Star Wars – Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)

Review by Joshua K. Church for Star Wars – Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)
Rating:
Ok, first of all, I would like to say that all of the people out there who went to this movie expecting it to be exactly on the same level as the older trilogy, and left feeling disappointed by the story, or the characters, or anything else. You can’t expect it to be the same at all. The first trilogy was set during a civil war, during a dark time. The characters were varied. You had a rogue, a princess, a wookiee co-pilot, an old war hero jedi, and a young antagonist with hidden potential, who all came together to defeat a common enemy. Now, flash back a few decades. It is a peaceful time, but with a stirring in the air, of a coming change. The government is becoming stale and corrupt, and the Jedi are losing their mystique and grandeur, because they are attached to the stale government. So, you can expect a few things. Dense political plotlines, corrupt individuals, Jedi who aren’t in touch with their powers anymore, and a more old school soceity. You must understand this. Han Solo would never blend in an environment such as this, he wouldn’t match. The characters in this movie were superb in my opinion, because they fit the times that they were set in. Obi-Wan (Ewan) was much more fleshed out, and you could tell that he was scared for Anakin, and his fear would lead to failure in his training of Anakin. Anakin ( Hayden) also came to full veiw. No longer the child who screamed “wizard!”, He had come into the light as a troubled young man who would become The Darth Vader we all know. And Yoda, I know there are a few people out there who said that yoda’s fight was sacrilige, I disagree. Yoda has trained for hundreds of years, His skills would reflect that. And add the fact that he wasn’t at the end of his life like he is later. Padme was the same, but for good reason. Mace had more screen time, and Dooku was a good addition to the story, it’s good to hear some smack talking in a fight. I miss that. The movie exceeded my expectations in many ways. I now have to wait a couple more years to see the empire rise to power and the climactic lightsaber battle that is inevitable, but I can make it now, thanks to the second chapter not sucking. Now I can watch a newer Star Wars DVD without wincing, the years will pass more easily that way.

Review by Theodore Shinn, Jr. for Star Wars – Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)
Rating:
This is not a true review, only a few thoughts. As far as I’m concerned just John William’s awesome soundtrack score alone is worth the admission price. Also, just the speacial effects alone portrayed in this movie is worth the admission price. And finally, just the being able to watch Yoda wield a lightsaber and kick some major … is, by itself, worth the admission price. And I’ve deffinately seen it more than 3 times. Yeah, OK, I’m a huge Star Wars fan from my earliest childhood, but all you naysayers out there need to re-examine what it is you want in a movie. This film is fantasy set in a sci-fi atmosphere and it’s for entertainment and enjoyment. As far as I’m concerned, It delivers — big. Yeah, maybe the acting won’t win oscars, but I thought it was fine and fit the story perfectly. George himself said that these movies almost play like silent movies set to music – It’s true. There is a lot of artistic beauty and imagination to appreaciate in this film. And yes I stay in the theater until the last note of the end title score is finished. In summary I’m a musician and an artist who happens to love mythology and the classic stories of good verses evil displayed on a grand scale. This and all the other Star Wars movies appeal to me on these levels.

Review by S. Grover II for Star Wars – Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)
Rating:
Exciting action scenes, great special effects, witty dialogue, angst-filled romance. Ignore naysayers who say the dialogue is terrible, (I would like to know what is so bad about it. It is an adventure movie and yet the dialogue is almost corn-free, yet many pretentious “acting” movies are full of corn), or the acting is bad. Hayden Christensen is convincing showing his angst and sometimes being a petulant brat, (he does play a teenager, yet critics seem to have a problem with him actually playing his part)setting up his path to the darkside. The mentor-student, father-son relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin is well done, shown in the movie with the fast and sometimes witty Star Wars dialogue I love.

If it seems I am attacking the critics it is because I do see a lot of pandering to snobbishness in many of their reviews, instead of an honest assessment of the movie. Also, too much nostalgic feelings from die-hard original Star Wars trilogy fans gets in the way of some of the reviews. Many of these reviewers are TOO stuck on their nostagia, and review by constantly comparing them to the old movies (a very high-standard indeed!), and whether they fulfill their nostagia, instead of just taking in the new movies as they are. If they just don’t care for the movie, fine, but there is too much going into many reviews that have nothing to actually do with the quality of the movie itself.

In any case, just try the movie if you haven’t seen it already. Ignore the snobs and the overly nostalgic. Have fun and be wowed, and see the new movie Revenge of the Sith in theaters, another 6 out of 5 star movie!

Review by Nick Alimonos for Star Wars – Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)
Rating:
To everyone who is criticizing this movie, I have a few things to say. First of all, I have not been able to find a single person in person who didn’t think this movie was excellent. People who were not Star Wars fans and who were unimpressed by the originals, like my wife, thought this movie was the best.
I, for one, who have always been a moderate fan, consider this the 2nd best of the series. And if this movie was so bad, why is it ranked 2nd among Amazon’s DVD’s? You can argue that the $300 million the film grossed was simply from hype and fans wanting the movie to be good, but after so many months where the initial excitement and hype wears off, people still want to own this movie so that they can watch it over and over. The sad truth isn’t that this movie is bad and only geeky Star Wars fans disagree. It’s the hardcore Star Wars fans that hate this movie because it doesn’t live up to their 10+ years of expectations, which no movie possibly could have. Regular people like myself, who don’t own every single Star Wars toy from the original series, thought this was great. Just admit it, if Attack of the Clones came out when you were 12, you wouldn’t be whining about dialogue and acting. I seriously don’t remember EVER discussing dialogue or acting when I was a kid. We talked about all the cool monsters and space ships and action scenes . . . and Episode II had plenty of those!!! Star Wars isn’t dead. Just your inner child.

Review by for Star Wars – Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)
Rating:
Despite all the Star Wars fanatics bashing George Lucas for Episodes I and II, I for one am grateful he has shared his vision with us. One just cannot compare the original Star Wars Trilogy with anything. They were the pioneer films, they set the standard for what we see now and will always stand above the rest. Any film compared to those are doomed to failure. I went to see the latest installment of Star Wars with an open mind and no preconceived notions and THOROUGHLY ENJOYED it. It had everything for everyone. A little romance, a little adventure, a little mystery and a lot of action. Admittedly, the love scenes were a little weak but when Jedis start whipping out their lightsabres, who cares. The story gets very interesting and we begin to see the threads from all the previous Star Wars woven together. Ewan McGregor is spectacular as Obiwan. I didn’t think he could live up to Sir Alec Guiness’ but I was pleasantly surprised. I was glad to see Christopher Lee cast as Count Dooku, he plays the part so elegantly. I highly recommend this movie to everyone, except for the die-hard fanatics who are bent on criticizing everything because it doesn’t fit their vision of what the movie should be. This is George Lucas’ vision and I’m glad he has shared it with us. Go see it without preconceived ideas and expections. It should not be compared with the original. It should be seen and judged on its own merits. Enjoy it for it is and not what it should be.