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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
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: There is only one (LORD OF THE RINGS)
Review: And this ain't it. Loved the first 3, hated the last 2 SW. Ultimately, the concentration here was on special effects, not acting. With the Matrix, Gladiator, and Lord of the Rings out there (All movies with GREAT acting, by the way, in addition to special effects) these latest SW don't really stand out in any way.
What a monumental waste of acting talent (Mcgregor, Jackson, Lee). Sure, emphasize the two stiffs in love who couldn't act their way out of a shoebox. Blind us with special effects. Blah,blah.
I felt absolutely no emotion towards any of these characters and will probably never watch this movie again. Maybe this series was part of American culture at one point, but not anymore.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: TRUE STAR WARS FANS WILL APPRECIATE THIS MOVIE
Review: Excellent special effects, interesting creatures, and of course NATALIE PORTMAN! The plot was easy to follow if you are a true STAR WARS fan. The introduction to the stormtroopers, meeting young Bobba Fett, (even as a kid, he knew how to fly SLAVE I), and a young Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. I admit the touchy, feely scenes were a bit much,but, there was plenty of action to go around. The battle in the asteroid field was great. We never got to see the full armament of SLAVE I before. Christopher Lee was convincing as Darth Tyranus. He is a good evil character actor (remember Seramon the Wise from Lord of the Rings). ....Just watch the movie as if you never saw the earlier films. Great film, a must for star wars fans!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Quick Observation: Attack of the Clones
Review: Rather than cover a review of the movie and all of the features, both which have been capably covered by a number of people in the form of excellent reviews. I will cover some of the first impressions that you won't get on the back of the box.
Again ,this DVD is setting the standard for DVD, which make waiting for the release of the original Star Wars hard to wait for. The widescreen format is true to the original theatrical release. Here are the five biggest impressions from the DVD:

1. Graphic work in menu screens are stunning
2. The Menus are laid out well and easy to manuver
3. The documentaries are second to none.
4. Trailers are excellent
5. The best DVD for the best Star Wars ever.

Maybe this is the junkie side of me but I wish the documentaries were longer. The behind the scenes look at the film is excellent, boy the amount of work that goes into a film like this! I found the sections on computer animatics in aided (almost "replacing" storyboards)really interesting, and undoubtably the way of the future. The computer generated characters segment are amazing; are we're getting to the point that actors may not be needed? (Yikes!)

The deleted scene's are a good feature although the scenes themeselves were dissapointing! All of the scenes are Lucasfilm quality and are accompanied with thoughts as to why they weren't included in the final production. This gives the fans an opportunity to question why makers didn't include some of the scene's. Both the television and theatrical trailers are all accounted for, again expect top quality. I wish there was a way to put these trailers in front of the movie and not just make them a seperate feature.

Beside superb graphics that serve as a backdrop to all of the menus are simply awesome, the ability to manuver through the menu's are as easy as they are eye-popping! You get the bigger-than-life sound to enjoy the awesome and extensive battle scenes.

A must for the collection of the Star Wars fans!

To avoid misunderstanding, I want to stress again this is NOT to be a REVIEW OF THE MOVIE, instead it's IMPRESSIONS of the DVD. There are many very capably written reviews of the film, I am helping you determine the quality of the DVD features itself and the things that popped out at me when I first watched it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie! Pleased in the end!
Review: This movie is the best Star Wars movie I have ever watched. Better then Episode I. I espceilly liked it with how everything really en-circled the love theme of the movie. I was very impressed by that because no matter how much action there is in a movie, there is always a little room for some passion. The romance between Padme and Anakin was very cool. I really enjoyed it. The ending was good. I didn't really like what happened to Anakin in the end (you know what I am talking about). The fact that it is on DVD, makes it even better. It'c clear, has all the teasers and other stuff that I like to see in the movies and all this stuff on how the film was made. I recomend this to everybody. It will truly please you.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I want to like it, I really do.
Review: First, a little background on me. I am 28 and grew up with the classic trilogy. I loved them, and still do. I own a lot of the original toys and cherish them. With that said, this movie does not deserve to have the "Star Wars" name attached to it in any way. It is horrible. I see reviewers stating that the acting is a serviceable as "Lord of the Rings" is. This is not true. Hayden Christensen has some of the worst acting chops I have ever seen. I laughed and this was not a good thing. I laughed out of embarrasment for those involved. My respect for George Lucas has has taken a second disasterous nosedive in a row, and this one, I am sorry to speculate, is almost certainly fatal. Putting digital effects before the story is what Lucas likes to do best. I actually felt sick to my stomach after watching this film. This is not an exaggeration and I was surprised about it myself. It was the effect of having something I truely passionately loved at one point in my life completely torn apart and killed. Part of the problem is the lack of chemistry between any of the actors, romantic or otherwise. The actors are not completely to blame, as seen through Lucas' eyes, the Star Wars universe now appears lifeless in almost every aspect. If any chemistry did exist between the actors, Lucas had them do one more take to make sure none of it showed. I guess he doesn't want real people stealing the show from the real star in his pictures, technology. To bad he is so moronic where this is concerned. By the way, I watched it on DVD the night after watching the special exetended DVD edition of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." LOTR is a masterpiece, and is to me now what Star Wars was as a kid. It only goes to show how good Episodes I and II could have been, had Lucas only embraced them with the passion he once had. The lightsabre battle, and Yoda's duel in particular held promise as concept, but are too fake, uninspired and filled with aural and visual overkill to be enjoyable. I have pledged that I will never watch the third installment, but perhaps in two years my memory will have faded, and us true fans will all feel sick to our stomachs in unison, one last time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Worthy of the "Star Wars" title it bears
Review: With Episode II, all of Mr. Lucas's troubles with Episode I are summarily and unreservedly forgiven. An amazing bit of backstory to the classic movie we've all come to know and love. Rejoice: Jar Jar is reduced to a minor supporting role, and all the comedic stuff is instead handled by Artoo and Threeepio, as is only right and proper.

