Rating: Summary: What's everyone's problem? Review: The only disappointment I walked with in ATTACK OF THE CLONES was that I couldn't understand what everyone's problem was with Anakin Skywalker. I thought actor Hayden Christensen did a damn good job playing his part. I thought he was beleivable in his scenes even when the dialogue wasn't. Sure AOTC has it's share of loop holes which I hope at least some get addressed in the next episode. Like Owen not being familiar with C-3PO in A New Hope. But this film does redeem itself as being a worthy contender to anything in the original trilogy. The Phantom Menace had it's moments but fails to live up to Star Wars standards. This one however, does. The new faces like Tem. Morrison playing Jango Fett were stellar. And some older ones like Christopher Lee playing the part of a Rogue Jedi named Count Dooku. The other things to be impressed about: Obi-Wan Kenobi's character really comes to life in AOTC. Padme(Natalie Portman) is so damn cute in this movie. Anakin's hint to the dark side is awesome. (One thing that does bother me is Anakin and Padme's gooey parts weren't that interesting.) Of course let's not forget Yoda(voice of Frank Oz) and Mace Windu(Samuel L. Jackson) playing the two baddest Jedi masters ever. The areana battle and final duels were probably the coolest moments in the Star Wars sequels yet.(At least it's right up there with Vader's duel on Cloud City w/Luke) Overall- AOTC is very entertaining and will sure to satisfy any fans of lightsaber dueling and elements of the old trilogy. Lets hope that the next and last installment continues to be more like II, IV, V, and VI and less like I. From what I read III is supposed to be the darkest of them all. Sounds like it's gonna be good to me!
Rating: Summary: The DVD improves the overall experience. Review: First if all, I never liked this movie very much. I don't care how many younger fans rave about it, it's just not a strong film. While it has makes certain significant improvements over Episode I, there are still fundamental flaws in its structure. Lucas has attempted to recreate the middle-of-a-trilogy open-endedness that bestowed so much mytery upon The Empire Strikes Back, but what he has ended up with is a film of two halves, and one which rehashes too much. Homage is okay if you are genuinely referencing, through admiration, an earlier film, but to reference your own to the extent that Lucas does is unoriginal, at times desperate, and cheap. There are too many lines repeated from or paraphrased from TESB, and the structure of the film is very similar, as a many of the visual concepts. Heroes going seperate ways, romance blossoming, a city in the sea (rather than the clouds), Threepio being dismembered and reassembled by Artoo, Anakin losing his hand just like Luke does in battle with a Sith Lord, a battle in an asteroid belt, a ship landing on another object to avoid being detected, the final shot of the movie... I'm sure I've missed a few.That said, however, the DVD edition does make the experience more interesting. The DVD content is structured pretty much the same (I know because my company authors the DVD subtitles) as the release of Episode I. It's well put together, well presented, and the extras are pretty much what you'd expect. There's nothing spectacular about this edition, just as the film offers few surprises, but it's entertaining enough, and at least a reminder of how mainstream movies are just not made the way they used to be. A DVD chock full of extras may make a movie a more appealing buy, but you can't build on bad foundations. Still, as long as you buy it, why should Lucas care?
Rating: Summary: just another movie Review: I usually take a little time to discuss the movie i've just watched with my friends when we get out of the theater. So after Episode 2 I tried to do the same, and for a moment I couldn't remember what movie i've just seen. Its just other SF action movie; big explosions, bad acting, CG graphics... they all become one big blur in my mind and no name jumps out at me. oh well, no big loss. Its worth a rental if you want to test you newly bought home theater system.
Rating: Summary: I could write a better script five tequilas after dead drunk Review: Let's give it two stars because I'm a Star Wars fan, because of respect for Christopher Lee (you can see he's a real master swordsman, he has style), and because the effects were ok. Except for Anakins's prosthetic hand, which is a disgrace. Come on, we make better hands now. And except for R2D2's rockets. Another disgrace. Now for the really bad parts: 1- After four Star Wars movies I grew up thinking the Jedi were wise, difficult to deceive, great warriors... now it happens some time ago somebody ordered a top notch clone army to be created in their name and they never suspected anything. So the Jedi are terribly stupid. Keystone cops were smarter, I believe. Also, all their apprentices are rotten kids, no marvel the galaxy is falling to pieces. They had it coming. 2- Anakin is supposed to be "the One". The One what? Why did the scriptwriter ever fall into that mesianic bull? Now he doesn't know what to do with it! Anakin acts as if he were a guest star in Beverly Hills 90210: oh, nobody loves me, I wanna be good, I want you Padme, if you don't gimme some loving I'll be mean. Come on, he's supposed to be a Jedi, I understand he can fall to the dark side, but not to the idiot side. 3- Anakin and Padme perform Mr. and Mrs. Frog video game "jumping across the street". No comments. Too long, too silly, too boring. Maybe a commercial add for a new video game? 4- Anakin's mother gets whacked by Tusken pirates: jeez, I hate it when only after a couple of minutes I think of a better plot: Anakin's mother should have been killed by Palpatine (because she's good and keeps sonny on the sunny side), and Palpatine should have made it apparent that Anakin could have made it on time to save her, hadn't it been for the Jedi sending him away to do something else. 5- Yoda says everything is getting dark: sure, Yoda, you had one joint too many. The worst Sith in history is a couple of blocks away from your tiny chair and you don't suspect anything. This is one DVD I'm not going to buy. And mark I have all the other Episodes. George, please, call me before you do anything stupid with EIII.
