When I got up this morning the first thing I did was watch my Star Wars Episode 1 : Phantom Menace DVD. The last thing I did tonight was watch Star Wars Episode 2 : Attack of the Clones. I can only sum up this new movie in one simple sentence : 'Boy, what an improvement over the first one.' Attack of the Clones (AOTC) is the sort of film that looks and feels like Star Wars, unlike it's predessesor. There are small glimpses of the 'old school' Star Wars design that make it seem like a long lost friend that you haven't seen in years. It's a welcome edition to the Star Wars universe and definately holds rank as one of my favourites in the saga. The acting in AOTC was on the spot as well. There were a couple of cringworthy moments from the film that received cahoots of laughter from the audience, but other than that, some lines such as 'I have a bad feeling about this' seemed a little (if you will excuse the pun) forced. If you're not aware already, Episode 2 is also a love story - but rest assured, theres not too much of that soppy stuff on screen. There was the perfect balance of the love story and action. A couple of things stuck out in my mind about various characters -
Anakin - He's arrogant, ignorant and I hated him at times but I wondered if this was the intent. Hayden Christenson is a good choice for Anakin Skywalker although he's a huge jump from Jake Lloyd - the young Anakin in Episode 1. Through his voice you can see echos of his turn to the Dark side - sometimes you can close your eyes and imagine Vader saying some of his lines.
Yoda - Yoda takes some getting used to in AOTC. First off - he's fully Computer Generated, unlike the other 4 films where he was a puppet. Whilst CG doesn't look organic, later on you can see why they optioned for a fully CG Yoda. Yoda really stole the show in this one. We finally get to see the green sage fight with a lightsaber and he's like a jumping bandicoot. This received an applaud from the whole cinema. Wonderful stuff.
R2D2 and Threepio - Finally the bumbling duo are together and deliver the comedy relief in the movie that we were all looking forward to. Their lines were mostly aimed at kids, but I found myself laughing at these two at times.
All, in all, a great movie. I recommend it. It's light years ahead of Episode 1 I can't wait to get this on DVD....or see it again tomorrow.
Cheers.
- Spikealike
