Rating: 
Summary: I HATE Star Wars...!
Review: ...I wasn't supposed to like this movie! I really, really TRIED to hate this movie! It was no use. SW2 is amongst the greatest movies I've seen, seriously!
I hated the origional, so I had NO intentions of seeing this one. But my brother finally got me to go.
Now apparantly, this movie is better if you haven't seen the recent SW1. Everyone was complaining that it took too long to get started, but I hadn't, so all of the initial time was very informative. I got to know the characters and understand the plot. Afterwards, it leaves you begging for more. So now, I'm going to have to see Episode 3. It really is as good as everyone keeps saying.
Rating: 
Summary: Darkness and Shadow
Review: Simply put, this is a worthy chapter in the Star Wars saga. Episode II: Attack of the Clones is not encumbered with the task of plot and character establishment as was Phantom Menace (which was problematic but still unfairly criticized in many ways-but that's another review.) In AOTC, Lucas fires the plot forward, fleshing out the characters (especially Anakin and Obi-Wan) and drawing us in by morbid fascination, ie: how did things go so horribly wrong?And things are going horribly wrong, as that classic opening crawl text tells us. The Republic, rife with dissatisfaction and corrupton, is literally breaking apart under it's own weight-with a little help from the dark side. This is what makes AOTC inherently intriguing. Our heroes work desperately to make sense of the darkening situation. Along the way, they confront their own shortcomings in trying to figure out the right course of action. Indeed, for Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme, the conflict is not simply with their enemies, its with their own passions and confusion as well. In the Luke trilogy (IV, V, and VI), things were relativley cut and dry: the Emperor and Darth Vader are the enemy; the Death Stars are horrific weapons of genocide; they must be stopped. AOTC, by contrast, presents a fuzzy situation. In this light, the Star Wars fan should be easily drawn in within the first two thirds of the film. The final third is an [smorgusboard] of action that will leave fans wanting more (kind of like Episode V). The saber duels, the chase through the asteroids, and the new creatures and ships will spark memories of the Luke trilogy, while at the same time establishing memorable moments for the Anakin trilogy. The dialogue? Yes, it could have been better. A few lines really clunk. There as not as much chemistry between Padme and Anakin as one would expect. The acting? It's good overall. The one flaw that I can point out is that the characters need to relax a little. Padme and Anakin are played in a manner that's a little stiff and wooden. Even in the darkest hours of Episodes IV-VI, Leia and Solo always managed to keep the swagger and the abilty to wisecrack. A shining performance is turned in by Ewan McGregor, who must have really studied hard to portray a young Obi Wan. Overall, this is a great movie, a fan's movie. The Star Wars universe is braodened and deepened by this film. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Star Wars without the stars
Review: You go into Star Wars and you think about Harrison Ford and James Earl Jones. Well, this time you go in and don't have a true screen presence until the move is over half done, finally Christopher Lee shows up and things really begin to feel like part of the Star Wars saga again. While enjoyable for an afternoon at the cinema this is no Holy Grail of Sci-fi that many would hope for. This stands on it's own and adds much to the Star Wars universe but doesn't fill this viewer with the sense of awe which the juxtaposition of actors and magic created in the rest of the series. Lord of the Rings was a worthier successor to the throne than this current incarnation of Star Wars was. Enjoy the amazing special affects and the CGI, just don't expect to leave the theater with a new all time favorite.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly an embarrassment
Review: This movie felt like a high school production with an unlimited budget. Even the faithful in the theater found unintentional humor in the lifeless dialogue. The acting was not on the level of Episodes 4-6 (the only decent performance comes from a CGI-Yoda). Even the action scenes (usually Lucas's forte) were hard to follow and ridiculously over-crowded. This movie made me appreciate how truly great the first two movies were & especially how great Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Alec Guinness were in their roles. I'm not sure I can totally blame the actors. Somebody quote me a memorable line of dialogue from this movie! Lucas badly needs a collaborator (not afraid to offer criticism) for Episode 3 or he should retire the franchise now with a little dignity. This is easily the weakest entry so far.
