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10A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
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THURSDAY. MAY 12. 2005
The Force is with the newest 'Star Wars' film
BY STEPHEN SHUPE
sshupe@kansan.com
JPLAY MOVIE REVIEWER
The magic is back.
George Lucas' spectacular "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," which opens in theaters worldwide a week from today, recaptures the high-energy fun that made this series so popular in the first place. It's the best episode after "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back."
Providing a bridge between Lucas' prequels and his beloved original trilogy, this chapter sheds light on why Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader.
In the thrilling opening sequence, Jedi fighters battle Separatist droids above the cityplanet of Coruscant. There's an interactive feel to the whizzing ships and dogfight aerial maneuvers as Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi race to rescue Chancellor Palpatine from the clutches of the evil General Grievous. Count Dooku also returns in a scene that mirrors the climax of "Return of the Jedi" and sets a course for Anakin's seduction by the dark side of the Force.
General Grievous is one of two super villains who dominate "Revenge of the Sith." A human-robot hybrid with aunchback and a terrible cough, this computer-generated baddie should join the ranks of such series favorites as Labba the Hutt and Boba Fett.
But the real star of the show is Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine, who offers such dubious advice as, "Good is a point of view, Anakin." McDiarmid exudes operatic evil in a succession of atmospheric scenes that are among the darkest of the saga. His transformation from the soft-spoken chancellor to the cackling, ashen-faced emperor is absolutely chilling.
Star Wars: Episode III –
Revenge of the Sith
★★★1/2 (out of four)
Written and director, by George
Lucas
Rating: PG-13
Running time: 140 minutes
As Anakin, Hayden
Christensen is less whiny and more brooding this time around. When freed from the constraints of romantic melodrama, Christensen shows real acting chops. Ewan McGregor also fares better, finally coming into his own in the long shadow of Alec Guinness's original Obi-Wan.
Overall, the film represents a triumphant comeback for Lucas, who seems intent on playing out the wildest fantasies of the Jedi faithful.
Obi-Wan squares off against General Grievous, who can wield four lightsabers with two sets of robotic hands.
Anakin and Obi-Wan clash in an exhilarating duel on the volcanic planet of Mustafar. And when Anakin finally catches that first breath of mechanically-filtered air through the mask of Darth Vader, it's not just a great "Star Wars" moment. It's an all-time great movie moment.
“Revenue of the Sith” isn't entirely devoid of the problems that plagued "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones." Christensen and Natalie Portman suffer through a few early scenes. But the artificial tone of the previous episodes is gone. This is an action-packed, emotionally-rich and thematically-ambitious piece of cinema.
Hayden Christensen stars as Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi who turns to the dark side in the new "Star Wars: Episode III — Return of the Sith."
It's also the culmination of a life's work for Lucas, who evidently still has a few surprises left in him. His film isn't perfect, but it's everything "Star Wars" fans hoped it would be.
— Edited by Jennifer Voldness
Photo courtesy Lucasfilm Ltd. of the Sith
NATION
Small plane causes post-9/11 Washington to panic
BY DONNA CASSATA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — A small plane strayed within three miles of the White House yesterday, leading to frantic evacuation of the Executive Mansion and the Capitol with military jets scrambling to intercept the aircraft and firing flares to steer it away.
route from Pennsylvania to an air show in North Carolina, were taken into custody after their flight sparked a frenzy of activity that tested the capital's post-Sept. 11 response system.
Department spokesman, said.
The government decided not to press charges after interviewing the men and determining the incident was an accident. "They were navigating by sight and were lost," Kevin Madden, Justice
Officials had been concerned because the plane appeared to be "on a straight-in shot toward the center of the Washington area," Terrance W. Gainer, Capitol Police Chief, said.
The White House raised its threat level to red — the highest — for eight minutes, spokesman Scott McClellan said. Vice President Dick Cheney, first
lady Laura Bush and former first lady Nancy Reagan, overnighting at the White House for a special event, were moved to secure locations.
A pilot and student pilot, en
President Bush, biking with a high school friend at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Beltsville, Md., was unaware of the midday, 15-minute scare as it was occurring. His security detail knew of the
raised threat level.
At the Capitol, lawmakers, tourists and reporters raced out of the building, dodging the speeding motorcades of Latin American leaders who had been meeting with members of Congress. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., was hustled to a secure location. Police, rushing to get House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi out of the building, lifted
her out of her shoes.
Armed security officers raced through the Capitol shouting for people to leave.
The incident began at 11:28 a.m., when Federal Aviation Administration radar picked up the aircraft, a small two-seater Cessna 152 with high wings. Gainer said the first alert went out when the plane was 21 miles—17 minutes —from the city.
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