Rating: Summary: Far better than Episode I. You won't be dissapointed! Review: If you, like many, were dissapointed by Episode I, Episode II vindicates George Lucas. The screenplay again become a central element of the movie, as opposed to Episode I, where the story was weak, to the point of becoming empty. In spite of the fact that tons of scenes are shot against blue screens totally pack the movie, performances are very well accomplished: in particular Natalie Portman's and Samuel L. Jackson's (anyone surprised by this?). Also you will be delighted by some moments in the movie where C-3PO and R2-D2 bring back the best memories from Episode IV (the first Star Wars, just in case). This time around also the backgrounds are far more impressing (in Coruscant, for instance). John William's music, as usual, plays a huge role.On the downside, Hayden Christensen's performance pales when compared to almost everyone else's. Also, some battle scenes were not rendered to the high level of quality that Lucas got us used to in Episode I, therefore looking like Video Games in the end. However, these two negative elements are not enough to take away the five star condition of the movie...this is trully the Star Wars sequel that everyone had waited for.
Rating: Summary: Infuriating because it could have been soo good. Review: Just saw Episode II. Let your fears be dissuaded...it's a lot better than Episode I. That said, there's a lot to hate about this movie. While the story is great, perhaps one of the best to date, the screenplay is awful, with dialog that's painful to listen to, and scenes which are totally unnecessary to the plot and bog down the action. The special effects, while extremely impressive, do nothing to hide the fact that they are special effects. It feels like you are watching a cartoon with live actors thrown in. Nothing looks real. The acting is good in parts, but only parts. Mostly it's the dialog's fault--the actors just can't do anything with these bad, bad lines. Hadden is great as Anakin and should be interesting to watch in the third film. Portman, however, is horrible and proves once and for all that Episode One was not a fluke. Ewan is pretty good most of the time, which is nice, and he's given the more interesting story of the two. Sam Jackson's got nothing. Yoda...Yoda's fantastic. Unfortunately the droids, however, have some of the most painful puns in the entire movie. Script doctor, please! Help! The score is one of William's most redundant. Other than the notable Love Theme and some other original music you probably won't be humming when you leave the theater, most of the film's music is just ripped off from other Star Wars movies, most notably Episode One, where it seems Williams is just recycling music in favor of actually doing something original. Anyway, if you want to see this movie, I can't stop you. Go see it. I'm going to see it at least one more time. But don't say I didn't warn you. This is going to end up being one of the worst films of the year, just watch. And what makes me so angry is that there is so much in the movie to love, and Lucas just ruins is through his own arrogance. (I would tell you the good parts, but that would involve spoilers, which I'll spare you from).
Rating: Summary: My review of Star Wars Ep 2: ATOC (NO SPOILERS I PROMISE) Review: STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES REVIEW: Reviewer's score: 4 out of 4. Forget what you've heard. What I am telling you is this; Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones is the best Star Wars film since Empire Strikes Back. This movie had some of my favorite moments in cinema. Honestly I did not have really high expectations of Attack Of The Clones but after watching this movie, there was no doubt in my mind that Lucas is still the king of special affects. The movie starts really well, and ends with a scintillating bang! Yes the script is a bit cheesy at times, more so than any other Star Wars movie. But the acting is quite good. Hayden Christensen is a great Anakin Skywalker.I am telling you that his acting is more than good, it is great. There are some scenes where Anakin shows his dark side; and those are the best scenes of them all. Hayden Christensen comes off as a superb actor, and with the proper direction will surely move on to better films. Natalie Portman is great as the former queen turned ambassador, while Obi Wan Kenobi is well played by Ewan McGregor. The movie's climax is unexpectedly charming and enjoyable. I mean if the audience applauses and cheers the last fight scene, the director must have done something right. I am telling you, the audience was dead. This was the second day the movie was showing, and there were was no one dressed up or anything. But when Yoda stepped on to protect Obi Wan and Anakin, the crowd went wild. All that everyone needed to see was the little shadow, and they started chuckling. I mean we never imagined Yoda to be so agile, right? But Yoda kicked butt, and so did the movie The special affects are great as usual, but I can't wait for the DVD of this particular film. It was shot exclusively with digital