Anakin Skywalker has evolved into one of the most multidimensional characters in visual science fiction. Hayden Christiansen does a superb job striking a balance between Jake Lloyd's awkward 9 year-old and David Prowse/James Earl Jones's all-powerful Sith Lord. An especially disturbing scene revolves around Anakin's nighttime encounter with a tribe of Tusken Raiders and its disturbing consequences --may be a bit intense even for 8 or 9 year-olds. And talking of impending evil, another character that is developing in a fascinating way is Ian McDiarmid's Chancellor-cum-Emperor Palpatine.

For a change, the visuals aren't disracting from the storyline; we're actually taking the time to get to know these characters, and to worry about where they will go from here. Like the middle episode of the first trilogy, "Clones" ends on a downer (and lays the groundwork for an even greater downer for Episode III). My only regret is that Obi-Wan and Anakin do not have a lot of screen time together --one doesn't get a sense of a deep and abiding friendship that Obi-Wan will later mourn in Episode IV.

Bring on the final installment, Mr. Lucas. You're back in storytelling mode and all is forgiven.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Always a pleasure to see jedi in action like this!
Review: Living on a side of the planet where TV trailers are rare can be a drag. I had absolutely no expectations for this film...and it blew me away!!!!

WOW!! The actions scenes were gripping and intense - it made everything in the Phantom Menace inferior! The clone war on Geonosis was so grand: thousands of clones, droids, and jedi knights clashing together in a storm of laser fire and explosions! This is undoubtably the best ground battle scene of any sci-fi / fantasy film! Now, throw in Yoda, the best swordsman of the Jedi council, and add a great mystery plot, a passionately complex love story, two seismic charges (those things are great!), make Anakin fall to the Dark Side a little more, and throw in the usual grand scenery and impressive special effects, we've got ourselves one heck of a Star Wars movie here.

The only drawbacks: a slow-moving story for the first hour or so, if you're not Star Wars saavy, and a musical score that draws upon all the other Star Wars films (but the love theme is good).

The DVD set has some mediocre deleted scenes, but some great documentaries.

Compact with great action, some hilarious humor (I always love to see C-3PO going postal), a B-rated title, and everything else, ATTACK OF THE CLONES is an excellent deal. It's definately worthy of being the world's first digitally-filmed movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best movie ever made period.
Review: The Phantom Menace was a very good movie. Better the Return of the Jedi but worse then A New Hope, and The Empire Strikes Back. I would be satisfied if Attack of the Clones was as good. It is way better this is the best movie I have ever seen. It takes palce ten years after The Phantom Menace when systems threatening to leave the Rupublic lead to The Clone Wars. The effects are absolutly fantastic. Everything looks amazing. The plot has the same dark feel that made The Empire Strikes Back so good. Natalie Portman is extremly HOT. How can you complain about the love scenes when you get to see her in such sexy outfits. As for the action don't get me started. The Clone War action scene is fantastic. It has big CGI monsters, hundreds of jedi fighting at once, tanks, battle droids, CGI stormtroopers, and then the awsome and unbelieveable Yoda fight. It is fantastic and shows why he is the jedi master. Overall there is nothing better to watch. This movie has no flaws. It is simpley stunning. As for the DVD it has the best video quality I have ever seen on DVD. In 2.35 anamorphic widescreen from its digital source will make you crave the death of film. The DD 5.1 EX soundtrack is also fantastic the explosions, dialog, and bass is all handled extremly. The extras are great too. Great deleted scenes, great documentaries, everything is great there is 3 hours plus of extras. If you don't own this stop reading and go buy it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Perils of Pleasing Fans
Review: The biggest problem with "Attack of the Clones" is not a script with dialogue that doesn't trip off the tongue, a reliance on CGI settings or the actor playing Anakin Skywalker. The problem is that the movie simply doesn't know what it wants to be, or rather its creator didn't seem certain what he wanted it to be.

