I’m listening to a reporter who has already seen the movie. This guy is a huge fan and said he was hoping that Lucas would pull it all together in this episode. He left satisfied.
:spoiler gap:
The movie opens with a ~25 minute battle with little dialog, then changes gears. The Emperor is kidnapped by a group of separatist Clones and our two heroes (Obi-Wan and Anakin) go rescue him.
The PG-13 rating is mainly due to the fact that we see exactly how Anakin’s face becomes the face we see at the end of Episode VI. That action is close up and detailed.
Jar Jar makes a mercifully short appearance.
No word if 3PO gets a memory wipe.
Forgot to add this: Lucas found and reused a bunch of Episode IV sets. Some shots are even identical to the first movie.
Several reviews online now, looks pretty good so far:
Comingsoon.net
Ain’t-it-cool-news
Variety
Hollywood Reporter
All the reviews remark on how incredible the action sequences are, especially the opening dogfight and the Saber battles. Evidently McDiarmid does some great work as Palpatine.
Reviewed by the esteemed Scott Chitwood who gave it 8 out of 10.
(Bear in mind, he gave Shrek II a 9 out of 10 rating)
Yeah, the guy I was listening to remarked that acting has improved across the board.
A not-so-hot review by comparison.
Why does Doku kidnap Palpatine? Doesn’t he know that Palpatine is Sidious or is he a dribbling moron as well?
Do they explain the vanishing Jedi thing?
No mind-wipe for the droids? Good grief.
All spoiler answers taken from the screenplay, so beware.
Dooku thinks its a trap meant to ensnare and kill the two most prominent Jedi heroes of the war – Anakin and Obi-Wan. In truth, it’s a trap for Dooku arranged by Palpatine who wants Anakin to dip into the Dark Side to kill Dooku and thus begin his descent.
Yes.
C3-PO gets a mind wipe. R2-D2 does not.
Next year: Lucas explains how the whole sixlogy is the story of the Emperor.