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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
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: While some may not like it....
Review: First of all: I must tell you. I am a hopeless romantic. I don't care how cheesy, how un-belivable, or how badly written it is...I like it.

So...while George Lucas should NEVER be allowed near a screen play EVER again...I found this movie entertaining.

I must also let you know that I am a sucker for cheesy jokes. It comes from my mothers side of the family...I am hopeless for something corny...but not stupid. Don't get me started on Dumb and Dumber.

So while the vast majority of people seeing this movie left it utterly dissapointed: I now own it. And watch it on a regular basis.

Perhaps it is the fact that I am a writer that leads to my examining of character development beyond what the poor screenwriting gave us. The development of Anakin Skywalker left me astounded. Hayden Christensen took a poorly written part and turned it into something belivable...transforming his character's attitude in a matter of moments as he went through what I fondly call, a male mood swing. Ewan McGregor was again excellent as Obi Wan Kenobi, a character whom I am very fond of...and created both humor...sarcasm, and complete control that IS Obi Wan.

How fun it was to see old sets, and new places as we again go back to a galexy long ago, and far far away. Don't get too hesitant to see it...and if you didn't like it...then it is your loss.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Worthy of the name of Star Wars?
Review: Now that I've seen Star Wars episodes 1 and 2, I doubt Lucas will ever be able to live up to the quality of his old trilogy. If Phantom Menace was dumb, this movie is worse. It's not the special effects, which were very good, especially during the chase through Coruscant, the fight on the watery Kamino and the arena battle. It's not the acting at all, which reunites most of the old cast and introduces some new faces such as Christopher Lee as the evil Count Dooku (he did much better as Saruman) and Hayden Christiansen as Anakin, who did a fairly good job. No, it was the rotten screenplay. It made it look like Anakin wasn't geting seduced by the dark side of the Force, it made it look like he was just a hormone-driven teenager who couldn't control any of his feelings. And those stupid lines of C-3PO's. If they were going to cut Jar Jar, they might as well have made Threepio at least somewhat humorous. Oh well. All in all, I wouldn't buy this movie, maybe rent it to see it again. And I agree with anyone who thinks Lucas has lost his touch.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I'm not telling you to ignore the bad reviews, but...
Review: ...certainly examine them within the context of the body of a reviewer's work. Episode II is chock-full of dazzling action sequences, and special effects, the likes of which have never been seen in a motion picture. I was stunned earlier to see someone intimate that The Matrix had better CGI than this film. The Matrix was set in the stone age compared to this film visually. Does the film have flaws? Certainly. The romance would have played out much better had it been set against a backdrop of action, a chase, perhaps. Still in all, with its mountain of intrigue, terrific action, and astounding effects, this is a fascinating film (tell me you can actually turn your brain on during the conversation between Dooku and Obi-Wan and then stop thinking about its implications, no way, you can't).

My point about the other reviewers is this: one person gave the movie a 1-star review. That same person gave a 5-starrating to Plan Nine from Outer Space, arguably one of the worst films ever made. The same person gave The Mummy Returns a 5-star rating. Explain that to me. Yet another person tried to stack the film's overall rating by submitting 4 1-star reviews. This is not the mark of a bad film; it's the mark of a psychotic who's inexplicably nursing a grudge. Yet another reviewer who gave the film 1-star gave Cutthroat Island, deservedly one of the biggest flops in history, a good review. The same reviewer slammed Live Nude Girls for not really having Nude Girls in it AND gave the Monkees' ludicrous celluloid acid-trip 5 stars.

Many of the others who have slammed the film are Star Wars fans who, somewhere down the line, jumped into Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino's beds, and when the prequels went into production, these people expected the new films to be like Kevin Smith or Tarantino films. Um, no. That's not Star Wars, nor has it ever been.

My point is that no film is for everyone, but when it comes to this film, consider the source of the bad reviews. Episode II is one hell of a ride.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Technically brilliant, emotionally daft
Review: A few years back, in a documentary about the making of the original Star Wars trilogy, George Lucas gave his take on the proper place of technology and effects in movies. "A special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing," he said, as I recall.

Indeed, the original "Star Wars" films succeeded not just because they were special effects bonanzas - they were good, human stories as well. There was a heart behind all that technology.

Unfortunately, the heart stopped beating for "Episode II - Attack of the Clones," a film that is at once visually sensational and emotionally numb. Its action sequences recapture much of the visual energy and fun of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, but what's missing here is the emotional punch of those classic movies.

