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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: Better than the first
Review: I'm sure a lot of the material I'm stating here is a recap of other reviews, but I'm writing my opinion instead of trying to repeat known facts. As stated in the title, this film is better than the first, almost worth the wait. The reduction of Jar-Jar footage, increase in action, and inclusion of Yoda's skill with the Force/light-saber were welcome additions to the film. These and a few other features almost made this a Star Wars film. "Phantom Menace" was Star Wars for eight-year-olds; more of a computer animation than a live-action movie. The only character that made the movie was Darth Maul, and he was killed off.
"Attack of the Clones" picks up the pace, detailing more of the serious aspects of the Jedi's battle with the opposers of the Senate, as well as the evolving of the Empire. Anakin was once more a disappointment in the film; now he's a whiny little product of a boy-band who does nothing to prove his mastery of the Force as the so-called "chosen one". It is hard to see a connection between this little brat and the menacing Darth Vader that effortlessly struck fear into the hearts of men. Senator Amidala was a welcome sight in this film, and her outfits weren't nearly as radical or Japanese-based as those of the last film, but more original and elegant. The love scenes between her and Anakin weren't at all convincing, as it would seem rather difficult for her to fall in love with a little wimp like him.
The rest of the film wasn't bad; the Jedi fight scenes were fun to watch, the chase at the beginning was decent and the colisseum battles were more reminiscient of "Return of the Jedi". However, the film still lacked the feel of the original trilogy, as it seemed more like an excuse for cameos from stars such as Jimmy Smits and Sam Jackson. The stars in the first trilogy were no-names at the time, and played the parts beautifully. There's no Han Solo-type in the film, nor any Wookies (and thankfully, no Ewoks). Not saying that these were necessary, but they added more to the feel of the first trilogy. It will be nice, however, when in the next film all these half-hearted characters are killed off or banished to set up for the first trilogy. The question is, can we wait three more years for another disappointment to fall short to another "Matrix" movie?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AWESOME!!!
Review: Episode II is my second favorite in the Star Wars series so far. The DVD is awesome. The light-saber duels alone make this movie great. Buy it!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Oh dear
Review: Being a Lucas fan, my disapointment is enormous with this movie. I thought the best actors (Mcgregor, Lee, Jackson) were poorly used (if at all) and the Portman/Anakin duo were emphasized even though their acting is atrocious. This movie also lacked a vital soul and a true plot. I hope VI is better.

PREDICTION: I bet no one waits 2 months in line for the tickets to the next one.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Witless, mindless, pointless . . .
Review: ... but hey, at least I sat through it, which is more than can be said for the previous episode! As one who is old enough to have stood in line for two hours to experience the genuine excitement of the first Star Wars, it's difficult for me to believe that George Lucas has descended to this. Everything that made the first Star Wars what it was seems to have been irretrievably lost -- the wit, the surprising plot twists, the fine touch in casting, the meticulous directing, the awe-inducing special effects (oh, yes, there are "special effects" aplenty here, but they are no longer even vaguely special and some seemed to me to be completely unconvincing). Rather than watching a carefully crafted movie, I felt as though I'd blundered into a fairly cheesy computer game. The casting was completely unfathomable to me -- I have no idea who the people who played Anikin Skywalker and Ms. Senator even ARE, but they are so truly awful that I can only assume they were cast in these roles for marketing reasons rather than movie-making reasons. As I've watched the devolution of Star Wars from episode to episode, to the point that I've now taken a solemn vow never to watch another, I can only assume that George Lucas has completely given up on his original aspirations and his original audience and is now targeting only 12-year-olds who enjoy computer games and this sort of movie. (Not being an old snob here -- I watched Stuart Little 2 and Men In Black 2 on the same day and thought they were both major hoots.)

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A story that could have been, well... Ehn.
Review: The problem with the entire NU-trilogy is that they're letting Lucas direct it. It's like trying to watch an unpheasible collection of mini-dramas. Lucas relies so heavily on makeup and CG, there is no soul in his movies any more. He's just providing a fan-service to the masses who blindly rave on and on about how Star Wars is the most important family event in history. Blechh. The DVD's selling point is that it is the "first true digital to digital transfer." Like that makes the movie any better. It's like watching the most boring film imaginable, only higher definition.

There is no talent here, only a weak plot, undeveloped characters, and quite frankly the worst choice in male protaganists I have ever seen. Ewan McGregor is simply not up to any standards, and that Hayden Christenson is so wooden and incomplex. Like a pathetic angsty teenager, the reason he becomes so powerful and dark is because he decided to kill a bunch of Sandmen to avenge his parents. Yes, killing a bunch of Sandmen in a blind rage will now make Hayden Christenson a 'baddie', if you will.

There's no great mystery here, no deep dark secrets. It's like Lucas just decides to jump into each movie with foul smelling linear narratives with no character development, and a high disregard for anyone who is unfamiliar with the Star Wars idiom.

All in all, I can't say enough bad things about this movie. It was no wonder that my parents fell asleep in the cinema, the movie is as captivating as a brick wall, and half as meaningful. I'm sure the director had great intentions for the Star Wars franchise, but he needs to pass the buck already. Look at Empire Strikes Back, my favourite in the first trilogy, and it wasn't even directed by Lucas.

