Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones WARNING: This topic is intended for SPOILER information. Do not continue if you do not wish to know certain details of this film. 3.5/4.0 rating. No Star Wars film is truly perfect. Okay, I admit that the love story was ... well, if you're familiar with Lucas' dialogue limitations, you know what to expect. But considering what we already know going into this film, we must accept its presence. The love story, the most prominent weakness of this film, is quite obviously vital to the story in a number of ways. The second weakness of the film is a rather intense action scene in a manufacturing plant that seems slightly out-of-place until one stops and considers the video game possibilities. And that's about it for the weaknesses. That aside, what this film has going for it is almost inestimable. We learn much about the internal dynamics of the Jedi, and get a hint toward the scope of their operation, even to the point of a scene in which Yoda is training young Jedi-to-be (a sugar-cute throwback to Luke on the Falcon en route to Alderan). We even learn some limitations of the Force which contribute to the manipulation of the Jedi toward war. It's a well-crafted sequence of events that leads to the first battle of the Clone Wars. Lucas has to be given much credit for his construction of the situation. In addition, we get a few humorous moments: we meet Owen and Beru, and have a nostalgic moment as Anakin Skywalker stands at the edge of the family compound, staring into the Tattooine sunset. There's a line in there about sand ... oh, ye gods. But far and away, the biggest laugh of the show was for Yoda's entry to the lightsabre duel with Torannis. Classic cornball cinema affectionately received by the audience. It was, of course, followed by the biggest cheer of the evening as Yoda lights his weapon. I have to admit, it tugs at you a bit. This particular duel is well worth the price of admission in and of itself. And as to the Jar Jar bit. Yes, he's in the film. No, he doesn't have that many minutes. And yes, you get a certain satisfaction out of his presence. It is fair to say that the Republic fell in part because of Jar Jar Binks. Take great delight in that moment. The chase scene is breathtaking. The battle scenes are ridiculously cool. I'm not sure I can express how cool it was to see Yoda leading a mass landing of republican stormtroopers, nor can I put words to the battle that follows. To say it's huge is a little like saying the Universe is roomy. The only bad part about that battle scene is that it must, eventually, end. And the arena fight? Yeah, the Jedi are badass. But Yoda and the lightsabre ... I figured he would have to float around or something via the Force. Not so. I had no idea the little bugger could move like that. It's purely a rave-review. Get over the love story in advance and don't bother with it. It's necessary both in terms of the story itself and in the rise of Anakin Skywalker. And, in fact, it provides the cliffhanger. I'm being incomplete on purpose, though. I can't possibly sew the story together right now, but we do know certain things of all Star Wars films. On the one hand, it's nearly seamless. On the other hand, it's still a Star Wars film and all that carries with it. The story is overarching and not easily related without digressing into the whole of the Star Wars tale. But if you go into it expecting a Star Wars film, you'll be more than simply pleased. You'll be dazzled. If you go into it as Ebert did, expecting an art-house film, well ... think of it this way--everything about the dialogue that can be said has been. And the love story too. Let it go, let it go. Of criticisms of the image resolution, I must disagree. It looks spectacular. Effectswise, I think Lucas answered all the people who criticized Episode I for its apparent lack of visual candy. Again, I remind those that they probably aren't aware of exactly what was in those frames, but Episode II essentially leaves no doubt about the special effects. There is, in fact, a great Aldous Huxley moment in the film--thousands of clones in little glass jars. Nobody should complain about the effects in this film. Lord of the Rings be damned ... for all that film had going for it, it didn't have Yoda with a lightsabre. It didn't have a massive landing of stormtroopers. Oh, there is one other drawback to the film ... the bit about R2 flying. I had no problem with it, but it was the first thing out of one of my counterparts' mouth. So there's that. But I don't think anyone in the theater tonight was disappointed. But it's 3:30 and I'm not up to the big review. Let this topic serve as the review station for anyone who wants to post spoiler information during these first few weeks. But my review is in: Too f--king cool. I'll try some more coherent commentary soon. I'm seeing it again this weekend, for sure, and possibly in between. And it was amazing ... we found a theater that was only 2/3 full ... it was a comfortable showing. But I seriously must see the video game version of Yoda with a lightsabre. If they can reproduce that for computer or game system ... ooh, baby. It's worth it. Go see this film. Seriously. thanx, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I saw Attack Of The Clones today too, and 3.5 to 4 out of 5 is exactly the same rating I would give it. It was a vast improvement over The Phantom Menace, with more emphasis on plot in the first