"Attack of the Clones" is built around the forbidden romance of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, and the romance is a clinker, a non-starter that is so banal that you shake your head and wonder what in the world attracts these two to each other. There's absolutely no spark between the two characters or the actors who play them (Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman), the sequences in which they fall in love play like geeky ripoffs of "Romeo and Juliet," and worst of all, the whole affair is punctuated by horrid pieces of dialogue like this one from Anakin: "I don't like sand. It's rough and coarse. You're soft and smooth."

And then there's the problem of Padme, who is drawn as something of an idealist and a humanist, marrying with a guy who isn't all that opposed to autocracy, and who turns out to be a mass murderer to boot. Is there such a thing as Dr. Laura in the "Star Wars" universe? Is Padme that stupid? She isn't drawn that way, and because of the lack of spark in the romance between her and Anakin, I didn't buy that she's all that enamored with him, either.

Of course, that's part of the risk of making romance the anchor of an effects-driven epic film like "Attack of the Clones." and it's the same risk taken in "Titanic" and "Pearl Harbor." If the romance works, as it did in "Titanic," then the story becomes far more human and involving, and the action scenes are just sauce for the goose; if it fails, as it did in "Pearl Harbor" and "Attack of the Clones," then the characters and storyline feel like filler, a way to pass the time until the next action sequence starts.

And that's the rub: the visuals and action sequences are so brilliantly conceived and executed that the failures in the storyline, script and acting are that much more obvious. No "Star Wars" film, even the first one, featured great dialogue, but at least the interplay between characters was fun and energetic. Here, we get people who sound as if they're at a business meeting

There are scenes in which "Attack of the Clones" tries to rise above itself, chief among them being the sequence in which Anakin's mother is killed by sandpeople, and he takes his revenge by slaughtering their whole village - an effective foreshadowing of the man Anakin will eventually become.

There's also an implied philosophical idea about the nature of evil men: they're usually driven by fear and anger, as Yoda suggested in "Episode I." In Anakin's case, there's also a strong desire to do right, even if he's misguided - and we see Palpatine (the future Emperor) playing on that idealism.

And, of course, there's the scene in which Yoda finally gets his Jedi groove on against Count Dooku (Christopher Lee, who's obviously having a ball). When I first saw this film, I had no idea this was coming, and for me, it ranks right up there with any of the great moments from the original trilogy.

These items are laudable - you can see Lucas trying to make "Attack of the Clones" more than a mere piece of kiddie-oriented fluff - but they're far too little, and too late.

I'm reminded again of Lucas' platitudes about special effects being nothing without a good story. The visual splendor of "Attack of the Clones" is such that it's far from nothing, but imagine how good this film would have been with even a decent script to complement its visual excellence.

