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Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)

Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $13.99
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Force Still Not Quite As Strong...
Review: While not the total disappointment Phantom Menace was, Attack of the Clones still wasn't as strong as the original trilogy. Then again, maybe the original trilogy can't be equaled. Regardless, while Attack of the Clones was a giant step forward, there are still some glaring problems.

For the second straight movie, Lucas created neat characters only to use them as plot devices. In Phantom Menace there was a lot of press about Aurra Sing and Darth Maul. I can't even remember if Sing made the final cut of the movie. Maul, who was a nice mysterious villain, was painfully underused and dispatched rather easily. This limited the impact he would have on the story. In Attack of the Clones, both Zam Wessel and Jango Fett were used more to further the plot than to make them of any true significance within the Star Wars universe. This is more so of Wessel than Jango. Wessel was used in all of one, ultimately insignificant sequence of the movie. Jango, while being one of the major characters in the story, was only given a limited life span. Using these kinds of throw-away characters does little to improve the overall flow of the movie.

The other major problem to the flow of the movie was the dialogue. Oh, boy was it ever! At times it felt like children could write better romance scenes! This I have an easy solution for, turn off the volume. Seriously. Just treat it like a silent film. I bet the movie as a whole will seem a lot better! Actually, a cut of the movie with the music, but no dialogue would be best.

Enough with the bad stuff. There were some good parts. Like with Phantom Menace, the backgrounds and scenery were beautiful. Everything about Obi-Wan and Ewan McGregor's acting were spectacular. The final lightsaber duel, while a bit goofy, was fun and energetic, a real pleasure to watch. While a little forced, fans start to get a feel for Anakin's fall from grace. Finally, there are aspects of the Republic Army that start to resemble the Empire that fans are familiar with.

While no where near perfect, the improvement in this movie over Phantom Menace gives me high hopes for Episode III. Guess we have to wait until next year to find out.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I'm trying to be fair in this...
Review: Best Star Wars rated from best to worst:
1. A New Hope
2. Empire Strikes Back
3. Phantom Menace
4. Return of the Jedi
5. Attack of the Clones

Episode II was a total failure. If one has been a hardcore Star Wars fan, they could see how this leads to Episode III and the original trilogy. However, Episode II was just... dull. CGI effects do NOT make a movie more interesting if overused. As my English teacher said, Do you want to read a paper that says 'The dog did this, the dog did that, the cat then did this....' Anyways, the movie was just terrible. Hmm.. bounty hunter tries to kill the Senator. I wonder.. Oh wow, we get to track that bounty hunter! And the love scenes... I've seen a better love plot on BARNEY!!! Not to mention that it is now obvious that Palpatine = Darth Sidious = Emperor. And the Yoda battle... I swear, was it suppsoed to be funny? I thought I'd never see better, and I've always been watching America's Funniest Home Videos.... I'm disappointed, Lucas. We all know now that you only want your quick money, but it won't work again. Episode III is a failure = You are out of a job.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Rich enough yet, George?
Review: The All-Too-Real Menace George Luca$ Strikes Back in this Attack of the Dead Presidents. We could really use A New Hope, like a writer/director with an ear for competent dialogue and some sort of rapport with his actors. Everyone sleepwalks through this choppy, episodic string of explosions and hyped-up "close escapes" as if they had a lightsabre held to their necks. And I've seen more passion in a love story in Walt Disney's "Lady and the Tramp."

Avoid, abort, retry.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Enough Already!
Review: This is essentially the same review that I submitted for Episode I, but is even more true of Episode II. How can a movie with so much going on be boring. I almost fell asleep during this dog. Stuff flying every which way, close calls, explosions and yet, WHO CARES?! In the original Star Wars, there was suspence and drama because we were given a chance to know and care about the characters. Special effects were tools of the trade, used to aid in the telling of the story. It seems that the new trend is to come up with some really "cool" special effects, then string them together with bad dialogue and call it a movie. I am really annoyed with George Lucas for making me feel old before my time; I am much to young to be complaining about the good old days and declaring that "They don't make 'em like they used to." CGI is a wonderful tool for movie-making, but like all good things, it is possible to have to much. We Americans really need to get over the idea that More-Bigger-Faster is better. More often than not, it isn't.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mediocracy at its Best
Review: Attack of the Clones isn't horrible and dreadfully boring as about half the population would say, but than again, it isn't a stunningly brilliant masterpiece, as the other half would say. It's a very watchable piece of the star wars series.

From a cinematic and linguistic point of veiw the movie was good--not great, but good--however, that was dimmed by the narcacistic and wooden performance by Hayden Christensen as the future Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker. Ewan McGregor's performance was quite good and he makes great young Obi-Wan. Natlie Portman acted very well also, but not quite as well as in the Phantom Menace, because having Hayden Christensen to play off of is no different than a big wall.