half hour/ hour of the film than the Phantom Menace did. I thought the first part of the film was dissapointing but the movie improved as the minutes wore on. Hayden's performance was at times, great, and at other times, awful, but I bought it. The film was generally more entertaining, and the fight with Jango Fett was pretty cool, especially the chase through the asteroid belt. And there were a lot more links with the old trilogy, (the plans for the death star were revealed as well as a young Owen Laars and Lukes future home) The thing is, there still felt like there was something missing, some spirit of the previous films still wasn't there. It was a good show, and the final lightsaber battle was impressive but it is stil flawed. If Attack Of the Clones had been the first episode, then I think Star Wars would be in a better position than it is now, but sometimes I wonder whether it is too little, too late. But overall it was satisfying enough, and I enjoyed it
At this point it might be .... I think I know exactly what you're talking about, but have no idea what it means in a specific sense. I had thought originally it was the relationship between seeing, essentially, the rise of Boba Fett while already knowing the poetic end of that particular story. And I had thought it might have something to do with Anakin's temper tantrum on Tattooine. And I thought it might have something to do with the established difficulties of the Force. But I also think it's the fact that Lucas cannot surprise us, and can only impress us or fail to do so. Whereas each story in the original trilogy was new to us and full of surprises, the only real surprise of Episode I was how badly Jar Jar went over, and the only real surprise here is how crappy Anakin is with a lightsabre. Don't get me wrong, I loved the way he and Torannis inched after each other at that one point, Oh, I take it back--having Jar Jar exposing the Republic to its undoing was surprising and particularly satisfying because, as much as one sympathizes with the situation, it can only serve to give the anti-Jar Jar crowd to hate about the character. Ridiculous criticisms of his mere presence be damned, there is now something worth laughing at about the character, and those inclined to take Star Wars too seriously will, in fact, develop a visceral reaction to the character's actions instead of his mere presence. Harrison Ford used to point out the difficulties of reading a Lucas script. The "navicomputer" line was one of his favorites. I think the "sand" line from Anakin is the new all-time classic Lucasism. Simply for not busting into laughter on camera, Ms Portman deserves an Oscar. I wonder if that was a multi-take scene ... But I have no idea what is "missing" from the film. I admit I feel it, like a disturbance in the Force. But I'm not sure it's not the nature of our expectations. Time, and future viewings, might reveal that point. thanx much, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I think AOTC suffers a few problems that The Phantom Menace did. For instance, the first half of the film doesn't really give us a satisfying villain central to the plot. Jango Fett was cool, and Count Dooku was impressive, and there was a brief run in with Palpatine again, but there was a lack of focus. In Ep IV: A New Hope, Vader appears in practically the first scene, whereas in AOTC, there didnt seem to be a real presence of danger until part way through the movie. If Darth Maul had survived The Phantom Menace, then there would have been a familiar villain in AOTC that could have given some weight to the opposition early on, though whether Darth Mauls presence would have added anything to AOTC is debatable. Perhaps if Dooku had been the villain in The Phantom Menace then there would be some more consistency between the films. Perhaps its because of the fact that the characters are changing about so much in this trilogy. For instance, in The Phantom Menace, we were introduced To Darth Maul, A child Anakin, Qui-Gon, a young Obi-wan, Jar Jar, etc. but now in AOTC, Darth Maul is dead, Qui Gon is dead, Anakin is much older, Jar Jar is barely in the film (though perhaps thats a good thing). Dooku is the new villain blah blah blah. With the old trilogy, the central cast of characters pretty much remained the same throughout the trilogy (with perhaps some minor additions), which made it easier to become familiar with them, while in this new trilogy, characters are coming and going, aging, and dying before there is really a chance to really become attatched to them. Its one possibility. I know it sounds like I didnt enjoy AOTC, dont get me wrong, I did. But George Lucas needs to seriously evaluate what he plans to do with Ep III
I gave it a 4, it's most entertaining, at the moment THE most entertaining Star Wars I thought the same thing, just like the pod race in Episode 1 Another thing...saw this on IMDB I live in Sweden so I saw this scene, we have a >= 11 year to see this movie. What do you think about this? I would like episode 3 to be >= 15 (highest it goes here in sweden), though I know that will never happen as they will miss out on alot of money
I give it a 3.5. On my scale it's better than ANH, second to ESB. The only thing that keeps me from saying that it's better is the awkwardness in some parts, the fact that we only now have a real badass villan (Dooku I hope, maybe Nute Gunray-who still got away, so he will undoubtedly influence what happens in Episode 3).
im sorry the film was good and all but the jedi SUCKED these all powerfull, a knowing people couldn't even sence that the dart was coming? STUPID and 3PO's jokes SUCKED Yoda rocked and when all the light sabers suddenly poped up everywhere, DAM
Well, I liked it a lot. I've been a fan ever since I saw the first film at the cinema when I was little. WHAT I LIKED The jedi were cool. Like they say in the film, they aren't soldiers, they're peacekeepers, basically secret police for the Republic. They are too rare to be soldiers. This film showed how hideously, super-humanly powerful they are. Jango Fett rocks. He took on a jedi and came out even-ish. He only got his arse kicked when he went up against Mace Windu, who is pretty much Number Two behind Yoda. Slave 1 rocks. When they were dashing through the rock field and trying to shoot the jedi fighter, that was cool. Slave 1's guns just blasting away all over the place. Groovy. Those seismic charges from Slave 1 were a damn groovy weapon in that rock field. The noise was maybe a tad silly, but it sounded cool and added a bit of grooviness. Anakin. I thought they did his character quite well. He was supposed to be an overly-emotional prat, and he was. Maybe that kid isn't the greatest actor ever, but they did the right thing by making Anakin a prat. Natalie Portman. 'Nuff said. The storm troopers were cool, much better than in the other three movies. These guys are supposed to be damn good soldiers, and they looked extremely cool in this film. I liked the extraction from the arena. Phantom Menace shadow. On Tatooine, Anakin was standing at one point outside the surface section of the home where Luke grows up. Anakin's shadow falling across the white dome is the poster that was released for Phantom Menace, with Anakin as a kid and Darth Vader's shadow on the house. I thought that was quite well done. The poison dart. A clever bit of planning on Palpatine's part. Leaving such a piece of evidence instead of using a blaster bolt, to lead the jedi to Kamino and give the Republic that new army to oppose the seditionist droid army. Mace Windu kicked arse. He falls a hundred feet, hits the ground running and starts lopping off heads. YODA WITH A LIGHT SABRE!!! Yoda is the king. When he stood there in the classic kung fu pose awaiting the attack, squinting and all, I was really happy. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE The jedi dudes should have seen Jango Fett's dart coming. Ont he other hand, we know that the dark side force users can dull the perceptions of the jedi. So it is possible one was there to stop them sensing the coming dart. Just an excuse. The car chase bit when they chased Zam Wessel seemed to me an excuse to release a Pod Racer 2 game.
Okay - just saw the film so I can take off the self-imposed blinkers I've had on. I did all I could to avoid knowing anything about the film, biut cracked and read a review. Forunately it didn't give too much away so I was not aware of the entire plot before seeing it. I pretty much agree with everything that's been said. A vast improvemnet on TPM and much more the feel of Star Wars (it seemed much less Disney and made for kids). Liked the darker atmosphere and new planets. All the money was definitely on screen (it certainly wasn't in the script!). The 'Sound of Music' romance was fairly cringe-making, but mercifully over with quite swiftly (we also had an interesting Obi Wan sidetrack to keep us going). Acting was actually patchy. Poor old Natalie (wow! in that white outfit!) had the worst lines. She struggled (but hey, who's listenting to what she's saying anyway). Anakin was patchy. I expect the rant seen he had after his mother died was where he screen-tested, because I thought he handled the rage stuff pretty well but struggled with the charm. Obi Wan was much better and Samuel L Jackson finally had some reasonable dialogue (and some bad, admittedly). I agree about the 'something missing'. Harrison Ford. The character that was always able to puncture any Lucas efforts to take it all too seriously. He was also naturalistic, despite the dialogue, and a character you really cared about. I also think the CGI (spectacular as it is) is over-used. I'm torn here because I love the epic quality, but it just doesn't feel right. The old sets from the first three just felt 'real'. While the CGI is incredibly 'realistic' there's something not right and it just doesn't work when you mix CGI animals with real people. After having really enjoyed it and been thankful it's not a repeat of TPM, I feel I can now make enormous fun of some of the holes in the film while still loving it (something we all love to do about the first three). Couldn't do it with TPM - I would make fun, but knew that I was making fun of substantial flaws. So - questions I have: Padme brushes aside Anakin's 'I have just slaughtered a village, including women and children' line and seems more attracted than ever to him. 'There, there, you were upset...' The man's a war criminal! (good scene - Tusken Raider slaughter - though. Would have liked more of the massacre) The Jedi Council is apparently not in the least concerned that someone has ordered a Clone Army for them without their knowledge. They just go and collect the troops and don't ask questions. Are they not slightly concerned about this bizarre and worrying situation? Especially considering that the link between the Clone Army and the Jedi who intitiated it is Jango Fett - attempted assassin of Padme and supporter of Dooku! This looks odd to me and my Jedi powers are pretty limited. But enough whining. I loved the film on the whole and look forward to Episode III with renewed hope. As distant and arogant as Lucas appears, I think he listened to TPM complaints. Keep it going and Lucas - PLEASE don't write and direct Episode III! Get someone else to do it (ala Empire Strikes Back - some hope!)
They should clone the guy who directed ESB, he also did 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'-an excellent 60's or 50'sish scifi film in its own right. ESB was a damn good movie and I think now more than ever we need another damn good movie from georgey porgey. There's no chance in hell he's going to listen to us, I don't doubt that it's official that he's directing the next film. He has the good director in him-don't forget American Grafitti, and ANH.
2.5/4 As much as some of you would like to overlook the obviously forced and tourtured (especially for the viewers) romance between Padme and Anakin it is the essential point of this movie and of the trilogy. The eye candy and videogame cliches can not hide the fact that Lucas failed in his primary duty as a story teller.
Interesting I find this a very interesting point, and not one without merit. If I might, Radek, In which story did Lucas fail? There are several ways I might regard such a notion, and none of them necessarily false; rather, I happen to not agree with my own projections. It's to be expected. But, perhaps this will help. To take the love story, for instance, and hold it up for examination, I see a number of painful necessities. It is, unfortunately, a necessity of the narrative. Lucas must explain, among other things, how we come to reach our entry in media res to ANH. In this sense, the love story becomes a tragic necessity of the tale. If anything, I must fault Lucas for giving it too much attention. Whereas the appealing romance of Han Solo and Princess Leia developed somewhat as a result of the original script, there are additional factors calling Lucas' attention to this part of the script. In the love story, I would say that Lucas' failure is placing too much emphasis on what he knows he shouldn't waste much time on. A storytelling failure that I project (and reject, such as seems my way) has to do with the scale of the Star Wars epic. I think that in giving us as much as Lucas did, he allowed a certain expectation among the viewers as to what the romance should look like. Part of that is its packaging, and moments of sensitive dialogue in a Star Wars film always stick out like broken fingers. If Lucas could get away with I love you/I know in the Solo/Organa affair, it was in part because of the freedom he enjoyed in creating the characters. Events in this film must relate to already-established events in the chronology. Lucas gave us more than he needed to, and therein is where I find fault. But this is just an example, and drawn from my own projections. I'm much more interesting, good Radek, in your own assessment of Lucas' failures. I look forward to reading it, if you would be so kind. thanx much, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Re: Interesting Hi Tiassa, The point I was trying to make was that Lucas’s main driving force in this prequel trilogy is the story of Anakin and his transformation into Darth Vader. All other subplots are to support the central story. As this is the case, the love story between Anakin & Padme is essential to the central theme of the trilogy. It had to be there without it there is no continuity between eps 1-3 and 4-6. Lucas failed in my opinion because the success of this movie and the trilogy depends on the quality of this scene and the quality of the actor behind the Anakin character. If the love between Anakin and Padme is forced or ungenuine then the movie falls apart because the audience will fail to connect with the characters who will drive the story. If the audience doesn’t connect with or sympathize with the character of Anakin the story loses its drama. What use is it that the actor “looks” the part if he doesn’t act the part. That is where the difference is made if the scenes (the love scene and the Shimi death scene), dialogue, acting and directing are done correctly then the movie will succeed and will flesh out the trilogy more completely. As it was I felt that those scenes were poorly acted, poorly directed and poorly written and as such the movie and the trilogy suffered. What could have been a great Star Wars movie ended up becoming just a good FX flick.
I give it 3 1/2 now, but reserve the right to raise it if it becomes better on repeated viewings... which wouldn't surprise me at all. Right now, I'd call it second only to The Empire Strikes Back. It's almost as dark, actually more interesting for the first hour of it than ESB, but has more problems towards the end. I was surprised to find the romance wasn't so bad... actually I liked it, the forced nature of it was perfect for the kind of fatalism their romance is all about. It's perfect how Padme can see it's the wrong way to go, and how Anakin is guided by his emotions. Trim 10 minutes off of the execution scene and another 5 off of the clone battle, and it'd be perfect. Unfortunately the shooting all looks the same after a while, even with lightsabers. That sequence is sort of the pod race of AOTC, a spot where Lucas just seemed to think of how fun it was to make and forgot how boring it is to watch. The first half is perfect, 4 stars. I love the way the mystery develops, it's perfect how Palpatine sets things up, and how Obi-Wan follows the clues. The very end part is great as well. The clone battle... just boring, I wish I could edit it down.
There is one thing at the beginning I'd really like to change. I'd really like to have seen this seen included, which is in the script: That would have made things a lot clearer as far as Padme's position, and would've added a lot to the story. Nice foreshadowing: "Many will lose their lives. All will lose their freedom. This decision could very well destroy the very foundation of our great Republic. I pray you do not let fear push you into a disastrous decision." Can't believe they cut that. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! And this is another good scene that seems to have been cut:
