EPISODE 2.
You were all expecting it... Here it is, my next Star Wars reviews!
Screw the haters! People can love a CGi/space/furfest like Avatar, surely there are things to like about Star Wars Episode 2... are there?
Directed by George Lucas
Release date 2002
Genre SciFi
Country USA
The first sequel in the Prequel Trilogy. And like the second Star Wars in the original trilogy, it is also the darker one, the more chaotic one, the episode with the twists, full of action scenes moving the series forward but ending abruptly.
However, unlike the The Empire Strikes Back, it's modern movie with tons of CGi shots and computer effects. But I wouldn't disregard this flick just based on that. Afterall George Lucas, like his contemporary movie directors such as James Cameron and Spielberg, watched the technologies evolve and his one of the movie pioneers in the domain of FX and special effects, if not the most important one! (with all his own studios such as ILM, THX, Skywalker Ranch, etc..)
You know me (do you??) I like to be honest and give ever'one a chance when it comes down to entertainment! Isn't the main objective of movie to, well, entertain us?
It's back on! The catchprase I mean, Anakin's actor not.
The movie starts off with an attempt on Padmé Amidala's life.
Remember? The Queen of Naboo of the previous movie. She now is a Senator of the Intergalactic Republic.
Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi and his padawan Anakin Skywalker come to the rescue. They try to protect her, find a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Obi Wan tracks him into the deep end of space while Anakin stays with Padmé.
Obi Wan finds a "Clone Facility" preparing an army for a long dead Jedi (or Sith?...) on the planet Kamino.
Anakin falls in love with Padmé (in the most rushed off romance montage I've ever seen in any movie).
Everybody ends up in the distant military alien planet Geonosis. The Separatist army gets their hand on Anakin, Padmé and Obi Wan.
Finally the Jedi arrive at the very last second to save the day, with the Clone Army.
Oh and there's some decapitation (Jango Fett, the only seen badass mandalorian in all of the three SW prequels,
In the end, the Republic is turning into a dictatorship, Palpatine rises to power slowly, "the peacekeepers" Jedi become generals and Yoda has the last word:
Because, you know, the actual Clone Wars won't be featured in any "real" movie.
I wouldn't call Attack of the Clones a bad movie. Far from it! I've seen worse, much worse believe me.
It is a pretty decent scifi/space adventure movie. It even kinda reminded me of such classics as Flash Gordon. Specially the "trapped on Geonosis" part, with the insectoid-like alien creatures.
But it's a big chaotic "scifi/space adventure movie".
There's too much in so little time.
(I don't usually like long movies, I prefer them around 1:30 to 1:50, but this time, it feels like an extra ~30 minutes would have helped the pace a bit)
We have: *takes a deep breath* the (re)introduction of the characters in the first act, a presentation of the senate/republic, the larger plots' own introductions, Obi Wan tracking Jango Fett and finding about the clones, the repercussions of that, and the way he ended up on Geonosis, Anakin's time with Padmé back on Naboo, his quest back to Tatooine (his mother, Luke's future family, etc..), the romance/falling in love montage which I'm sure could have used a bit more scenes because of how rushed it looks, Anakin & Padmé's own path to Geonosis, the Separatists' plans & dialogues, a coliseum scene (with space monsters!), the Jedi attack, the Clone armies arrive, ending and finally an epilogue.
Whew!
Too much?
They gave control of the Republic to that quickly aging old creepy guy?... Sure, I'd do it too!
Maybe this movie's plot isn't coherent enough nor well developed. But what about the rest?
The CGi looks great, while I rewatched this one, I was impressed how good everything looked like. Be it the aliens, the slick modern design on Kamino, the popular and populated places of Coruscant, the CGi Clone armies, the monsters in the coliseum... The lightsabre scenes look great and well choreographed.
BUT, yep there must be a "but", maybe everything looks a bit too nice?
Let this be a lesson to any CGi/FX modern company. CGi will always look fake, we know it, don't dare thinking otherwise, making everything super shiny/realistic can make things look a bit "off". CGi Yoda stands out too much compared to other characters because of his super-detailed skin & costume (just look at his various and clean folds on his cloak).