Rating: Summary: zzz Review: About halfway through Attack of the Clones I was wondering to myself when things were going to get good. I agree with what many negative reviewers have already said about the boring storyline, cheesy dialogue, nauseating love story. Every movie that comes out these days is trying to dazzle the eye with fantastic effects. That is fine if you want to appeal to children and a brain dead audience. I'm just not a kid anymore and it takes more than special effects to impress me. I remember how enthusiastic I felt in 1999 when The Phantom Menace came out on May 19th, which also is my birthday. I admit to being swept up in the hype. It was almost like audiences wern't going to let the movie fail. Later, on future viewings I couldn't ignore the glaring weakness it. There is no companionship to enjoy between the characters, no intrigue or plot suspense, and I just don't care what happens to them. Attack of the Clones was Lucas's chance to redeem and he failed miserably. 5 minutes of Yoda with a light saber isn't enough to save a shallow film.
Rating: Summary: One of the Best! Review: I thought Star Wars Episode II was excellent. If anyone has ever seen any of Mr. Christensen's other work in addition to AOTC, this is a phenomenal young actor which I have no doubt will bring this multi-faceted character Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) full circle. The bounty hunter chase was really great among others and being an original Star Wars fan I would rate this right up there with Empire Strikes Back
Rating: Summary: when can we return to Star Wars movies that people liked? Review: Wow, George Lucas has done it again, and this time, you will not be reading a glowing review of yet another great action film. ... Firstly, let me get one thing straight. I am not one of those fanatics who believe that the Star Wars triology were masterpieces with hidden genius and all that good stuff. I'm perfectly aware of the fact that even at their best, Star Wars movies are B-rated actions films, which we all watch in order to see whether or not the Millennium Falcon will yet again make it to hyper-drive just in the nick of time to save the day. However, there are certain requirements which even an action movie should have. Any movie should have characters that are interesting and multifaceted. Everyone loved Han Solo because he was a rebel, who occasionally surprised even himself by being a hero. In the latest Star Wars installment however, all the characters are one-dimensional and boring. We have Anakin Skywalker, who cannot decided whether or not to become a Jedi, kill everyone who annoys him, or marry his best friend. He's having a bit of an identity crisis and the fact that Christensen was not able to pull off a decent acting job, making the character come across as a spoiled and rebellious teen, doesn't help the situation. And then there is Padma, who doesn't get any good lines in the first place, and Portman is not able to do much with the few ones she's given, making her character come across as sleepwalking through most of her scenes. Needless to say, none of this helps the love story that is suposed to be developing between these two characters. Not to mention, that Lucas treats all the digtal technology that he gets to use as toys, and he can't get enough of them. It's okay to use digtal effects to improve the story, but it should actually do that, and help to make the story itself more interesting, not to distract from truly terrible acting. While he makes good use of them in creating more interesting landscapes, like the city "sky streets," and the planet Kamino, covered by oceans and rain, he begins to take it a little far by creating a completely digtal diner, and completely fake creatures and robots to go with it. ... Lucas has got one more film to try to redeem some of the charm of the original three, and his best bet is to put the directing in someone else's hands. The third movie will probably be dark and slightly depressing (much like Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.) That movie certainly did not end well, what with Luc losing an arm, and Han getting frozen, but it certainly was the best one, what with the conflict building and the romance between Han and Leia. However, for Episode V, Lucas did not choose to direct it...
Rating: Summary: A lot went right, but so many lost opportunities... Review: Last year there were really only three big movies for the scifi/fantasy set; EP.II, Lord of the Rings and Spiderman. All three had great action, beautiful special effects and music, and best of all a sense of wonder that so often is lacking in today's escapism films. What separates Ep.II from LOTR and Spidey is a lack of believable characters to empathize with. Spiderman really sucked you into the story because Peter Parker was human and seemed vulnerable. He had great powers but he also suffered the pain of being human. LOTR was loaded with characters you liked and wanted to see more of. They had humor in spite of their fears and were loyal to their fellowship. The characters in Ep.II were never in any danger. They were shot at and smacked around with lightsabers, even headbutted in the case of ObiWan and Jango Fett. But I never felt any real concern for the characters. Of course they would be okay, they have to make it to the next movie. There was just something missing in the dialogue or acting that made the whole experience feel like cardboard. It's probably the prettiest and most expensive cardboard in the world, but cardboard all the same.