Rating: 
Summary: A Phantom Menace Clone
Review: I was disappointed with Attack of the Clones. It was barely better than Phantom Menace. Once again the movie relied heavily on special effects and the plot was weak. In the 2nd edition of the trilogy, the Republic is faced with a new separatist movement. Amidala once a queen is now a senator and has become a target of assassins. Both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin are called to protect her. It has been 10 years since both Amidala and Anakin have seen each other. Once they see each other the romance begins. I found the chemistry between Amidala and Anakin was poor at best. The movie moves along at a slow pace. The special effects are once again incredible, but I fear Lucas has relied on them too much. The only bright spot in the movie was that Jar Jar Binks was reduced to cameo performance.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than I expected.
Review: Ten years later, and Padme (Natalie Portman) does not look one bit older. Nothing digital about that. There is a great story, with good acting and awesome effects. Does have a few scenes I wish were shorter. Jar-Jar Binks plays a small part, but it is very important--a wise, intelligent move on George Lucas' part because he listened to fans who were annoyed by the character, but did not give up on him completely.
Way better than Episode I, which just dragged. This one moved!
Rating:
Summary: The critics and naysayers can kiss my ...!!!!
Review: I've been a SW fan ever since my parents took me to see Jedi twice when I was 5 and i've be a fan ever since, collecting anything Star Wars and watching the movies hundreds of times. Star Wars movies have never been favorites of the critics but this total backlash by some of the so-called fans of the original trilogy has surprised me. Let's remember people...THESE MOVIES ARE PG AND FAMILY FILMS AND IF YOU WANT A MORE ADULT SC-FI SERIES GO WATCH SOMETHING FROM THE OVERRATED STAR TREK SERIES! Most of the people who are complaining about story and dialoge didn't care about that 20-25 years ago when the originals came out mainly because we were all too damn young to care and loved the movies for what they were. Expectations have been set way to high for these new movies and that's where the problem lies. If you enjoy them for what they are and stop whining about how they are not CLONES of the original trilogy you'll enjoy them a hell of alot more. If it's not the plot or the wooden acting it's the child like feel of the films...DUH! Once again these films ARE directed towards the kids and the kid in all of us and that's what makes them so speical. They're not making toys for 30 year olds they are making them for KIDS and that's the main target audience of the films and always has been. Little kids don't care if Hayden's acting isn't good (even though it was brilliant and BETTER than Mark Hamil's acting)and they don't care if the dialoge is cheesy (which it has been throughout the series)they care about how fun it is and enjoy it for what it is. AOTC is everything anyone could want in a Star Wars movie and since day one of production we were promised a Empire like film and we got that. The romance between Anakin and Padme was great and worked well. This is the first SW film where the acting and the dialoge comes before the action and it makes it that much better. I know for a fact people are going to HATE EP.3 because it's too dark and not like the originals but like many huge Star Wars fan I will love it for what it is and may I recomend if you liked Clones to try and go back and re-watch Menace because Clones makes it alot better. The originals in my opinion will NEVER be topped because they were something special but the new trilogy is something special on it's own and when it's all said and done I think the naysayer and critics will be able to get into all of them when they can watch them all together as Lucas has intended them to be seen....one big 12 hour movie! Remember...all of these movies set up the final 3 films and it's not like Lucas has just came up with these stories in the past few years! These ideas have been around since the 70's and come from the same brilliant mind as the 1st 3. I'm sorry if anyone's childhood has been robbed but GROW UP!!!! These films aren't a part of your childhood and maybe that's why you can't enjoy them...because you've lost the kid in you!