I know looking back at the "old" Star Wars it isn't as HD-next gen as the modern ones, but it looked real because it was dirty. And that's what seems to be lacking in this Episode 2. Interior of ships should be more dirty, so should be droids, 3D creatures, clones or green Jedi masters.
On the music part, John Williams is back as usual.
But this time, at least for me, he seems less creative. It's more of the usual but nothing really stands out in his composition. Was it the tension after Episode 1 brilliant score? Not motivated enough?... I dunno...
On the acting part, people love to criticise this part in any online reviews.
I didn't hate it.
Sure, the actors did what the script told them to (a script I remind you which was pretty messy/dense/not that well organised with so many A-plots and B-plots...)
I really like the way Ewan McGregor portray Obi Wan in this second flick. Nice evolution into the mentor place Qui Gon had in the first movie.
Natalie Portman, Christopher Lee and even Samuel L. Jackson quite stand out in this scifi background.
People love to hate how Hayden Christensen portrays the young Skywalker on his path to the Sith Lord Darth Vader. I...don't have anything against it. Rewatching the movie, I liked Ani.
Of course he may comes out as a stupid arogant child that sometimes acts a bit impulsive or "robotic". It's the way pre-Darth Vader should be portrayed. Nor a better script nor another actor could have changed that and shouldn't have. You have to see the "whole picture" to accept that.
Anakin is a Jedi that wasn't a very effective Jedi nor functional person. He will succumb to the Dark Side at some point because of his lack of discipline and lack of balance as a being.
Anyway I wouldn't hate this movie because I'm a "Star Wars fanboy" (because I ain't! I'm a fan sure, but I don't spend my time in SW forums/writing fanfics/bitching about this or that in SW...), nor because it doesn't live up to the old ones, nor because it's modern, etc.. etc...
It's just not a very well constructed movie.
Overall, it's not a very good Star Wars movie.
It's decent as far as Scifi movies go. I mean those that take place "in SPAAAACE!".
But... ugh...
If Episode 1 was a truly underrated Star Wars movie, a pretty good start for the prequels which didn't deserve that much hate it got since then (through the reviews were okay at the time and it did make quite a lot of money...)
Episode 2 is... a pretty big chaotic space-mess.
Since there's too much going on, not enough development for anything (characters, plot...) and the CGi is so much focusing on making stuff look hi-tech...
Sometimes, you feel like watching a videogame. Cause, you know, a videogame tries its best at looking good (for all generations of games, even those older ones that you may find "ugly") and doesn't try to have a narrative structure like a good Michael Chrichton book.
Specially the scene in the droids factory. It was like watching someone playing a videogame, a good looking videogame sure, with traps, actions scenes, enemies to fight off, but no depth. Just a videogame level in the end.
Anakin & Padmé story... is....rather difficult to follow (or accept... or watch...). But the characters are unlikable!
I give it:
Well it's an improvement of The Phantom Menace but needs to be a more better film if the romance of Anakin/Padme would be changed in quick, faster-pace and better writing. Nevertheless I understand how Lucas has to cast Hayden Christensen as Anakin and I just can't stand of one scene when Anakin talks to Padme awkwardly of how much he doesn't like sand, it would've fitted better with the word "sand" if Anakin had just told Padme instead that he grew up with sand which is difficult for him and there was never any much water on Tatooine.
ReplyDeleteGood review.
ReplyDeleteOf the three prequels this is my favorite even with the flaws.
Jedi come off here as immense jerks and idiots again and again. But then they apparently had to to advance the plot. yeesh.
I agree totally that it feels rushed. Way too rushed. And that carries over to the next movie. I liked Anakin and Obi Wan in this. Their interactions really meshed well.
Of the three? Your favorite? I'm not kidding, but that's probably the first time I've ever heard or read someone say that!
DeletePacing is really all over the place with this one. And the whole CGi sets and rushed conclusion never helped it either..