The DVD features aren't really worth speaking of. A selection of Lucas underlings overexplaining how they spent billions on pretty sets and costumes, and ignored the basic story elements to bring you a complete loser.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I just don't know
Review: This movie had it's moments, but they were far and few in between. ObiWan and Anakin's chase through the city after the bounty hunter was supposed to be real cool (ala pod race from Episode I), but it honestly just didn't do much for me. The epic Clone Battle was definately cool , as were the light saber duals between Sidious, Anakin, ObiWan, and of course Yoda. A lot of the movie just seems like filler though. The most accomplished actor in this whole picture is ObiWan, he must get credit for trying to carry this movie with his acting, espescially when he is in an empty room talking to creatures and characters who will be added in later.

If you couldn't stand Anakin in Episode I, prepare yourself for II. He goes from an annoying little kid to an annoying big kid. A pretty boy who tries to express his inner turmoil, while falling in love (as a Jedi is a no no) through his acting just falls flat. He looks like he'd be more comfortable making a video with the BackStreet Boys.

The special effects of course are great, not surprisingly since that is LucasArt's specialty. But I think this whole movie has too much drama with wooden performances and drama that is laughable. The chemistry between Leia and Han is nowhere to be seen in any character in this whole movie.

Best scenes are ObiWan and Jango's fight, much too short though; the execution arena, the final fight, and of course Yoda. Jengo dying as easily as he did really ticked me off, but what can you do? George has no love for the bounty hunters in this series of movies.

C3PO and R2D2 round out the movie with their own brand of comic relief and it is a breath of fresh air from the somber, dreadful, and forbidden love story.

Well all we can do is wait for Part III and complain some more.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: It's Time for Us to Admit The Truth
Review: Sigh. After 26 years, countless words, and 5 movies, it's time for us to admit the awful truth we've been afraid to see.

George should have stopped with the first movie. The only reason to own any of the others is to find out more about the original story. But Lucas is like Homer: The Iliad is unimportant without the Odyssey.

Hey, I was his most avid supporter, once. I saw the original 5 times in the first 2 weeks it was out. I took a very special woman to Episode 5, and my wife-to-be to Episode 6. I was as hooked as anyone past the age of 21 could be (that means I never owned any action figures).

Alas, I was somewhat puzzled by the lack of pizzazz in Return of the Jedi. Carrie Fisher in a bikini is just not enough for me (sorry Carrie). Episode One sat there lifeless, and Episode 2 was just a sorry muddle. None of them come close to the original. I shudder to think what will happen if George lives long enough to start work on Episodes 7, 8, and 9.

Lucas' technical brilliance and daring are legendary. I think he's as important as Spielberg to the modern movie genre; more important if you count Lucasfilm, ILM, Skywalker Sound, etc.

But as a storyteller, he's had only one real winner. American Grafitti comes in a distant second.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Great DVD; terrible film
Review: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is touted as the first "all digital" production. It was photographed in 24P hi-res, digitally editied, composited, and mixed. The DVD master was downsampled from original elements. It shows - the quality of the picture and sound is nothing less than astounding. If you have a home theater system and need a disc to show off what it can do, I can think of no better one than this.

But the film itself? Sigh.

George Lucas seems to have fallen into the same rut as his compatriot Francis Ford Coppola - only much further. Where once was visionary talent, there is now only special effects that, dazzling though they are, cannot mask the truly insipid drivel that passes for a story. It is not credible as science fiction, fantasy, or myth. It's tired, illogical, pointless, dull, pretentious, poorly conceived, and badly acted (though Christoper Lee and Frank Oz are pretty good as Count Dookie - er, Dooku, and the voice of Fozzy - er, Yoda, respectively).

It is nearly impossible to imagine that the man who made THX-1138, American Grafitti, and the original Star Wars (before it was subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope) could possibly have made this film. My ten year-old nephew could have written better dialogue. Really.

But boy, the disc sure looks and sounds great...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: New addition for Mystery Science Theater 2000
Review: After Return of the Jedi, I was struck by how George was moving
away from great fantasy moving making to just plain sap. It is
really a sad thing having grown up with these movies. I still
remember standing in line in '77 to see the first one and subsequently for the second and 3rd installments. I don't see
anyway back here. The plot is booring, the CGI completly makes
these films unremarkable, and the acting is so stale and lifeless to make you wonder, other than for money, that this film was made. I shudder to think what the 3rd, and hopefully,
final installment will be like.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Still a decent Star Wars film!
Review: After I went to see Star Wars-Episode 2: Attack of the Clones in June 2002, I thought that George Lucas had fully redeemed himself
for the cheesy but occasionally thrilling Episode 1. Episode 2 continues the Star Wars saga with Anakin Skywalker maturing into a young man, falling in love with Senator Amidala and rebelling against his mentor Obi-Won Kenobi, which will then lead up to Skywalker giving in to the Dark Side and becoming Darth Vadar in Episode 3. The movie, itself, has some awesome action-sequences, especially Kenobi's fight with Jango Fett, the arena battle and the climatic confrontation between Yoda and Count Dooku (It was simply incredible to watch) However, I believe the film is weighed down by some bad acting. Besides that, Episode 2 is a great middle installment for the Star Wars franchise. By all means, if you have not seen it yet, do so.


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