Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones - A Review 06/03/2002
Maybe, I had lower expectations than a lot of people. Maybe a lot of people had expected George to produce their personal Star Wars fantasy - I don't know. I do know that my reactions were much more positive and much less angry or disappointed than many I've seen. Yes, there are plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. Yes, Hayden Christensen's acting needed help at times. Yes, it was filmed like a video game.
Guess what? I still enjoyed it.
Ewan McGregor is a pleasure in his role as young Obi-wan Kenobi. His frustration with the headstrong, arrogant Anakin is apparent from the start, but he betrays a sense of humor with a couple of little one-liners as the film progresses. It's a good solid performance that doesn't detract from the movie. He's a good choice for the role.
I have a tall, slim, gifted 17-year-old son at home and guess what, on a bad day he can act just like Anakin does - tempemental, self-focused, feels held-back, etc. Christensen is just portraying a teen-ager so for me, those qualities didn't really detract from the film. His existence as a Jedi apprentice could easily lead to a stoic detached approach to life - no mother or father, no regular kids to hang out with, a future of service to the Republic with no familial ties - tie that in with a raging talent with the Force and yes, that leads him to feel resentment towards his master/mentor for enforcing the "Jedi code". Still, this doesn't excuse the "wooden indian" delivery in several scenes. . . .
Natalie Portman's portrayal of Padme didn't strike me as out of place as noted in some reviews. Padme's position as a planetary senator calls for restraint and measured responses. Ever watch a savvy politician at work? If you think that Ms. Portman isn't capable of outgoing, vivacious, grab-the-world acting, then watch Leon: The Professional. This restrained behavior was a conscious choice she made for her character, IMO.
Samuel Jackson was underused as Mace Windu. This is the most aggravating part of this picture. With his acting abilities, this could be one of the pivotal characters in this part of the series. Oh well, maybe next time?
One big plus was the expanded role for Yoda. He's a hiney-kickin' little tornado in one scene, and not just a homily-spouting old guy creeping around on a cane. R2 and C3PO are united (re-united?) in Episode II, with R2 once-again rescuing his tall clueless (headless?) companion.
Plot holes? Yes. Contrived plot? Not necessarily. There's another movie to come and it should go a long way towards finishing up the gaps. I don't discuss plots as a rule, but I can think of reasons to have the clone army and droid army evolving and clashing as they did. It was nice to see where the later-named Imperial Storm Troopers and the Death Star originated. It was nice to see how Boba Fett fits in the tale. So what if they are closing loops in the story's threads? I think it adds to the overall strength of the total work. One big plus was that this movie wasn't dumbed-down for the kiddies like Episode VI and Episode I. Jar-Jar wasn't the designated comic relief character - there was little of that provided, and only then by Obi-wan, C3PO and R2D2. Jar-Jar interestingly enough did - by himself - start the ball rolling towards the creation of the Empire. Go figure. He's not such a funny figure after all, huh?
Call me cynical, but I do see a video game in the making here: Level 1 - the city pursuit, Level 2 - the asteriod pursuit, Level 3 - the conveyor belt, Level 4 - the arena, and Level 5 - the climactic battle. Any bets on how long it takes to hit the market?
The special effects were George Lucas all the ways, lots and lots of them and when you thought "enough", here comes some more. The high point FX-wise for me was the asteroid scene. Great sense of motion, great sense of threat from the rocks and the mining charges. The mining charge explosions ought to be stunning in our home theaters! The battle scenes were VERY active with many moving characters, ships, animals and droids. While technically well done, the city scenes and the car pursuit were straight out of The Fifth Element complete with a vertical dive. Yawn. The analog print I saw was 2+ weeks old and in pretty good shape. The print was clean, the colors were vibrant, the details were clear. I would like to see one of the full digital prints as a comparison. I just have to find digital theater here in Houston.
Audio was not a disappointment. The surrounds are active almost constantly, the exception being a few quiet scenes between Anakin and Padme, and a couple of indoor dialog scenes elsewhere. The bass in the film (at least in the theater I was in) was very good. Again, the explosions in the asteroids chase should be a max bass experience. With the fly-overs, light sabers clashing, bodies flying, shots bouncing, explosions and general mayhem, this DVD should be one of the great audio references of all time. At least, we can hope.
I found the film to be somewhat too choppy and MTV-ish in its cuts from scene to scene. The first and second films had a flow to them that was missing in this one. This does seem to be the pattern in Hollywood these days, and it's too bad that George fell into line.
Overall, I did enjoy the movie. Not as much as Episode IV or Episode V, but more than Episode VI and much much more than Episode I. It's not the masterpiece so many wanted and some felt was their right, but it is still a big, fast, fun space cowboy opera and should be enjoyed as such. It breathes some life into the series again and as such I give it :35: out of :5:.
