EPISODE II - Dejio's's Review -Spoiler Alert!
I have watched the movie here in Manila during one of Episode II's Premier showing (early screenings) last May 12, 2002.
I'm a Star Wars and a George Lucas fan. I've said this so that you'll know where I'm coming from (standpoint) with this review.
I'll start out with the general reviews of Episode II-AOTC. None of the following lines are real spoilers yet. I'll warn you later during the last part of my review. IN BOLD LETTERS!
Here goes..
-The Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) was really the best I've seen to date. Sometimes I'm guessing which ones are CGI's and which ones aren't. Though some CGI's were just overkill.
-The sounds were awesome (I watched it on a THX theater). But my brother commented that they rehashed some of the sounds from Episode I and used it on a completely different source
(i.e. A three horned creature sounded like one of the pod racers in Episode I.)
-I loved the look of the clone army.
-There was this scene with Yoda which i liked. But, the same scene have mixed reactions with the audience.
-Ewan McGregor was great. His acting has really matured in this film. There was this scene were he used the FORCE to make a drug dealer rethink his life. Very much like how Alec Guiness portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi.
-The planet, where the clone army was being made, was great. It expands the Star Wars Universe. Though it's more of how Steven
Spielberg envisions his aliens than George Lucas. But then again how am I supposed to know that?!
-My brother liked Jango Fett. Though I didn't like the whole story behind Fett. I miss seeing Darth Maul in action.
THE FOLLOWING NEXT LINES ARE REAL SPOILERS TO END ALL SPOILERS. SO IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE AND WANT TO WATCH IT WITH AN OPEN MIND, STOP READING!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Episode II-Attack Of The Clones movie was, to put it simply, was a major dissapointment.
It was boring. It's like this...
Start of movie title....Blah, blah, blah for 30mins or so..
then action scene reminiscent of Fifth Element..
then Blah, blah, blah,...then unconvincing puppy love scenes interchanging with Obi-Wans investigations and confrontation with Jango Fett..
then more Blah, blah,
Blah, blah, blah... then the last 40 mins dedicated for the final showdown....
...Movie Credits
The acting and the script was bad.
Ewan McGregor was the only salvation of this film. Christopher Lee was great, but I'd rather watch him in Lord of the Rings than in this movie since he portrays similar characters.
Natalie Portman still acts a little stiff here.
Hayden Christensen was a major dissappointment as Anakin. His acting, together with his dialogue is as bad as it gets.
During the first part of the movie, Anakin and Obi-Wan have an argument. Much too early and much too long than was really needed. During the rest of the movie Anakin contradicts/fights with Obi-Wan for reasons I can't really understand. I can't sympatize with the guy. He's just acting like a spoiled brat.
There was this scene were he tries to rescue his mother only to have her die in his arms seconds after he finds her. Huh?!! What timing. She survived as a prisoner for weeks then just suddenly
dies the same time she sees her son! Unbelievable. Better if she was shot or something.
Then, just when you think you'll see a scene where Anakin uses all his skills to take his revenge on his mothers captors.. he kills two guards and later on just tells Amidala that he killed everyone. Sheesh! Anti-climactic.
He keeps on saying that he wasn't strong enough to save his mother. HUH!? It's not much of a question of how strong he is, it's more of a timing issue. To top it all off, he blames Obi-Wan for it. What has Obi-Wan got to do with his mothers failed rescue? Again, it's more of a timing issue. Not strength, skill or whatever.
I also didn't like the story behind Jango Fett. The father of Boba Fett. What the @#$% happened here? Wasn't Boba Fett's supposed to get his armour from an elite group which he was a member of?
Bounty Hunters are not an elite group of any kind. That's Mandelorian armour isn't it? (If i got that right) Then why wasn't this mentioned in the film for his fathers armour (Which looks exactly the same)? It wasn't mentioned if his father came from a group of some sort. It would be better if Boba Fett's roots came from an elite group of soldiers which have fallen. That would explain his armour and his cunning skills as a bounty hunter (like originally concieved) Instead of giving us another take on the Father Syndrome.
Oh well, if George Lucas is thinking right, which i don't think he is after seeing these last two movies, he'll incorporate the story on Episode III.
What ever happened to Qui-Gon Jinn? There's not even a whisper of him in this movie. I think George Lucas made a bubu in Episode I when he decided to burn the body of Qui-Gon Jinn instead of having it dissappear like all Jedi's. Or maybe he simply forgot about it?!!!
Going back to Anakin Skywalker.. He was portrayed as a brat. He was also like a pervert here in the scene where he touches Amidala's bare back and when she looked at him in surprise, he gave a smile like he wanted to take advantage of her or something. It just doesn't work. There's just no chemistry between these two.
The friction between Anakin and Obi-Wan was too much. There's even greater friction between Anakin and everyone else. Which is bad. I know what George Lucas was trying to deliver but it was
too much. Too much that he made Anakin a very unlikeable character. It's better if they showed the real good in Anakin and his strong friendship with his mentor Obi-wan so that the audience would like him and sympatize with him when he starts to turn to the Dark Side. This would have really made a more moving turn of events. But after seeing Anakin in AOTC, I just can't wait to get his @$$ kicked by Obi-Wan in Episode III.
That's my opinion anyway.
I could go on and on with the bad reviews. But I'll stop here. The movie was a real dissappointment. Not worthy of the original Star Wars Trilogy (IV, V, VI). No one even clapped or cheered at the end of the movie unlike in Episode I-TPM. They all just wanted to go home.
It failed on a lot of aspects. But mainly, it failed to capture our hearts and imagination as the originals did.
I really hate to say this but, the old man (George Lucas) has lost it (Magic).
For those of you who have still read this last part even after all my warnings. Sorry, curiosity just got the better of you. Anyway, watch the movie just the same. I hope you prove me wrong.
..though I doubt it.