For better or worse, its predecessor "The Phantom Menace" felt like the movie George Lucas wanted to make. Whether you loved it, hated it or fell somewhere between like myself, you have to admit that there was a consistency of tone to the movie that identified it as "Star Wars" (with all the baggage that comes with it). "Attack of the Clones" throws that graceful, stately, mood out the window, hits the ground at a sprint and (for the most part) never lets up except for some romantic interludes that, while not as bad as some would have you believe, have nothing like the sparkle of similar moments in other "Star Wars" movies.

While the latter element means that "AOTC" is more viscerally exciting than "TPM", there's nevertheless something lacking. The surface flash is quite impressive, but (aside from the sequences on the water-world Kamino) it seldom evoked a real sense of wonder or put me in touch with that core of emotion that animates the best aspects of the saga.

Ultimately, we're left with a film where quiet and genuinely affecting moments, like Anakin's uncharacteristically mature realization that "Life is much simpler when you're fixing things," sit uncomfortably next to gimmicks like Yoda's much-hyped light-saber duel. These two elements point up the true conflict of the film. The reflective moment shows a hint of the film Lucas really felt, while the second was the director trying his hardest to give fans the movie they wanted, seemingly losing touch with the fact that, as writer and director, it's his job to make the movie he wanted. There's enough here to give me hope that the next and final film could be the real treasure of the series. In the meantime, this uneven effort will have to suffice.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: There's Some Improvement
Review: In the ego-inflated documentary available with Episode I of the Star Wars saga, one of the technical perpetrators of the film looked squarely at the camera's lens and told what he supposed to be an adoring audience that he just about cried when he saw all the CGI effects at work in the finished product. He ought to have cried more about the vapidness, emptiness, and shallowness of the characterizations and plot, the annoyingly affected 'alien' accents that were just about impossible to understand (or even want to), and the wooden performances produced by more wooden directing.
'The Attack of the Clones,' gorgeous on CD is something of an improvement, although I must admit that seeing it in the theatre is a distinct advantage. The plotting is somewhat better, the characters a little more developed. But the film's centerpiece persona, Anakin Skywalker, was atrociously acted (or directed?) by Hayden Christensen. Natalie Portman's Princess was far better conceived; Ewan McGregor's young Obi-Wan did not evince enough conflict to establish him as a real character. Still, he managed his screen time well. I think I appreciated the always marvelous Christopher Lee more than ever after his decades of fine work, his consummate professionalism devoted to his craft.
Still, in fine, this is one of those films that is overburdened by its reliance on computer generated imaging. It reminds me of that wonderful line from 'Jurassic Park' when Ian Malcolm is talking to John Hammond about the efficacy and morality of anachronistically cloning of dinosaurs, to wit, 'You were so impressed with the fact that you could do it, you didn't stop to think whether you should.' Ditto, Mr. Lucas. Yes, the film is a tour de force of technological brilliance, but ought it be?
If George Lucas (who might seriously think about handing over the director's chair to a fresh visionary for the next (and hopefully last) instalment insists on predicating his films on layer upon layer of artificiality at the expense of the substantive elements of story telling, this reviewer would just as soon miss the forthcoming Episode III. In 'Clones,' the gladitorial scene was nothing short of preposterous as was the obligatory chase scene earlier on. Yoda, completely computerized now, chucked his cane and arthritic hobble to do battle with Count Dooku by leaping and bounding all over the place in a castle that might have served just as well in an Errol Flynn costume flick.

All this is not to say that the film is not entertaining. It is. It is exciting in its way. But F/X are supposed to enhance a movie's purposes, not be its sole raison d'etre, and therein lies 'Attack of the Clones' greatest fault. One perhaps cannot blame Lucas for running out of narrative gas. After all, his mythic saga began in the 1970's. But to replace substance with appearance he can be faulted for. Let's hope that Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader will be worth the effort. My guess? He's got to kill off Princess Amadala. The trouble is, I can wait.


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