Attack of the Clones - 05/12/02

First off, I should explain how I got to see the film a week early. I got a ticket from my neighbor. They had two... my one neighbor has decided to boycott the film... I think there are a large group who are doing so, for their own reasons... so I got the ticket.

Showcasing at the Tribeca Film Festival... a nice theater (though not a very good sound system)... surrounded by hundreds of children... we watched the second installment of the revised franchise.

I'm going to start this review off with a quote from George Lucas. "I don't hire stars, I make them." This was a quote from an interview he gave to Time, before Episode 1 came out. That quote alone is a harsh lesson in reality, to the idea of truth and honesty in Hollywood.

And I don't even consider Lucas 'Hollywood'... but it's still an applicable statement.

Episode I was probably the biggest letdown in fan/movie history. I hate to say it, but it's true... and I'm a big Star Wars fan. Sure, I own the DVD. Sure, I liked the pod races. Sure, I loved the special effects... but the story was poor. Some of the acting was poor, as well... and it was too much for a set-up movie. Too much.

One of the things I think made films 4 through 6 successful was their simplicity. Their straight forward plot, characters... their set-ups. There were no inside jokes in those films... there was no setting up. They were stories, straight forward, to the point and, above all, entertaining.

Episode II takes place ten years after Episode 1. I won't go into plot points, or specific scenes... I don't review that way. But I am going to critique the work that was done, from acting to writing to... well, everything.

First off, one of the things I think helped ruin the first film was that Lucas had no help with the story line. Sure, Star Wars, he wrote and directed that feature... but it took YEARS for him to create the film he wanted to make. He had time. No pressure (except for trying to get the money to finish the film...) and pretty much no-holds-barred.

Episode I was his new baby. He wanted control over everything. So, he did it his way... and it shows. There are no compromises, no perspective.

This is not the case with Episode II, which Lucas co-wrote with Jonathan Hales, who, along with Lucas, helped write many of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He also helped with the story for The Scorpion King... though I don't know how good of a credit that is. Hales will also be helping Lucas on Episode III.

So, as in Empire and Return of the Jedi (both works with the help of veteran scribes Lawrance Kasdan and Leigh Brackett), Lucas was able to get an outside opinion on what would work, what wouldn't, plot points that were important... all of the things that would make the second part of (another) trilogy still be entertaining. And, in general, they did a good job.

But. (Everyone I know always has a big butt)... films like this... they are strictly for the fan base. I mean, certainly, they are a personal achievment for many of the filmmakers and other crew members of these films... but there are certain things that the fans want to see. And, to their credit, they did about as much as they could to please even the most die hard Star Wars fan. And here's where it hurts.

The first half of the film, which is important in setting up the relationship of Amidala and Anakin, along with the troubles behind the Senate and the Republic, the Clones, etc... the first half of the film drags. It drags longer then just about any film I've ever seen. The scenic backgrounds, the new creations, the new creatures, vehicles, cities... all of them fantastic... all of them for, well, pretty much nothing. Maybe nothing is a harsh word, but they're just there for show. They're there because they can do it.

The first three films... they had NONE of this. None of it, and those films are much more successful. These new films are too complex, in this respect.

The second half of the film is where the meat and potatoes begin... and I must say that the action sequences of this film are about as breathtaking as they could possibly be. Truly incredible. With a budget of about $120 million... it shows where they put the money. And, I suppose it's worth it. But, again, what we're shown in incredible digital CG... the story lacks.

Any Star Wars fan, anyone who's kept up with the previous four films... they could tell you exactly what had to happen in this film. All of the set-ups, all of the introductions... (with the exceptions of brand new characters, of course, like Dooku and Jango Fett...) and that's what we got. There weren't any real surprises, no real things, like when we're told that Vader is Luke's father... nothing that made the movie that much more pleasurable.

The acting was ok. I'm sure that working with that much CG, the sets (green screens, etc.) must be very difficult to get used to. But, still.

