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STAR WARS EPISODE II - Attack Of The Clones

With Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson
Directed by George Lucas

It's impossible to describe in words what this movie means to me, or the thousands of others around the world who might consider themselves Star Wars fans. But quite simply, a fan of anything will have a hard time finding fault with the primary focus of their fanatical behaviour.
And with that said, I cannot find fault with this movie. It is the essence of what great movie making ought to be on all levels: Superbly filmed, accompanied by an incredible score and of course, storytelling at its Lucasian best.
The second prequel to the original trio of
Star Wars movies, which themselves ushered in a paradigm shift in film-making in the 70's and 80's, takes us a little further into the beginnings of the Star Wars with the original "Clone Wars", and expanding on the origins of some of the now iconoclastic characters.
The
Star Wars trademark elements of love and hate, obedience and honor, good and evil and just plain thrilling action from start to finish are all here. And there are some dazzling surprises which had the audience in my show applauding like out of control football fans!
Yeah,
Star Wars is not just a movie franchise, it's a way of life... more a culture than a cult. For those fans who are very familiar with the chronoligical progression of the tale, ATTACK OF THE CLONES will feel like an intensely interesting history lesson and really begin to bring a lot of the story's elements together. But more importantly, it will re-release that kid in you who saw the originals as they were released over the past 25 years...
After standing in a line of 400 for 2 hours to get tickets on opening night (which is really nothing if you're familiar with the kinds of things fans of this saga are prepared to endure to secure a ticket), I remember walking out of the theater totally exhilarated and thinking to myself: What a great time to be alive!

- Brett Reynolds (US Correspondent)


...the 2nd opinion...

STAR WARS EPISODE II - Attack Of The Clones
With Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Frank Oz
Directed by George Lucas
The vast phenomenon created by
George Lucas several decades ago does, to a certain extent, surpass us all. It is a culture within itself, surmounting any Trekkie-fanaticism. Those of us who grew up with the original films have an affinity newcomers may not feel as strongly. This, the second in the chronological flow of Lucas's initial back story to Star Wars (Episode 4), The Empire Strikes Back (Ep. 5) and Return Of The Jedi (Ep. 6) start filling blanks of narrative detail and characters in the originally filmed trilogy. (Have to mention the reviewer in the Tygerburger getting it wrong in every way by calling this current episode the 3rd one! It's the 5th one made but the second in the chronological series, genius). While my companion loved the film and got engrossed in all of the characters, facts and line-ups for consequential events we'd already experienced since the 70s, I found myself in another place entirely. As I sat trying not to notice the overwhelming digital barrage, she lapped up all of the jargon, references and details building out this phenomenon. For starters, the casting of the young Skywalker (later to turn to the dark side as Darth Vader in the next and concluding episode to the first trilogy) in the shape of Hayden Christensen is far too American Teen for the Galactic good of the film's credibility. The old Harrison Ford / Mark Hamill / Carrie Fisher films were hands-on model building and FX innovation bar none. The newly developed digital techniques are just so apparent, its believability zips straight out the window like an X-Wing for me. Visions of the entire movie shot in a blue or green room of Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic Skywalker Ranch and 100 fold the time spent in post-production flooded my mind while I was supposed to pay attention to the story and visual spectacle flashing on the screen. McGregor hams it up while not-quite-bad-ass-Jackson is pretty low-key and serene, as a Jedi should be. Portman's sad-ass mouth can get to you, but thank goodness the floppy eared Jar-Jar Binks (is that how you spell his dumb-ass name?) has little screen time. You get to see Yoda in a totally different light that will either wow you or have those eyes rolling way back. Lee pulls off his dark side character well - not like in Lord Of The Rings, but after all as Dracula in the Hammer films he had ages of practice. The romance element may be trite but is essential - where did Leia and Luke come from, after all? While Attack Of The Clones is essential viewing for anyone remotely interested in the Star Wars cult, if you miss it, you needn't shed a tear, as it's just another part of the assembly line you're bound to bump into on video, DVD or TV. There's no way it'll fall away without you getting a glimpse - in fact, it'll come find YOU.

3 / B
- Paul Blom

1 2 3 4 5 6
A - B - C




never let a review decide for you, but for those who need a rating, see the Flamedrop scale below
6 - Volcanic
5 - Blistering
4 - Hot
3 - Smolder
2 - Room Temperature
1 - Fizzled
0 - Extinguished

A: Multi-Viewing Potential

B: Could Enjoy A 2nd Look

C: Once Should Suffice



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