Rating: Summary: One of the best SW movies, George Lucas is the man!!! Review: I have never understood all the critics who verbally assault "The Phantom Menace" it was after all a set-up for "Attack of the Clones", I liked Episode I, it reminded me of "A New Hope(EP IV)", Episode II is close to "The Empire Strikes Back" in comparison, In this one, we see the beginnings of Palpatine's manipulations, A seperatist movement is threatning the Senate's power on Courasaunt, the Jedi Counsil's power is also being challenged, Pademe' Amidala life is targeted for assassination, Obi-Wan & Anakin(now 20) are assigned to protect Pademe', Obi-Wan & Anakin share different views on their assignment which depict the conflict that we know will be apparent later, after another attempt, Anakin is then told to take Pademe' home to Naboo, Obi-Wan is then on a manhunt to uncover the truth behind the assasination attempt, like "Empire" the characters are split up on seperate adventures, Obi-Wan soon comes in confrontation with Jango Fett, who is working for Count Dooku(Christopher Lee) in a fight in which they fight in the rain-soaked planet of Kamino, Fett escapes, but not before Obi-Wan tracks him, meanwhile we see the developing relationship between Anakin & Pademe', a relationship that will eventually result in the birth of Luke & Leia, Anakin sensing that his mother is in danger goes to Tattoonie, when he finds her, she has been brutally beatin by Tusken Raiders, she soon dies & we see the beginning of Anakin's decent into the dark side as he avengingly kills the Tuskins, his confession later to Pademe' only re-inforces the person he will become(Darth Vader), his vow never to fail again & that he will someday be the most powerful Jedi speaks volumes to say the least, as Obi-Wan tracks Jango, we are introduced to Count Dooku(Lee) as he announces his plan for the Jedi, Obi-Wan soon relays this news to Yoda & Mace Windu, who then attempt to thrwart Dooku's plan, Obi-Wan is soon captured & confronted by Dooku, who reveals the true intensions surrounding the events of the movements, it is clear that Dooku is manipulative as he tries to seduce Obi-Wan into joining him, which Obi-Wan refuses, soon Anakin & Pademe' who are attempting to rescue Obi-Wan are captured & Anakin, Pademe' & Obi-Wan are soon fighting for their lives in a gladiator-like arena as Dooku,Fett, & other separists watch on, Dooku & Fett are soon greeted by Mace in which he declares "this party is over", other Jedi are revealed in the arena & an all out war begins, the visual effects are at best here, a scene that only ILM can pull off, Mace soon joins the action as him & Jango face off, Obi-Wan & Anakin as well as Pademe' soon join the action, but when it seems they are near defeat, Yoda arrives with hundreds of Clone warriors, which prompts Dooku to flee, who is then pursued by Obi-Wan & Anakin, their confrontation with Dooku is intense to say the least as Dooku is much more experienced & cannot be defeated by Obi-Wan or Anakin, soon they are down, but Yoda arrives to face off with Dooku in a rather satisfying scene, in which we see the real power behind Yoda as a Jedi Master, Dooku realizing he is no match for Yoda creates a distration & flees, this is by far one of the best SW movies, the ending is intense as we see the Clone Troopers departing Courasaunt to do battle in the galaxy, the clone war is happening as Palpatine with other delegates look on, we see Palpatine with a look of satisfaction as he looks at what will one day become the Empire's military force, like Ep I did for this one, Ep II sets the stage for Ep III, which is said to be much darker, & will set what we have come to know as "The Original Trilogy", Lucas has done it again with this one,many say its pacing is slow, but "Empire's pacing was slow also,there is not much difference between them in terms of pacing, the romance between Anakin & Pademe' is not much more different between Han & Leia in "Empire", a must for any true SW fan!!!
Rating: Summary: I'm not disappointed Review: Well, what else can you expect from a Star Wars fan? Well, you all gotta admit that it was better than Episode 1. I was rather impressed with Ep. 2. It was better than I expected. McGregor's acting is great. He's the perfect Obi-Wan. Christensen was excellent. A well-chosen...chosen one! :) His acting really impressed me. When he's confessing to Padme about killing the tusken raiders was fantastic. Some people may have found it to be funny or...thought he went overboard. But THAT WAS ACTING!! Yoda lives up to his name in here and proves to be all-powerful as all the others have said he was with his fight scene with Darth Tyranus/Count Dooku. We have an introduction to the popular bounty hunter Boba Fett and his clone father Jango Fett. The beginning of the Clone Wars is brought to life. We all heard of the clone wars from Princess Leia in Episode 4. I have to admit some of the scenes weren't meant to be Star Wars. For example, when Anakin and Padme` are rolling the fields and everything else...that's just not Star Wars. Well, overall Attack of the Clones is awesome. I know some other people will think otherwise and that won't change my opinion on Ep. 2. And I know that my opinion won't change anyone else's. It may. Who knows? And it really bothers me when people write a stinkin' essay on how they didn't like the movie...drives me crazy...you just gotta know that the prequel movies were made to tie the whole trilogy together and so we can know some history about the characters and how they came to be what they are in the trilogy. EPISODE 2 WAS AWESOME! Congrats George. (and stop insulting George...)
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