Rating:
Summary: A Triumph of Storytelling
Review: Episode II completely surpassed the expectations I had for the prequal triology after seeing The Phantom Menace. It fits perfectly with the other four films and makes them all better by deepening the story of Star Wars even more. It has it's awkward moments but these are easily overshadowed by the films unbeliveable visuals and powerful moments. I hope everyone seeing these movie goes in to it with an open mind and ready to be entertained. While others have said that the acting was horrible and the dialogue equally as bad, I felt the acting was quite good without being overly dramatic and the dialogue had only a few weak spots. One note; to fully enjoy Attack of the Clones I would suggest having a good knowledge of all the other Star Wars films and some of the back story behind them. For some people the story may seem confusing but if you work at understanding it I'm sure you'll find it amazingly rich.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty [Darn] Good
Review: Like everyone else with a pulse, I was psyched to see the new Star Wars. However, after the Phantom Menace, which I would consdier to be an ok movie, but a disgrace to the Star Wars name, I was a bit nervous about Attack of the Clones. Well, I have seen Star Wars twice already and I can lay those fears to rest. While I don't think it was good as Star Wars (i refuse to call it A New Hope or Episode IV or anything-it'll always be Star Wars) or The Empire Strikes Back, I actually did find it better than Return of the Jedi. I won't mention the plot because any Star Wars fan knows it already anyway. What I will say, though, is that the first half may have been to soap-operish. Had the movie ended there, I would have given it 4 stars but the second half is all classic Star Wars fighting. It more than made up for the first half and warrants Episode II a 5-star movie.
Rating:
Summary: You have got to be joking
Review: Star Wars - the original trilogy - has been one of my favourite stories ever since I saw it on the 1997 re-release. When I first saw The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, my jaw dropped to the floor in amazement, I was excited, scared, I laughed, I almost cried. Of course, I waited impatiently for the arrival of The Phantom Menace, which turned out to be a halfhearted, fart-joke-riddled flick. However, I shrugged off the disappointment and prepared for Episode II, expecting it to be much better, perhaps on par with TESB (maybe the title should have tipped me off...)
And so I sat down in the theater, the lights dimmed, the Star Wars fanfare blazed, and the Star Wars logo soared through space, just like five years ago... It was an exhilarating moment.
It all went downhill from there.
Yes, it hurts me to say it, but Attack of the Clones [stinks]...I first saw the problem while reading the yellow text-crawl. "Separatist movement ... unstable Republic ... Senate going to vote ... blah, blah, blah" - what's this, the galactic CNN Headline News? I was hoping for an improvement once the action started for good, but no such luck. I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it, but basically, whereas in the first three movies the story took off into hyperspace from the word go, here it putters around in circles and goes nowhere. Despite the fact that we see two assassination attempts in the first ten minutes or so, there is no sense of urgency, no gripping struggle between good and evil. I guess Lucas was going for a sense of "ominous danger in the background", and that's fine in theory, but for some reason he could not pull it off. Maybe it's because of the stiff and artificial dialogue; maybe it's the acting, although I think the actors were trying to do their best with shlocky scripts and nonexistent directing. Anakin was overacting, and his lady, Padme Amidala, while not as stiff as in Episode I (which isn't saying much), still has a long way to go. My favourite character was Obi-Wan Kenobi, who at least had a personality, although he was too cynical at times (for example, when he says "Good work" to Anakin - if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about).
The main problem with the movie, aside from the acting/script thing, is that both too much and too little happens. Too much - because there's a whole bunch of plots and subplots and alliances and conflicts to keep track of: there's the Republic vs. the Trade Federation vs. the Clones vs. the separatists vs. the Jedi vs. the Sith vs. the ... oh, never mind, who cares. Too little - because none of the said plots feels in any way engaging. The romance between Anakin and Amidala had potential, but got bogged down with cheesy lines. ("I've been dying a little each day since I met you." Groan.)
By the end of the movie, I found myself poking fun at the action on screen (when a character said, "This does not look good," I said to myself, "No duh"). In the original trilogy, when Luke and Vader were fighting, I was on the edge of my seat, biting my fingernails off; here, my reaction at the "climactic" lightsaber swashbuckling was somewhere between resigned boredom and disbelief at how hokey it was. And don't get me started on the special effects; seems the reason Lucas did many scenes in the movie was to show off how clever his ILM people are with their l'il CGI programs. The only good thing about the movie was the music (you can always count on John Williams) and the hope that someday Lucas will release the original and still the BEST Star Wars trilogy on DVD.
|
