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

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

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $13.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The saga moves forward with great fun and action
Review: I saw the midnight showing of Attack of the Clones, and perhaps it was because of the electrifying crowd, but it was so insanely satisfying that my mind and body couldn't handle it, and everything I have learned is still, at this moment, trying to make sense out of the incomprehensible bliss I experienced while seeing Episode II. But hey, I'm a huge Star Wars fan.
I love Star Wars so dearly that is wouldn't matter if the movie .... I mean, if it did ... - and it doesn't, I wouldn't even be able to tell. All I see is greatness, and that is proof of the incredibly influential power of Star Wars. Even if critics tear this movie apart, everyone will still go see it. It's critic proof. And, as I have seen, it seems like the majority of people that bash Star Wars do so just for the sake of being different. These people must have trouble feeling the force.
Attack of the Clones takes place ten years after The Phantom Menace, during a time of increasing turmoil. The former Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala, is now a senator whose life is constantly being threatened. In response, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, have been assigned to protect her. Furthermore, the Jedi are searching with no avail for members of the Sith: Jedi whose power flows from the dark side of the force.
A few more characters that hold important roles are Mace Windu, Jango Fett, and Count Dooku. I have given the most vague outline of Attack of the Clones, and you should be thankful. It is wise (for your own pleasure) to know as little as possible about a movie like this prior to viewing it. However, let me say that the last 45 minutes of this movie are incredibly impressive. I found it literally breathtaking.
The only big problem with the movie is the screenplay. Some of the dialogue is uncomfortably dry. There are also a few scenes with Anakin that just don't feel right, but I'm sure it's because of the screenplay.
Even though Episode II is the worst Star Wars movie yet (and that's not saying anything bad), it's still great fun. It kept me interested enough that I can't wait to see the third and final chapter in the Star Wars series.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Its Star Wars
Review: Good story, now also Episode 1 makes sense. But I am an old time Star Wars fan and the one star I gave not is because the 2 new Episodes lack of reality compared with the original Episodes 4-6. The new ones are rather more like a computer game then like a movie, cause of that kind of renderings.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Only Lucas
Review: Yes, only he can take talent and technology and [offer] it horribly to the public...Not to mention ruin both at the same time. Who else could take a group of very talented actors (well, some of them), and make [an] in your face, CGI laced, Melrose Space, soap opera. Please George, stick with what you do best...marketing and business...stay away from your attempts at directing (and writing of all things) talented actors, before you abolish everything they've worked for...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: [Bad]
Review: ... Worse that the first, and that's saying something. At least the first was new. This is tired and looks like a big cartoon. The effects may be colorful, but they are soulless.
The acting and script are B.A.D.

Skip it, if you are cool enough.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Save Your Money!
Review: This movie was horrible! Let me list the faults: bad acting, bad plot, and bad CGI (Computer Generated Images). Now let me list the qualities: good music, good costume design, good hair and makeup, good set design.

Bad Acting: Much of the acting involving Anakin and Padme was very terrible and felt "pushed"
Bad Plot: The plot was boring in parts, and even the interesting parts of the movie seemed very rushed and glossed over, like Lucus didn't put a lot of thought into the plot. (I'm sure he did, but it doesn't seem that way)
Bad CGI: Not all of it was bad, but a good majority of it is terrible. When I watch a movie I want to be completely immersed in the movie and not be able to pick out stuff that was done with computers. I think that the computer is a wonderful and useful tool for movie-makers, but when it's not done correctly (And this movie is a prime example of that!) the results are horrible to watch. For two good examples of prime CGI, check out "A Beautiful Mind" (In the first scene, the leaves on the trees were put in with a computer, as well as several other good touches) or the Lord of the Rings trilogy (A few of the armies that were done CGI look extremely well, and the shot of the Fellowship running down the steps of Barad-dur and across the bridge is CGI)
Good Music: The music is excellent, but not good enough to support the movie entirely. The acting and the plot have to meet halfway!
Good Costume Design: Many of the costumes made for Amidala were very gorgeous. I love the intricate beadwork and embroidery.
Good Hair and Makeup: I like the job the makeup artists did with Ewan MacGregor, and some of the very romantic hairstyles that Natalie Portman had.
Good Set Design: Two of the sets really stand out in my mind: the set of the "rainy" planet (I can't remember the name of the place) and the set on Naboo at Amidala's mansion.