Hint to Lucas: the best "Star Wars" movie was "The Empire Strikes Back," and Lawrence Kasdan wrote it. Hire him - hell, hire anyone - to write the next "Star Wars" movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Pretty bad, actually
Review: Special effects are not enough when all other elements of a film wither around it. The dialogue in Episode II is often laughable--and poorly delivered to boot. Otherwise competent actors such as Ewan Macgregor and Samuel L. Jackson are caught delivering ridiculously wooden statements. For that reason, I can forgive Natalie Portman and Hayden Christiansen for their performances, because they are relative amateurs in the hands of a director who can't direct actors properly. I've begun to think that the chemistry inherent in the original Star Wars was just a fluke. Maybe there were less special effects in the way, fewer marks to hit to accommodate the wonderworks of ILM. Yoda doesn't save this film for me either--he has his share of bad lines and wooden behavior, and his battle with Count Dooku (chuckle) is plain silly in my estimation. The cityscapes are incredible, and I like the design of the senate chamber and other settings in which the action takes place. I thought the gladitorial sequence was novel, but again the action is numbed by inane commentary by the primary actors. Admit it--Star Wars has been on the decline since Return of the Jedi. The good news is that these large productions at least keep an army of people well employed with busywork.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Tom Servo, where are you?
Review: Did George Lucas intentially coach his actors to deliver their lines with such a amaterish panache? Did he mean for the special effects to look as cheesy? Check out the corny bit in which the "evil" Anakin is riding the "space cow." The first three films were amazing, they had heart. To Mr. Lucas; Go see Lord of the Rings, that's how it's done.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I love this movie
Review: My Phantom Menace DVD was my prize possession until I got Attack of the Clones. On my personal list of greatest flicks of all time, the two are tied for number one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: FANTASTIC FILM, FANTASTIC DVD
Review: This felt more like the heady, swashbuckling Star Wars that i remember from my childhood than Episode 1 did. Like Aliens or Jurassic Park, Lucas wisely takes the first hour to shuffle the exposition and the love story out of the way, and then, BAM! It's practically non-stop action, intrigue and drama from that point on. Just like the original movie in fact. The silent explosions in the asteroid field, the fight between Obi-Wan and Jango, Anakin laying into the Tusken Raiders, the future Emperor using the situation to gain power, Mace and the Jedi gatecrashing the arena ('This party is over!'), the clone troopers arriving and being led by the Jedi, the lightsaber fight, Yoda wielding a lightsaber, the Imperial March playing full blast at the end....... this is Star Wars alright, and a hugely enjoyable, rollicking ride. Some people didn't like it and i'm sorry for them (some other very successful movies have ended up being disliked by many, such as Forrest Gump or Titanic, one suspects that their very success may be a reason for this). They moan about the dialogue (it would be more accurate to say that Lucas's universe has a language all it's own), they moan about the acting (Lucas likes to work in the style of the 1930's, when the acting WAS stiffer and more formal, this is not a style often used these days so the acting may come across as poor to those who are cinematically illiterate), they moan about the love story (let's get this straight, the love story amounts to THREE TWO-MINUTE SCENES!! It's a far smaller part of the movie than many think and there are some charming moments along the way, like when Anakin levitates a piece of fruit and John Williams' beautiful score kicks in). Too bad for them. Good for the rest of us.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Star Wars Attack of the Clones
Review: I thought this movie wasnt bad at all. I was glad to find out the reasins or start to find out the reasons why Anikan(hayden Christian( who I think is HOT)) turnded to the dark side because of his confusion and loss. Also in it you pretty much get a sense of who Luke's mom was becuase Anikan falls for Padma(Natalie Portman)so you assume this is his to be mom. But this was different from other starwars for a big part of it was a love story and not so much i think about good verses evil. But it did have the whole time of ObiOne Kanobi trying to find who was trying to kill the senator Padma, and why. Their was also action. JUst becasue of the love doenst mean their isnt going to be action. This mostley occurs when at the beginnig Anikan and Obi are chasing after the person who tried to kill the Senator, when Obi is fighting the bounty hunter and then near the end of the movie where the "big battle" occurs between the Jedi and the Droid army. THis battle happens because first the Jedi council decide to go recue Obi who has been captured but then find that Anikan and Padma, who tried to rescue Obi have also been captured. There is also a part where Yoda fights with Count Duco, the Jedi turned evil. This is interesting as you have never seen the great Yoda fight.
So please do not yet disregard this movie because of the bad reviews for you do not yet know for sure if you would like it and for me it didnt seem like something i would like but i did.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Better than the first
Review: I'm sure a lot of the material I'm stating here is a recap of other reviews, but I'm writing my opinion instead of trying to repeat known facts. As stated in the title, this film is better than the first, almost worth the wait. The reduction of Jar-Jar footage, increase in action, and inclusion of Yoda's skill with the Force/light-saber were welcome additions to the film. These and a few other features almost made this a Star Wars film. "Phantom Menace" was Star Wars for eight-year-olds; more of a computer animation than a live-action movie. The only character that made the movie was Darth Maul, and he was killed off.
"Attack of the Clones" picks up the pace, detailing more of the serious aspects of the Jedi's battle with the opposers of the Senate, as well as the evolving of the Empire. Anakin was once more a disappointment in the film; now he's a whiny little product of a boy-band who does nothing to prove his mastery of the Force as the so-called "chosen one". It is hard to see a connection between this little brat and the menacing Darth Vader that effortlessly struck fear into the hearts of men. Senator Amidala was a welcome sight in this film, and her outfits weren't nearly as radical or Japanese-based as those of the last film, but more original and elegant. The love scenes between her and Anakin weren't at all convincing, as it would seem rather difficult for her to fall in love with a little wimp like him.
The rest of the film wasn't bad; the Jedi fight scenes were fun to watch, the chase at the beginning was decent and the colisseum battles were more reminiscient of "Return of the Jedi". However, the film still lacked the feel of the original trilogy, as it seemed more like an excuse for cameos from stars such as Jimmy Smits and Sam Jackson. The stars in the first trilogy were no-names at the time, and played the parts beautifully. There's no Han Solo-type in the film, nor any Wookies (and thankfully, no Ewoks). Not saying that these were necessary, but they added more to the feel of the first trilogy. It will be nice, however, when in the next film all these half-hearted characters are killed off or banished to set up for the first trilogy. The question is, can we wait three more years for another disappointment to fall short to another "Matrix" movie?


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