cameras, meaning the DVD transfer will be stupendous. The love story is also well developed and never rushed. The only problem was the fact that some of the script was cheesy. But there were enough memorable lines to make this movie very entertaining. There are some people who felt that the acting was a bit wooden and didn't like how Amidala and Anakin were. The problems aren't with the movie, but with the viewers. Some critics are trying too hard to liken this movie's characters to the old Star Wars movies. That is a huge problem with the fans and not the movie. Ewan McGregor is convincing as anyone can be, when it comes to trying to fill the shoes of Sir Alec Guinness. There have been some complaints that Amidala wasn't the rogue that her daughter was, and that Anakin wasn't like Luke. That's all rubbish! These are different characters and are as well developed as anyone in Star Wars. As I said, Hayden Christensen was fantastic, as was the rest of the cast including Samuel L Jackson. They made the best of the script, and were all up to the mark of any actor, in the history of Star Wars. The last thing I want to say about the acting is this; you have to keep in mind that all these actors were acting infront of a blue screen, speaking to imaginary creatures. And with that in mind, the acting was great. After Empire Strikes Back, this has to be my favorite Star Wars picture. And that is from the point of view of a fan who simply loved the originals. You need to go watch the movie, if only to knock off Titanic as the highest grossing movie of all time. ;)
Rating: Summary: Star Wars II - Attack of Boredom Review: Almost two hours into the movie, all I could think was: "Am I watching the right film"? I recognized the characters and the plot is familiar, then this has to be the second installment of the Star Wars prequels. But, where did all the magic of the original installments go? Was it dark? Sure! That, however, means very little when you pair it to the fact that the dialogue was poor, too much use of CGI gave the viewer a feeling of watching Final Fantasy (whatever human interaction there was, was totally insipid). Worst of all are three things: (1) Empire Strikes Back finishes with an inconclusive ending, leaving you with the need to watch the third installment to see what happens. Attack of the Clones leaves you with need to go watch Empire Strikes Back to see how this movie should have been made; (2) Apart from Yoda, the special effects and fighting sequences are NOT trend setting or impressive; and (3) You're dying for the climax to arrive just so you can leave. Very dissapointing. I am never one to agree with critics, but this time I wholeheartedly agree with the Washington Post when it says: "It's too long, it's too dull, it's too lame." Better luck next time George.
Rating: Summary: Makes EPISODE 1 look like a classic Review: Slow, tedious prequel to Lucas's megahit saga, has young Anakin traveling back to Naboo with Senator Amidala as her protector while Obi-Wan pursues the bloodthirsty bounty hunter Jango Fett, and stumbles across a seemingly endless army of clones in the process. Like its predecessor THE PHANTOM MENACE, this contains enough exhausting visual effects to sink a boat, but they don't pack any of the punch they should. This, along with laughable politics, cardboard-thin characters, ridiculous sexual chemistry between the two leads and a monotonous battle at the end make this pitiful instalment easily the worst of the entire saga yet. EPISODE 1 actually looks good by comparison. One of the first films to be shot of HD Video, but who cares?
Rating: Summary: Good, but it didn't live up to the hype Review: Hey, I must say, I am a huge Star Wars fan. I mean, I wasn't camping out to see any of them, or dressing up as Darth Vader when I went to see the movie, but I have always been in love with it. After Episode I, I was a little shaken about where the new ones were going. I took comfort in the saying that it was just to set up for the darker movies. Well, that is true. This film is much darker than Episode One, and is not for the under 10 crowd. The battles are done wonderfully (But they are few), and the special effects are good, but not too much better than Episode One. The main problem with this movie is that its BORING. The story just seems to hover without any action taking place. They really could have moved it along quicker, and more action needed to happen in the beginning and middle. And whats up with no space dogfights??? I don't want to give anything away, but unless you know and remember Episode I, and IV-VI then this is kind of pointless. The movie by itself is not that wonderful, and needs the other ones to stand. Most of this movie is kind of a "Wow, so thats why that happened later" kind of feeling, and if you dont know what happens later, this movie [stinks]. Final Word: Your still gonna see it, but be warned: the first hour and a halfs a real snoozer. Also, I could only recomend this to fans that can appriciate the real meaning and results of whats happening in the story. Dont bring the kids, they will fidget and want to leave.