The pros in this flick definitely do not outweigh the cons. A good plot with good acting can make you not worry about expensive costumes, sets and hairstyles.
All in all, if you want to see this movie that badly, I recommend renting it. It's not good enough to buy.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It's OK but I Expected Better
Review: I looked forward to this DVD for a number of reasons:

First, I do enjoy the franchise. I remember the excitement of attending the first movie as a college sophomore. My son, who wanted the DVD is now only 2 years younger than I was at that point. Next, I figured that the special effects would be stunning because of the amount of money spent on this movie.
Also, I had hoped that, like the earlier prequel, The Phantom Menace, the movie would stand on its own, while providing background for Star Wars and the rest of the original trilogy.

So why didn't I like this more?

Lack of a unified plot:
The movie couldn't decide whether it was a love story, which is the way most of the early part of the movie looked, or a war story, as the middle of the movie looked, or a video game, which is where most of the end looked as Skywalker and Amidala deal with a manufacturing conveyor sequence that advances the concept of low-tech manufacturing to video-game status. On balance, the overriding message of the movie is to develop Skywalker's character, who will eventually join the dark side of the force as Darth Vader. It succeeds at this.

Too many incongruities within the movie and with the series:
Including the robots, C3P0 and R2D2, whose involvement in this episode is hard to reconcile with their initial lack of prior knowledge in Star Wars. Yoda's fighting sequence, which was totally out of character with the wise, dedicated Jedi he represented in Star Wars and the rest of this movie. Lastly, the conveyor sequence where an obviously low tech conveyor is used to build high volume, high-tech robots. It's too bad that the robotics folks that Lucas used to put the robots together for the movie didn't tell him about how robots are really made. However, there were plenty of good set-ups for the next prequel and the series, including Palatine's turn, the Count, the Deathstar, Skywalker's romance and conflict wth the dark side (he ultimately begets Luke Skywalker) and many, many more. So it was ok, just not the perfection I expected based on the bucks involved and Lucas' commitment to the series.

Special Effects sequences:
While mostly very good, there was a brief moment in one of the final sequences where Amidala was quite obviously played by a dummy.

While I was mentally noting some of the discontinuities, I was also entertained throughout. I did not feel the length, well over 2 hours, at all.

My son told me later that "Yoda kicked butt". Ok. If that's what he remembered, that's fine. I'm glad he was entertained. However, having enjoyed the original trilogy, I expected better.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Star Trek is better
Review: I just saw "The Wrath of Khan" on cable and can honestly say it blows away Phantom and Clones for three solid reasons:

1. Actual acting skills.
2. Actual plot.
3. Actual characters that you pull for.

NOTE TO LUCAS:

CGI can no longer carry the day. You are already way behind MATRIX/LORD OF THE RINGS in that department, so stop relying on it! Get Harrison Ford back! Do something!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Horrible letdown for Star Wars fans
Review: Star Wars is one of the biggest film franchises in movie history. This is thanks to amazing effects and memorable characters. Fans have learned to overlook the poor acting and flimsy scripts. However, when Geroge Lucas delivered a Satr Wars that was 95% "storybuilding" with forgettable characters and TERRIBLE performances(most notably from haydn Christiansen), there was a great groan, and rightly so. Having established a strong base, Lucas ptobably hoped to try something new, and fell flat on his face. This movie should be renamed Attack Of The Drones. Hopefully, Annakin will be replaced yet gain for Episode 3 by someone who can actually act and is believable in the role.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Way, WAY underrated...
Review: Let me clear this up: the acting is almost never good in a Star Wars film. Quit complaining. Second: the movie was awesome. You who say otherwise are wrong. Now that I have that out of the way, I can get on with my review. "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" is the most visually incredible film of the series. Every scene has something for the viewer to gawk at. The action is amazing, the plot is thick with detail, the only problems the movie has are the weak acting and the forced love story. Everything else is awesome. I have a personal problem with those supposed "Star Wars" fans who say that this one wasn't good enough, or had awful acting, or blah blah blah. I can't believe that. "AOTC" is one of the greatest popcorn movies in a long time. True, it's not Lord of the Rings, but for cryin out loud quit your complaining and look at the movie for what it really is: a dark, action-filled cinematic gem with all the qualities of the original trilogy. I mean, Yoda finally gets to use his lightsabre, Mace Windu kicks Jango Fett's butt, Anakin gets his arm chopped off and all you can think about is the bad acting? So suddenly Star Wars has to contain academy-award winning Shakespearian acting in order to be good? What happened to you "hard-core" fans who used to enjoy the cool effects sequences, funny moments, and awesome lightsabre battles? Shame on all of you who diss this movie. May you all end up as extras in the next Ewok spinoff.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Utterly dreadful - the final nail to a once magical series
Review: Before I incur the wrath of the hordes of Star Wars deadheads who seem to reflexively rate any negative review of this woeful movie "Unhelpful", consider this: I am a lifelong fan of the original Star Wars Trilogy and had as much hopeful investment as anyone in the success of the second trilogy. The sad fact is that Attack of the Clones - despite what you've heard - is even worse than The Phantom Menace (if you can bring yourself to believe that something so ghastly could actually exist). Willing this to be a better movie than it actually is (which seems to have been the response of most US critics and - it has to be said - Star Wars fans) is a pointless exercise in delusion. The sad reality is that even the weakest of the original trilogy - Return of the Jedi - is infinitely superior to anything we've seen since. The amount of times I found myself asking "Who wrote this [stuff]?" is matched only by the amount of times I had to hold back laughing aloud at the infantile dialogue and plotting of this utterly charmless movie. This is quite possibly the worst writing EVER in a major Hollywood production and should fast find its natural place in screenwriting classes as a case study in how NOT to write a script. The completely unmoving, unconvincing romance between a wooden Hayden Christensen and an uncharacteristically bland Natalie Portman is only the most obvious clumsiness. The [weak] fortune cookie dialogue given to Ewan McGregor finds appropriate expression in a disinterested performance (how else can any self-respecting actor work with wannabe banter that amounts to exchanges of "Yes Master"; "No Master"; "I try Master" ad infinitum?) Such puerile gems as "The day we take democracy for granted is the day we lose it" simply cry out for ridicule. The deterministic, completely unconvincing and unsympathetic movement of the Anakin character towards the "Dark Side" - a process underpinned by a cynical array of contrived situations and the worst depiction of teenage angst ever put to screen - only further raises the rubbish factor. Anakin scowls around saying things like: "You're like a father to me master"; "He doesn't understand me"; "It's all his fault!"; "He's holding me back!" It's like the last teen movie George Lucas has seen was in 1955 (doubly strange for someone who was the director of the superior, textured teen movie, American Graffiti) - come back John Hughes, all is forgiven. It also has to be said that - in a series never characterised by great acting anyway - Hayden Christensen gives the worst-ever performance in a Star Wars movie. Possibly the most untalented actor of his generation by this evidence - his charisma-free range appears to be pouting and... pouting. When Christensen says "I have a bad feeling about this!" - a line most familiar to series fans courtesy of Luke and Han at various points in the original Star Wars - he only prompts reminders of the rugged charisma and naive charm of the actors - and characters - that preceded him. The comparison is fatal! As for the much vaunted digital effects - well! If the miserable CGI creations menacing our heroes in the stadium execution scene are a standard, then give me Ray Harryhausen anyday. Hopefully these will look better on the Playstation 2 - where they probably best belong. In this regard, Star Wars has aways been a commercial exercise but the ... plugging of possible videogame content is distracting (most obviously when Anakin applies platform-game timing and strategy in avoiding a series of blades and hazards). So it appears, unfortunately, that the best thing techno-merchandiser George Lucas can do for the final instalment of this truly pitiful second trilogy is hand over the directorial reigns (as he did with The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) to a journeyman director (where are you Irving Kershner?) unpressured by the burden of pop culture expectation. The man is clearly no longer capable of telling a decent, well-paced story. Lucas recently said he welcomed the competition provided by Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings series. Don't kid yourself George! There's no competition. Peter Jackson is an infinitely better director - and Attack of the Clones against Lord of the Rings is like a shopping trolley against a Ferrari. And these - fellow Star Wars fans - are the sad truths we should stop denying!


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