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Warning*** In case you didn't pay attention to the title, this review is full of spoilers. Simply put, this is what the first two movies in this cycle of the Star Wars saga should have been. If the first two had been condensed to one movie and Revenge of the Sith had been expanded to two movies, I would have been thrilled. Alas that was not to be, so we are left with two movies that meandered along a path that has a clear destination until we have to sprint to that destination with little time to spare in the...

official tabulations coming soon. this is the initial estimate

BRUSSELS -- I just saw a press screening of the new Star Wars movie, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and here's my capsule review: It's superb; the last 15 minutes are better than anything George Lucas has ever done; and as Yoda would say, "This film must you see; love it, you will." However, I left the theater with something more than the feeling that after nearly 30 years as a Star Wars fan, a cinematic era of my life -- with plenty of ups and downs along the way -- had been closed on a thrilling and thoroughly...

For some in the tech industry, the chance to see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in its opening couple of days is just not something they're willing to pass up—at any cost. And while that early viewing may be a badge of honor for geeks around the world, the "Star Wars flu" may pull down productivity figures, analysts warned. "There's nothing like being here for the first showing," said an IT manager for a financial brokerage firm on Wednesday, while standing in line in front of the Metreon theater complex in San Francisco. He had called in...

LOS ANGELES — The last of the "Star Wars" movies has done what no movie in history has ever accomplished — sold $50 million worth of tickets in a single day. "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" grossed $50,013,859 from showings at 3,661 theaters and more than 9,000 screens around the country Thursday, including special midnight shows, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. That beat the one-day record set in May 2004 by "Shrek 2," which sold $44.8 million on a single Saturday — its fourth day in theaters. The George Lucas film, which features the transformation...

"Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" scored $50 million in first-day receipts at 3,661 theaters across the nation on Thursday, box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations said Friday. The take handily beats the one-day record of $44.8 million set last year by "Shrek 2." "Sith" is distributed by News Corp.'s (NWS) 20th Century Fox film unit.

I just thought I would share a few thoughts about the latest star wars epic with my fellow freepers before I crash completely. Its a little after 3am ET here as I write this. I attended a midnight screening of the film, in lexington, KY. In my opinion it is the best of all six. It finishes off both trilogies completely, and leaves nothing to be desired. I give the film 4.5 of 5 stars, with minor points taken off for slightly wooden dialogue, and a few over the top FX. The over the top FX may be too much...

'The Force' ins't with President George W. Bush, as least as far as George Lucas is concerned.The blogosphere has been abuzz for days with reports that Episode III contains several barely concealed digs at the Bush Administration.In a much cited scene, Ewan McGregors Obi Wan Kenobi decares, 'Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes,' after Hayden Chirstensen's Ankin Skywalker/Darth Vader character says, 'If you're not with me, you're my enemy,' an obvious reference to President Bush's statements regarding the war on terror.As the Senate cedes power to Palpatine under the guise of 'intergalatic security,' Natalie Portman's Princess Padme Amidala exclaims...

LONDON (Reuters) - The final chapter of the Star Wars saga has gone over to the Internet's dark side. "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" has been leaked onto a major file-sharing network just hours after opening in theaters, at a time when Hollywood is increasingly concerned about online piracy. At least two copies of the film, which was first shown in theaters in the early hours of Thursday, have been posted to the BitTorrent file-sharing network -- a new and increasingly popular technology that allows users to download large video files much more quickly than in...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Friday was the day Star Wars fans have been anticipating for years. Many Hoosiers flocked to the opening of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It looks like some wookies may have played hooky. It's promising to be the best among the recent trio of Star Wars flicks. While it will rake in plenty at the box office, analysts say it'll cost the economy more than $600 million. Plenty of people took the day off to see the new Star Wars movie. News 8 found people who went to the opening of Revenge of the Sith, but did...

While the storm troopers of doubt circled the beleaguered boxoffice of late, the Force was beginning to flex its power as 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" was shattering records out of the gate with an estimated $16.5 million-to-$17 million in receipts from the midnight shows alone, the distributor said Thursday. "We'll be counting the grosses for a while. It's an absolutely remarkable number. It seems like the industry got kickstarted last night at midnight," said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution for Fox. Snyder noted that final numbers will not be available for...

For sheer lack of subtlety, the light-saber-wielding forces of good and evil in George Lucas's "Star Wars" movies can't hold a candle to the blogging, advertising and boycotting forces of the right and left. (Or left and right.) More a measure of the nation's apparently permanent political warfare than of a filmmaker's intent, the heroes and antiheroes of Mr. Lucas's final entry, "Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," were on their way to becoming the stock characters of partisan debate by mid-Wednesday, hours before the film's opening just after midnight: The liberal advocacy group Moveon.org was preparing to spend...

George Lucas supposedly takes a slam at George Bush in his new movie, Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Will you see the film? Take the poll at Michael Medved's site.

Zero Stars For Star Wars VI May 16, 2005 This column was written by John Podhoretz. The final Star Wars is, as writer-director George Lucas promised, a tragedy -- but it's not the tragedy Lucas thinks it is. Ever since he began making his second set of Star Wars movies a decade ago, Lucas said that Episode III: Revenge of the Sith would be the unvarnished story of the young knight Anakin Skywalker's degeneration and conversion into the black-helmeted, black-outfitted Darth Vader, the villain of the first three films. The tale of woe it really tells is that of George...

AP) All those "Star Wars" geeks, who've been waiting for weeks outside movie theaters with their Yoda sleeping bags and their homemade lightsabers, finally have a film that's worthy of their perseverance. The Force is strong with "Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," the sixth and final piece in George Lucas' galactic saga, which represents a welcome return to the ideas and the spirit that made his original "Star Wars" a pop-culture juggernaut 28 years ago. The circle is now complete, as Lucas' characters are fond of saying, and much of the film's joy comes from watching these familiar...

. 5/16/2005Star Wars Episode III: Review + Extended CommentaryFiled under: GeneralMovie Reviews— Jason @ 3:34 pm [Editor’s Note: the review/commentary below contains some plot spoilers.]Last night Govindini and I attended a private screening of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith organized by Lucasfilm at the USC Cinema School (George Lucas’ alma mater). It was very kind of the folks at the Ranch to arrange this screening, and of longtime ‘Star Wars’ editor and sound-designer Ben Burtt to come down and chat with everyone. Like most of the people there, I was not a ‘neutral’ or impartial observer. It’s...

STAR WARS director George Lucas brushed off critics of the last three installments of his genre-defining series last night as he attended the glittering world premiere for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in Cannes.Critics have hailed his new film as a vast improvement on the first two prequels, but Lucas said he paid little heed. "I see it all as one movie and I don’t pay much attention to whether people like one chapter or another," he said. "We have two fan bases - the over-25s and the under-25s. The over-25 fan base is loyal to the...

CANNES — The last episode of the seminal sci-fi saga "Star Wars" screened at the Cannes film festival Sunday, completing a six-part series that remains a major part of popular culture — and delivering a galactic jab to U.S. President George W Bush. "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" was seen ahead of a celebrity-laden evening screening to be attended by its creator and director, George Lucas, and its cast, including Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen. Reaction at advance screenings was effusive, with festival-goers, critics and journalists at Cannes applauding at the moment the infamous Darth Vader...

breaking tomorrow!