Revenge of the Sith finally

[triadruid]

So a bunch of us (19?) did in fact traipse out to the movie theatre last night to see RotS (after watching AotC so we'd remember what Lucas tried to tell us was going on there). Lucas promised to tie up loose ends, and I took him at his word. In that regard, I wasn't disappointed. This is more about the film itself than the plotholes/continuity in a larger series; there's too much nostalgia tied up in IV-VI to give them a fair appraisal, and I-II set most people's bar absurdly low.

• Actually, he did a fairly good job. Much better than the last two films, and tied up nearly every loose end, efficiently if not with a pretty bow.
• Yoda continues to be one of the best characters in the new trilogy, along with the droids (even if it was out-of-character for them to joke, get offended, or even talk); if they'd CG'ed Anakin, it might have been an improvement.
• I firmly believe that with the acting talent they had at their disposal in other roles, that Lucas' direction/script has to take the lion's share of the blame.
• One of the things wrong with the new trilogy, as we learned quickly while watching RotJ afterward, is that this series has no Han Solo. No one has ANY sense of humor, and they're all so damn...earnest.
• Gen. Grievous was entirely unnecessary and confusing if you hadn't read any spoilers. "Why is a droid coughing?" "Because he's a cyborg." Oh. Why?"
• Coatl-monsters (whatever Obi-Wan was riding on Utapau, that kept whooping in delight) however are entirely worthwhile.
• There has been a lot said about the triumph of effects over characterization, but the lightsaber/fight choreography was much better in this trilogy overall. Seeing actual Jedi fight, instead of home-schooled Jedi brats and cyborg has-beens (sorry, Vader), was a treat. The fight on Mustafar in the volcano was probably worth the price of admission by itself.
• The opening sequence Battle of Coruscant was utterly non-engaging, however. Too much going on involving people you don't know or care about, too early in the film. Contrast with the Battle at the Second Death Star at the end of RotJ.
• Jar-Jar does not, in fact, get executed, but there's always Flash movie fanfics to hope for.
• R2-D2 was as stunningly competent as ever, possibly too much so. -10 continuity points for not wiping his memory banks, Georgie
• It was nice to see "Duel of the Fates", my favorite John Williams piece from the new trilogy, make a re-appearance here.
• And as someone else already mentioned, the best acting of the day was probably when niveustigris took on "Mace Windu", "Anakin", and 2 other Jedi outside the theater while we were waiting. He was Darth Malice, dual-wielding lightsaber spoons; they had the new-generation neon lightsabers and full costumes. He almost won; one of them did get our extra ticket as a 'tip'.