doing something terribly wrong, but be doing it for the “right reasons�. This is the central strength behind the best parts of this new Star Wars trilogy.
Maintaining shreds of evidence of Episodes I and II, complete with zero romantic chemistry between the leads, and maintaining the excellent look and feel of the character and imagination-driven original trilogy, Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith strikes a remarkable balance. It also asks many questions worth asking. What makes someone a hero? What might someone hold on to so hard that it could destroy them? Just why do dark things tempt humankind? These are some of the great questions of life and faith. And these are some of the great foundations of the Star Wars Universe. Ultimately, Star Wars remains such a huge phenomenon because those elements of humanity we all relate to shine through in a fantastic and imaginative way.

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections

Unleashed

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections

Unleashed is far and away Jet Li’s best English language film to date. Boasting an actual plot, a unique concept, and a solid cast, this little film has carved out a spot for itself which is unique in the action genre: it stands out.
Written for the screen by Luc Besson, the hit or miss director who brought us The Professional and The Messenger, respectively, Besson also turns out his best film in years. Jet Li plays Danny the Dog, who is raised by a ruthless master Bart (played by Bob Hoskins in his best role in years). He is called Danny the Dog because he is literally raised as though he were a dog, complete with a collar which controls Danny’s entire life psychologically. Bart is a debt collector, and when he removes Danny’s collar, Danny is trained to instinctually destroy on Bart's command. "Get 'em". But when Li’s character believes his master has been killed, he turns to the only other person he has ever known, a blind piano player named Sam (Morgan Freeman). Danny becomes part of a makeshift family, with Sam’s stepdaughter also along for the ride. But this is an action movie, so this family cannot live happily ever after just yet…

One of the reasons this film stands out will be clear to any action fan. The fight scenes are truly excellent. Choreographed by action legend Yuen Wo Ping, the fights reflect the character of Danny, and are shaped by their settings. The opening fight is just plain dirty. We see the ferocity with which Danny fights, swinging wildly, biting and kicking, reacting to his own injury with rage. Jet Li isn’t graceful in these scenes, his character is rabid. Another incredible fight takes place in a water closet which can’t even be four feet wide. A litmus test for quality fight scenes is also the “close up / shaky cam� factor…can you actually see what is going on? This film holds together the raw nature of its fights with camera work which actually allows the audience to see what Jet Li is doing, and that is always a plus.

Some hardcore action fans will likely be disappointed with this film, though, because it deals primarily with a subject ignored by most action films: family. The most central premise to the film seems to be this: Family stays together no matter what. Danny grows up seeing family as the man who feeds him when he does what he is ordered to do. He grows up a slave. Yet when Danny learns what true love is, through his new family of selfless soul searchers, he begins to grow up and stand up to the falsehood of his upbringing. Li does an impressive job of embodying this submissive and pathetic dog-like character who is made whole by the love of a true family.

An interesting idea which comes through in the film is the idea that family is defined more by the depth of relationship, the depth of love, than actual blood relation. There is no blood relation between Bart and Danny, yet Bart endoctrinates Danny with the idea that he cares about him, that he is Uncle Bart. Then Danny meets up with a black man and his adopted white daughter, again no blood relation. This group, the film asserts, is more of a family than the relationship between Bart and Danny. The difference is the sacrificial love displayed by the father and daughter which completes Danny and elevates him from his animal instincts into the higher faculties of humanity.

Unleashed offers its viewers quite a bit, and this raises the film far above traditional action fare. Besson takes a unique approach to storytelling, focusing in on the characters when he could have decended into action pap. Li creates an engaging character who displays his considerable martial arts talent, but also his endearing humanity. Finally it asks us some significant questions: What exactly makes a family a family? Are love and protection required to define a family? Is family really simply what you have always known, or who we are related to, or is there more to it? Danny finds freedom from slavery through sacrificial love, and finds his ultimate identity as a functioning member of a new family, loving and being loved.

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections