Dave2112
Level of Cherry Feather
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- Apr 17, 2001
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WOW! HOLY CRAP! UNBELIEVEABLE!
Ok, now that I've gotten that out of the way...
For any of you who might be staying away from this movie because of Episode I, don't do yourself this disservice. Attack of the Clones succeeds at every point that The Phantom Menace failed. From the opening credits to the closing ones, AOTC never stops. The action is almost constant, broken up only by the romantic scenes between Anakin and Padme, which weren't as overdone as many critics have stated.
Hayden Christansen does a wonderful job as the torn youth who will become Darth Vader. Rather than play him as spoiled or overly arrogant, you can sense the confusion in him and the inability to know how to deal with his formidable power. In a foreshadowing of his decision to destroy Palpatine in Return of the Jedi, Anakin shows great remorse for a slaughter that he is responsible for. The line by Obi-Wan to Anakin ("Why do I feel that you'll be the death of me?") would not have come across as well as it did had Anakin been no more than a spoiled brat. The scene with Anakin and his mother was very well done by Hayden, and in the theater I saw this in...you could feel the tension rise as Anakin's eyes first watered then narrowed down to slits...
Natalie Portman has been quite "babeified" in this film. Not a little girl anymore, she handles herself just as well combating battle droids and monstrous arena creatures as she does in parrying with Anakin as they skirt the issue of thier growing emotions.
Ewan McGregor has become Obi-Wan Kenobi. Shades of the late Alec Guinness are present in his every move and inflection. In a tense scene where he must re-direct Anakin's attention to the task at hand, despite an immediate danger to Padme, McGregor comes across not as a doting teacher or angry parent, but as a mentor who realizes exactly how full his hands have become with this youth he's taken on.
The scenery is splendid, from the lush colors of Naboo the the awesome spectacle of Coruscant at night. The sheer scope of the city-planet is thrown right at you as you watch Obi-Wan and Anakin chase a would-be assassin through the city, above the city and at the bottom of it. Fans of the original trilogy will love the scenes at the Tattooine homestead of Clieeg and Owen Lars, right down to a meal at the very table where Luke will one day argue with Owen over going to the Academy, and the same garage where Luke will discover the holographic message hidden in a certain astromech droid. The tense moments between Anakin and Owen (done with little more than expression, but quite clear nonetheless) will bring real meat to the scene in Star Wars where Beru tells Owen that Luke is too much like his father...and Owen responds with "That's what I'm afraid of".
Another plot from the original trilogy that takes on new emotion is the wizened old Master Yoda alone on Dagobah. Rather than being simply a lone old Jedi...we can remember the colleagues and great friends he lost to Palpatine and Vader, and get a much better feel of everything that he and the Jedi had lost. You can sense a real friendship and respect between Yoda and Mace Windu...played well by Samual L. Jackson, if perhaps a tad too "Shaft-like" in a few scenes.
Yoda is something that simply must be seen to be believed! There's a reason that he's remembered as the greatest Jedi Master...and we finally get to see it. I cannot in good faith spoil anything by giving this away, but let me say that the real action hero this time around is the little green guy, sporting quite a bit more attitude than we're used to.
Many layers of the story have been peeled away here, including the relationships between Yoda, Count Dooku, Palpatine and even Qui-Gon Jinn. And you will not believe the "little project" that we find out the seperatist movement is actually working on...
One character whose appearance I hope to see again was Dexter Jettster, Obi-Wan's alien friend and sometimes informant. Wonderful job on him.
The action on the watery planet Kamino (whose indiginous species is a marvel of creation...graceful and colorful to watch) starts to foreshadow the carreer of Boba Fett...as does the awesome spectacle of the arena battle between the Jedi, the Republic Army and the Seperatist factions on the desert world of Geonosis. If anything, there may have been a bit of overload in this final battle, but the sheer scope is magnificant. A chase through the asteroid field around Geonosis between Obi-Wan and the Slave I gave a feel of The Empire Strikes Back to the film, which I enjoyed.
There is very little Jar-Jar to annoy the nay-sayers...and actually one of the few lines that he does have winds up being perhaps the most profound in the history of the end of the Old Republic.
If I had one real complaint about AOTC, it was the lame one-liners given to C-3P0 during the arena battle. I audibly groaned at the mention of the phrase "I'm down and I can't get up!" among others. The movie could have done without Lucas trying to be funny at this point in the story.
The lightsaber fight at the end was very well done, if a bit shorter than I would have liked. Count Dooku's reputation must have preceeded him, as Obi-Wan claimes right off the bat that he can't face him alone...this from the man who defeated Darth Maul as a Padawan learner. Christopher Lee played Dooku with a shrouded evil remiscent of his role as Sauramon in The Lord of the Rings. He even did most of his own stunts as well. Not bad for guy almost 80. Anakin fighting with two lightsabers was a scene that really should have been longer. But all is made up in the final confrontation that, again, must be seen to be believed.
I'd have to rate this movie a solid third in the saga...better by far than Phantom Menace or Return of the Jedi...maybe even on par with A New Hope depending on your point of view...but still not better than the (in my opinion) untoppable Empire Strikes Back.
The overall feel was much darker and serious than the last outing, the acting was better (escpecially by Ewan McGregor) the effects breathtaking and the story filled with tense moments and a feeling of overshadowing dread. The stage is set for Episode III, and I for one can't wait. Forget everything about Episode I and take the time to see this movie...it really is (unbiasedly even!) that good.
😎
Ok, now that I've gotten that out of the way...
For any of you who might be staying away from this movie because of Episode I, don't do yourself this disservice. Attack of the Clones succeeds at every point that The Phantom Menace failed. From the opening credits to the closing ones, AOTC never stops. The action is almost constant, broken up only by the romantic scenes between Anakin and Padme, which weren't as overdone as many critics have stated.
Hayden Christansen does a wonderful job as the torn youth who will become Darth Vader. Rather than play him as spoiled or overly arrogant, you can sense the confusion in him and the inability to know how to deal with his formidable power. In a foreshadowing of his decision to destroy Palpatine in Return of the Jedi, Anakin shows great remorse for a slaughter that he is responsible for. The line by Obi-Wan to Anakin ("Why do I feel that you'll be the death of me?") would not have come across as well as it did had Anakin been no more than a spoiled brat. The scene with Anakin and his mother was very well done by Hayden, and in the theater I saw this in...you could feel the tension rise as Anakin's eyes first watered then narrowed down to slits...
Natalie Portman has been quite "babeified" in this film. Not a little girl anymore, she handles herself just as well combating battle droids and monstrous arena creatures as she does in parrying with Anakin as they skirt the issue of thier growing emotions.
Ewan McGregor has become Obi-Wan Kenobi. Shades of the late Alec Guinness are present in his every move and inflection. In a tense scene where he must re-direct Anakin's attention to the task at hand, despite an immediate danger to Padme, McGregor comes across not as a doting teacher or angry parent, but as a mentor who realizes exactly how full his hands have become with this youth he's taken on.
The scenery is splendid, from the lush colors of Naboo the the awesome spectacle of Coruscant at night. The sheer scope of the city-planet is thrown right at you as you watch Obi-Wan and Anakin chase a would-be assassin through the city, above the city and at the bottom of it. Fans of the original trilogy will love the scenes at the Tattooine homestead of Clieeg and Owen Lars, right down to a meal at the very table where Luke will one day argue with Owen over going to the Academy, and the same garage where Luke will discover the holographic message hidden in a certain astromech droid. The tense moments between Anakin and Owen (done with little more than expression, but quite clear nonetheless) will bring real meat to the scene in Star Wars where Beru tells Owen that Luke is too much like his father...and Owen responds with "That's what I'm afraid of".
Another plot from the original trilogy that takes on new emotion is the wizened old Master Yoda alone on Dagobah. Rather than being simply a lone old Jedi...we can remember the colleagues and great friends he lost to Palpatine and Vader, and get a much better feel of everything that he and the Jedi had lost. You can sense a real friendship and respect between Yoda and Mace Windu...played well by Samual L. Jackson, if perhaps a tad too "Shaft-like" in a few scenes.
Yoda is something that simply must be seen to be believed! There's a reason that he's remembered as the greatest Jedi Master...and we finally get to see it. I cannot in good faith spoil anything by giving this away, but let me say that the real action hero this time around is the little green guy, sporting quite a bit more attitude than we're used to.
Many layers of the story have been peeled away here, including the relationships between Yoda, Count Dooku, Palpatine and even Qui-Gon Jinn. And you will not believe the "little project" that we find out the seperatist movement is actually working on...
One character whose appearance I hope to see again was Dexter Jettster, Obi-Wan's alien friend and sometimes informant. Wonderful job on him.
The action on the watery planet Kamino (whose indiginous species is a marvel of creation...graceful and colorful to watch) starts to foreshadow the carreer of Boba Fett...as does the awesome spectacle of the arena battle between the Jedi, the Republic Army and the Seperatist factions on the desert world of Geonosis. If anything, there may have been a bit of overload in this final battle, but the sheer scope is magnificant. A chase through the asteroid field around Geonosis between Obi-Wan and the Slave I gave a feel of The Empire Strikes Back to the film, which I enjoyed.
There is very little Jar-Jar to annoy the nay-sayers...and actually one of the few lines that he does have winds up being perhaps the most profound in the history of the end of the Old Republic.
If I had one real complaint about AOTC, it was the lame one-liners given to C-3P0 during the arena battle. I audibly groaned at the mention of the phrase "I'm down and I can't get up!" among others. The movie could have done without Lucas trying to be funny at this point in the story.
The lightsaber fight at the end was very well done, if a bit shorter than I would have liked. Count Dooku's reputation must have preceeded him, as Obi-Wan claimes right off the bat that he can't face him alone...this from the man who defeated Darth Maul as a Padawan learner. Christopher Lee played Dooku with a shrouded evil remiscent of his role as Sauramon in The Lord of the Rings. He even did most of his own stunts as well. Not bad for guy almost 80. Anakin fighting with two lightsabers was a scene that really should have been longer. But all is made up in the final confrontation that, again, must be seen to be believed.
I'd have to rate this movie a solid third in the saga...better by far than Phantom Menace or Return of the Jedi...maybe even on par with A New Hope depending on your point of view...but still not better than the (in my opinion) untoppable Empire Strikes Back.
The overall feel was much darker and serious than the last outing, the acting was better (escpecially by Ewan McGregor) the effects breathtaking and the story filled with tense moments and a feeling of overshadowing dread. The stage is set for Episode III, and I for one can't wait. Forget everything about Episode I and take the time to see this movie...it really is (unbiasedly even!) that good.
😎
