|
Well, I went today to see AOTC for the first time. Here's my two cents for what it's worth......
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
I was quite impressed with the feast of special effects. A true delight for the eyes. I was genuinely impressed. The chase scene through Coruscant was spectacular and a fun ride. Cool attention paid to the little details of day to day life in the Star Wars universe and on Coruscant: a suitcase is shown when Anakin is packing, 'movie posters' (I guess?), a spacebus, hehe. Naboo was truly a feast for the eyes with its beautiful architecture and spectacular scenery and waterfalls, the asteroid field around the planet where Jango Fett went was interestingly detailed as well. Ships coming out of 'warp' were also an interesting touch. Ahh, light sabers do have trouble. Christopher Lee was great as the villainous Count Dooku. Ewan MacGregor shined as Obi-Wan. And, the film looked darn good for having been shot (on videotape??) digitally and having been transferred to film (at least how I saw it).
Having said that, the film had its weak moments. Anakin seemed to whine a bit too much. And, I found his romance with Padmé to be weak at best. However, his confession of the massacre was moving, and the death scene showed how Darth is just lurking around the corner. I do hope that Heyden Christensen is coached to use at least some Stage English (in the style of James Earl Jones) so we can see the beginnings of that Darth voice for Episode III.
I thought the film was missing a core in that of Liam Neeson. It's a shame he didn't return as Alec Guinness did in the other two films. C3PO and R2D2 were funny, but some of those lines were atrocious, LOL. 'That's a real drag' LOL!
During the wedding scene: Anakin's hand - What was that about? With all of this high technology, surely the Republic has the technology to fix Anakin's hand as good as Luke's was repaired at the end of ESB??!!
Tech details: While I thought the film looked good and clear (IMHO) on film in the theater I saw it in, the colors were a bit washed out, and the music seems abnormally low compared to the sound effects of ships, etc. Was it this way in the digital presentations as well? The one thing that stands out in my mind is remembering as a young child, hearing the loud tones and bass of the music from the original trilogy.
I really enjoyed the film, but wouldn't rank it near the best or with the original trilogy. I enjoyed Yoda's fight scene, but as others have said thought he didn't look convincing enough. Though I think we certainly have become jaded with regard to technology. They were nothing less than superb.
However, the actors seemed to be going along with their lines. I didn't feel any real passion from anyone. That's what I miss from the original trilogy. The special effects were certainly spectacular for their time, but what impressed me with the original trilogy was the story and the characters. Han and Leia had real chemistry that I feel is lacking between Padmé and Anakin.
Well, that's my take on the film. Looking forward to Episode III. I can't really say if I thought it was better than TPM, but certainly it wins hands down in terms of effects.
|