David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker
Maybe, I had lower expectations than a lot of people. Maybe a lot of people had expected George to produce their personal Star Wars fantasy - I don't know. I do know that my reactions were much more positive and much less angry or disappointed than many I've seen. Yes, there are plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. Yes, Hayden Christensen's acting needed help at times. Yes, it was filmed like a video game.
Guess what? I still enjoyed it.
Ewan McGregor is a pleasure in his role as young Obi-wan Kenobi. His frustration with the headstrong, arrogant Anakin is apparent from the start, but he betrays a sense of humor with a couple of little one-liners as the film progresses. It's a good solid performance that doesn't detract from the movie. He's a good choice for the role.
I have a tall, slim, gifted 17-year-old son at home and guess what, on a bad day he can act just like Anakin does - tempemental, self-focused, feels held-back, etc. Christensen is just portraying a teen-ager so for me, those qualities didn't really detract from the film. His existence as a Jedi apprentice could easily lead to a stoic detached approach to life - no mother or father, no regular kids to hang out with, a future of service to the Republic with no familial ties - tie that in with a raging talent with the Force and yes, that leads him to feel resentment towards his master/mentor for enforcing the "Jedi code". Still, this doesn't excuse the "wooden indian" delivery in several scenes. . . .
Natalie Portman's portrayal of Padme didn't strike me as out of place as noted in some reviews. Padme's position as a planetary senator calls for restraint and measured responses. Ever watch a savvy politician at work? If you think that Ms. Portman isn't capable of outgoing, vivacious, grab-the-world acting, then watch Leon: The Professional. This restrained behavior was a conscious choice she made for her character, IMO.
Samuel Jackson was underused as Mace Windu. This is the most aggravating part of this picture. With his acting abilities, this could be one of the pivotal characters in this part of the series. Oh well, maybe next time?
One big plus was the expanded role for Yoda. He's a hiney-kickin' little tornado in one scene, and not just a homily-spouting old guy creeping around on a cane. R2 and C3PO are united (re-united?) in Episode II, with R2 once-again rescuing his tall clueless (headless?) companion.
Plot holes? Yes. Contrived plot? Not necessarily. There's another movie to come and it should go a long way towards finishing up the gaps. I don't discuss plots as a rule, but I can think of reasons to have the clone army and droid army evolving and clashing as they did. It was nice to see where the later-named Imperial Storm Troopers and the Death Star originated. It was nice to see how Boba Fett fits in the tale. So what if they are closing loops in the story's threads? I think it adds to the overall strength of the total work. One big plus was that this movie wasn't dumbed-down for the kiddies like Episode VI and Episode I. Jar-Jar wasn't the designated comic relief character - there was little of that provided, and only then by Obi-wan, C3PO and R2D2. Jar-Jar interestingly enough did - by himself - start the ball rolling towards the creation of the Empire. Go figure. He's not such a funny figure after all, huh?
Call me cynical, but I do see a video game in the making here: Level 1 - the city pursuit, Level 2 - the asteriod pursuit, Level 3 - the conveyor belt, Level 4 - the arena, and Level 5 - the climactic battle. Any bets on how long it takes to hit the market?
The special effects were George Lucas all the ways, lots and lots of them and when you thought "enough", here comes some more. The high point FX-wise for me was the asteroid scene. Great sense of motion, great sense of threat from the rocks and the mining charges. The mining charge explosions ought to be stunning in our home theaters! The battle scenes were VERY active with many moving characters, ships, animals and droids. While technically well done, the city scenes and the car pursuit were straight out of The Fifth Element complete with a vertical dive. Yawn. The analog print I saw was 2+ weeks old and in pretty good shape. The print was clean, the colors were vibrant, the details were clear. I would like to see one of the full digital prints as a comparison. I just have to find digital theater here in Houston.
Audio was not a disappointment. The surrounds are active almost constantly, the exception being a few quiet scenes between Anakin and Padme, and a couple of indoor dialog scenes elsewhere. The bass in the film (at least in the theater I was in) was very good. Again, the explosions in the asteroids chase should be a max bass experience. With the fly-overs, light sabers clashing, bodies flying, shots bouncing, explosions and general mayhem, this DVD should be one of the great audio references of all time. At least, we can hope.
I found the film to be somewhat too choppy and MTV-ish in its cuts from scene to scene. The first and second films had a flow to them that was missing in this one. This does seem to be the pattern in Hollywood these days, and it's too bad that George fell into line.
Overall, I did enjoy the movie. Not as much as Episode IV or Episode V, but more than Episode VI and much much more than Episode I. It's not the masterpiece so many wanted and some felt was their right, but it is still a big, fast, fun space cowboy opera and should be enjoyed as such. It breathes some life into the series again and as such I give it :35: out of :5:.
David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker
ops: D'oh. I meant to mention his delivery and left it out. !%$*&^# Well, I went back and added a small comment at the end of the paragraph about him. 
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