Rating: Summary: A fantastic treat for the eyes! Review: This story takes place 10 years after Episode one, and Anikan has become a rebilious young jedi around the age of 20. He and Obi Wan are assigned to protect Senator Amidala under the commands of the jedi council. (all done under the direction of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. if you don't know his other alias by now, you're really behind.) Another assasination attempt is made on Amidala's life, and Obi Wan is sent to find out who wants the Senator dead. What he finds is far more suprising and shoking than any of the jedi had forseen. This leaves Anikan, alone with Amidala on Naboo. Anikan has nightmares about his mom, and he and Amidala make there way to Tatooine, which leads to events that eventually lead Anikan to the darks side I am a star wars fan. Yes, I did enjoy Episode I, although it didn't compare to any of the originals, and certainly had some flaws. Most of the actors seemed monotonous, some casting choices were not good ones(Jake Llyod), and some characters should not have been there at all.(jar jar binks) Thankfully, three major flaws (Llyod and Jar jar) are gone. Jar jar barely appears in the movie, and the majority of the time he is standing at the side, not uttering ridicules things, such as,"meesa jar jar binks!" Episode two contains no monotonous acting, and the characters do quite well. Hayden Christiansen did a magnificient job as the dark-lord-to-be, showing both an evil side, and a loving side. Natalie Portman has a wonderful performance this time around, and did a superb job as Anikan's love interest. Ewan Mcgregor also delivered an excellent performance as Obi Wan, Anikan's jedi master and mentor. I was delighted at the introduction of familiar characters such as Boba Fett and Owen and Beru Lars. Since i first saw the original movies in 3rd grade, i had no idea how the first three episodes would play out, and the plot twists have turned out to be far more spectacular than I had imagined. Anikan's anger is played wonderfully by Hayden, and we get an insight in why he did turn to the dark side.(all a conspiracy plotted by the sith lords.) In short: A wonderful movie with spectacular special effects, that is a must see for any person who loves the original star wars movies.
Rating: Summary: Better than Phantom Menace Review: but....there's still a lot left to be desired. The potential for a great story line is there, but hiring Natalie Portman and Haydn Christensen to play the star-crossed lovers Amidala and Anakin was a mistake too big to ignore. Their performances are wooden, stilted, and made me wish that they'd just get on with it and stop shilly-shallying. The emotions that should be there simply weren't. Portman and Christensen are not entirely to blame for their lack of expressiveness in their dialogue: Lucas is definitely the author of most of the dialogue in this film, and it shows - painfully. However, there are bright moments to this film: Threepio and R2-D2 are back (and Threepio's even fully-garbed this time!) in classic form, and are a brilliant, if all-too-necessary, comic relief. The special effects are dazzling, if at times overwhelming. Especially fascinating was the planet Camino, composed entirely of water, with unceasing rain. There are, of course, the requisite bizarre creatures and wild new locales, and these are done in the height of Star Wars creativity - you've NEVER seen anything like some of these before! Amidala's costumes are as peculiar, and for the most part, astoundingly UGLY, as ever - what would happen if one combined the contents of a Goth's closet with Britney Spears', with a little Navaho Indian and Japanese Geisha thrown in for good measure. Apparently Anakin likes them, though - for the duration of the film he gazes at her alternately with a puppy-like longing and a mysterious stare which I take (and hope) to be passionate conflict. It's hard to tell, with Christensen, whether he'd like to kill one or kiss one, going strictly by his looks. He acts more like James Dean than a proper Padawan. The film has its moments of redemption: apart from the 'droid humour afore mentioned, we get to actually SEE Jedi in action, and it's visually stunning. Even Yoda gets to have his moment. The long-enigmatic tale of Jango and Boba Fett is also further related, with a surprising twist to it. A final word of warning - this film is 2 hrs. 20 mins. long, and feels every minute (perhaps more) of its length. But I'd still recommend it: to see Star Wars (any Star Wars) in the theatre, with a box of popcorn in your hands and your eyes fixed on the glowing images before you, is an experience to remember. So go, settle into your seat, and watch as the lights dim, and the oh-so-familiar-but-still-magical yellow letters begin to roll, and forget about critics - "Feel the Force!"
Rating: Summary: Attack of the Groans Review: I was hoping episode II would not be as bad as episode I. I was not disappointed. Other than some flat acting and cliché-ridden dialogue, the movie was pretty good. In a plot neatly lifted from "Romeo and Juliet", "The Gladiator", "We Were Soldiers", plus a few scenes borrowed from several Maxfield Parrish paintings, and we are off for the ride of our lives. Anny Skywalker and Queen, now Senator, Amidala find love on the eve of a major galactic war. I had an attack of the groans when Jar Jar Binks appeared in the opening scenes and spoke a few lines. Fortunately, he disappeared early on and I settled back to enjoy what I enjoy most about the Star Wars saga; the creatures, the costumes, and the special effects. Late in the epic Christopher Lee, a villain's villain, encounters Obi and Anny. After quickly dispatching the two Jedi he goes mano a green-midget with Master Yoda in what proves to be the best scene in the movie, and probably the most excellent sword fight, light-saber, sequence I have ever seen. Everyone should see this one. I totally enjoyed myself.
Rating: Summary: Best STAR WARS movie after episode 4 Review: If you are expecting completely new movie and incredibly original scenario this is not it. But it is a wonderful star wars movie, although you are familiar with the story, the battles are wonderful. You get really into another time and galaxy. This was what star wars fans really waiting for.
|