The scenery and special effects were stunning and the costumes were also gorgeous. I found it very interesting that in the final battle scene, the domesticated monster managed to symmetrically rip off both of Natalie Portman's sleeves and bottom of her shirt, so her entire upper body, except for her chest were showing. Not that I minded, of course. :-P

Basically, this movie is a fun thing to watch and not to be taken seriously as a great edition to the Star Wars saga. I look forward to Episode III in May of '05.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Thrill Is Gone
Review: Unless you're a die-hard "Star Wars" fan who believes George Lucas is infallible, get ready for the mind-numbing awfulness of "Attack of the Clones" (2002). Sorry, folks, but the thrill is gone -- not even Yoda (who wields a mean light saber) can save this digital farrago. Stick with Episodes IV through VI and forget the rest.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Perhaps three-and-a-half
Review: After the rather rushed climax of "Episode I" (which was still a worthy into the Star Wars Saga), writer-director George Lucas took a much more epic approach with "Episode II--Attack of the Clones."
The Clones themselves make only a brief appearance in the final battle. Mainly, the film follows Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his hot-headed apprentice Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen) as they protect Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman) from assassination. As they relentlessly pursue the assassins, the trail leads to Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), a former Jedi turned Sith Lord. Samuel L. Jackson plays a significant bit as a Jedi Master, and Yoda appears throughout the movie.
The film's biggest problem is, however ironic it may seem, the visual effects. Lucas's decision to go almost completely-CGI was a bold attempt, but ultimately fails. Most of the sets and alien characters (including Yoda) are computer-generated, and the result is that most of the battles and locations seem almost cartoonish. Despite all its glory, CGI still has many limitations, and Lucas failed to realize this.
Despite that huge flaw, and Hayden Christiansen's juvenile portrayal of Anakin, the film does manage to entertain. The action scenes are exhilarating, and McGregor makes an excellent Obi-Wan. "Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones" is a worthy, if hugely flawed, entry into the most famous movie saga in history.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: George did a very good job with Clones
Review: I was never a big Star Wars fan until I saw this one. I cant understand why other reviewers are so critical of this and The Phantom Menace. Could it be that these same people had their own preconcieved notions of how they thought it should be? George Lucas was the creator and I feel we should respect how he wants to portray his saga's history.
Also I wanted to note that alot of reviewers thought that Hayden Christensen's acting was bad, but I also noticed that those same people failed to mention Natalie Portman's acting,which was awful in both films. Although Natalie is great in other films, I think she's a bit overwhelmed in these films and her acting definitely suffers because of it.
I thought that Hayden's portrayal of Anakin was very precise and genuine. I cant understand why some people would accuse him of wooden acting, when I could tell how he was feeling by just the looks he had on his very expressive face, he did'nt even need to say anything most of the time, you could just feel the metamorphisis that was going on inside of him.
This film is great and I cant wait for May 2005.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: CG Yoda=BAD
Review: Being a big fan of the original trilogy, I have to say this movie isn't terrible. On it's own, its okay. But it doesn't fit in (as "The Phantom Menace" didn't) One major problem with the new trilogy is that it won't mesh well with the old one. (I know I haven't seen the 3rd one, but just keep reading) The idea of having Palpatine be an extremely important key to the downfall of the Jedi seems like a flaw, in terms of the way the films are set up. I mean, in episode IV, he's not in it at ALL, not even mentioned. So for future Star Wars fans who first watch Episode I and go all the way through VI, don't you think they'd be a little confused as to why Palpatine is no where to be found in A New Hope? What, was he on vacation? I understand that originally when A New Hope was made, George Lucas didn't plan to have the films go on, so Palpatine wasn't mentioned. But now it's going to damage the experience for new generations. The major thing wrong with Episode II is the TRULY AWFUL YODA LIGHTSABRE BATTLE. Everyone thought it was great, but me it seems. A little CG green yo-yo bouncing around the room look laughably bad. And what's with Yoda having a lightsabre anyway? I always imagined him being this awesome Jedi who was so powerful that he didn't need something like a lightsabre. So I guess he just lost it when he moved to Dagobah. I don't know. And the fact the he was completely computer generated in Episode II bothers me. HE LOOKS FAKE. Okay? The muppet version masterfully performed by Frank Oz was considered great when it came out. Talk of Oscar nomination even. He was the Gollum of its day (Except Gollum is a CG character who looks real) (I don't like the Episode 1 Yoda either-I know he was actually a puppet-but he looked WRONG)Anyway, Yoda fighting in while being CG is the worst thing to happen to Star Wars (besides Jar-Jar)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Attack of the special effects.
Review: This film looks amazing on DVD. Since it was shot digitally, there is absolutely no grain or color saturation, and on a high-end system it will simply knock you out of your seat, from a visual and audio standpoint. Unfortunately, the slim plot and, more importantly the never-ending onslaught of visual effects will leave you numb by the film's end. George Lucas has never been one to skimp on the effects, but even by his standards this one is just saturated with creatures, ships, buildings, lights, small unindentifiable alien things just buzzing all over the place. I found it exhausting and actually distracting at times. Do not flame this review, as I realize this is a minority opinion and will probably grossly offend true Star Wars fans. These films still are good pop sci-fi, although so far the original trilogy has held up much better for me than their 90's counterparts.


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