Ewan McGregor. Star number 1. A decent Obi-Wan, to be sure. A good casting choice, and I think that he would have made Guinness proud. He has some good moments in this film, but this film is not about him... so he's kind of pushed into the background... even though he has ample screen time. He just doesn't have the presence of Guinness, Hamill or Ford.

Natalie Portman. Star number 2. I do not like her work. I did not like her wooden work in Episode I, and I think she's worse here. There's nothing behind her character. Nothing to share with. I don't believe her love for Anakin at all.

Hayden Christensen. Unbelievable that one of his first roles was in John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness. Heh. He'd gone on to do some television, along with The Virgin Suicides... he was an unknown... and I think he'll probably be typecast (as Hamill was) for the rest of his life... and, unlike Jake Lloyd, he was an ok Anakin. He had some good moments, better then the others... and I am interested in seeing him in the third installment.

Ian McDiarmid. It's funny, but if you are not paying attention (and, believe me, there are those who aren't paying attention)... IMDB lists him as both Chacellor Palpatine and... his alter-ego. Some people who read this might not know... I won't spoil it... but I think that's kind of stupid for IMDB to put that up on their site... it's kind of a big spoiler, isn't it?

He was good. He played pretty much the same role (specifically, the same thing) that was in Episode I. I mean, there was nothing really special about his character... and I'm sure his major role will be in Episode III... strange.

Samuel L. Jackson. Star number 3. I have mixed feelings in regards to him. I did not like his work in Episode I. His set-up was pretty dull, in regards that we either saw too much of him or not enough of him. My feeling was that he was there just for star power, in Episode I. He did a much better job in this film... but that's only because he had some serious moments of both dialog and action. Jackson is a very good actor... I find this role a bit strange for him. Not his choice to take the role, of course... but his work. It just doesn't flow as well as in, say Pulp Fiction, Fresh, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Unbreakable... many of the other roles he's given his all to.

Christopher Lee. Ok, now here is a veteran actor who added a great flavor to this film. He's just incredible. His work over the past fifty two years has been some of the most influential. His work recently... well. He's worked on two of the biggest trilogies in film history... and his work is consistently brilliant. I was very impressed with his work in this film, and again, I look forward to seeing him in not only Episode III... but also in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

David Tattersall has shot a number of decent films over his fourteen year career. For Lucas, he's shot a large number of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles for both the television and direct to video episodes. Also for Lucas, he shot Radioland Murders in 1994.

He would go on to shoot a number of other mainstream Hollywood films, including Con Air and Soldier, The Green Mile, Vertical Limit and (again for Darabont) The Majestic. Tattersall helped shoot Episode I for Lucas, as well... and I'm curious how he found shooting the second installment, all on digital. It would be interesting to know... since Lucas is trying (singlehandedly) to introduce digital to the Hollywood community.

Tattersall is also shooting the newest Bond film, Die Another Day, for director Lee Tamahori. All in all... it's hard to grade his work in regards to this film. I say that because how much of it was him, and how much of it were the CG effects masters that created the majority of all of the scenery in this film. It's hard to say... but based on his previous work, I would have to say that his involvment was pretty critical. DP's with experience working with as much CG as these films... they must be hard to come by. Even in this day and age. And, one that Lucas trusts... whew.

With a lagging first half... lavish special effects... some ok acting on the parts of the few heavy names they had... and a story that just didn't cut it for me in all the right places... if I were to rate this film, I'd have to give it a 6/10. I don't usually do that because my opinion really doesn't mean anything in the long run... and numbers like that, well, I don't want people to think I didn't enjoy myself. 6 isn't a great score... but for what this film is... which is a FAN film... it's about as good as I can give it.

Star Wars fans will enjoy it, yes. They'll get to see all of the things that they've wanted to see, since Episode I came out. And they will come away, waiting for Episode III... but I'm sure that the people (myself included) who waited between Episodes 4, 5 and 6... they're wait was a lot harder.