ATOC gets hacked away by critics ...

[NewBJedi]

"Lucas' directs by lining up his actors and having them make monotone expository announcements. It is noteworthy that the most colorful character in Episode II is the CGI created Yoda. Even Jar Jar Binks is made somewhat interesting this time around by most amusingly being left in charge of Padme's vote when

she's whisked off to Naboo. While McGregor fills out his Jedi robes with more confidence this time around, Lucas allows him no fun - even his tossed off "You'll be the death of me" to Ani is played more for portent than playfulness. All too frequently, there is an awareness that McGregor is acting to a bluescreen. Portman is a little less stiff in her second portrayal of Padme, allowed some action this time around, but is more effective fighting off creatures in a coliseum than being half of what should be the all important love match. Hayden Christensen is a huge disappointment as Ani, a role that seems to belong to James Earl Jones only. He may be handsome, but he comes off as a petulant spoiled brat. Christopher Lee proves himself once again as a mythical villain. Samuel L. Jackson is stranded once again as Mace Windu. Jimmy Smits' Senator Bail Organa is apparently a Shakespearean extra.

 

Lucas and Jonathan Hales' screenplay is full of lame dialogue and bad jokes. Their idea of high hilarity is to have C3PO proclaim 'What a drag' as his head is towed through the dirt and their idea of wit is to name a character Liam (Liam Neeson appeared in Episode I). ILM's effects are frequently terrific, however. Although many matte shots are too pristine and fake looking, much of the CGI work is stunning. Jar Jar moves with a distinctive lope. We're given a subtle glimpse of the shapeshifting ability of Padme's assassin reflected on her ship's dome window. The fabulous coliseum sequence is an homage to Ray Harryhausen. Dooku's holographic blueprint for the Death Star recalls the original "Star Wars." The undulating folds of fabric seen as the female Caminan takes leave of Obi-Wan may be the single most fascinating element of the film."

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1112314/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=2&rid=313291

 

"So, what's the verdict, my fellow faithful? Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is not great... but it's great. Sure, it's got problems, most of them stemming from the facts that George Lucas is a terrible writer who should never be allowed anywhere near Final Draft ever again, and a mostly terrible director who should never be allowed anywhere near a camera ever again."

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1112314/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=5&rid=313705

 

"It’s not all Christensen’s fault. Lucas, frankly, is a feeble director of actors. Christensen showed a lot of talent in “Life as a House.” Here, stranded in flat, graceless love scenes with the utterly hapless Portman, he doesn’t stand a chance. (He tilts his head and hangs his jaw like a pretty teenage Jimmy Stewart, without the charm.) But what can you do with the dialogue Lucas and co-writer Jonathan Hales supply? It defeats even the reliable Samuel L. Jackson, who intones his clunky exposition as if he had marbles in his mouth. It’s no accident that a machine, C-3PO, gets the biggest laughs. The only actors who rise above the stiff B-movie style are McGregor, who adds wit and Alec Guinness diction, and Christopher Lee, who cuts a formidably villainous figure as the leader of the separatist movement threatening the Republic."

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1112314/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=313585

 

"Nevertheless, being impressed by technical feats isn't the same as being wowed by a story. At one point in "Episode II," C-3PO says to R2-D2: "You obviously have a great deal to learn about human behavior." In Lucas' world, count on a robot to get to the heart of the problem."

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1112314/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=313604

 

"Other than a CG-enhanced chase through the airwaves of an urban metropolis near the beginning, the film gets off to a slow start with much exposition and characters getting reacquainted 10 years after the events of "The Phantom Menace." Surprisingly flat-footed dialogue scenes that feature wooden acting, dreary art direction and old-fashioned optical wipes are either intended as an homage to the sci-fi of the '50s or reflect the director's impatience with exposition."

 

"Other than McGregor, who continues to cut a dashing figure as the sagacious Jedi, the movie is plagued by bad acting. Barricaded behind neo-Elizabethan costumes and outfitted with strained dialogue, Portman delivers lines in an unconvincing and often abrupt manner. Christensen, too, makes a dull romantic lead, who must foreshadow Anakin's move to the dark side with moments of unmotivated rage and jealousy. Lee's manner is so glacial one doesn't even enjoy hating this villain. Such good actors as Jackson, Jack Thompson and Jimmy Smits barely register."

 

"Meanwhile, does anyone fondly recall the day when creatures in a "Star Wars" movie were guys in funny costumes? There's no doubt the digital realm has enriched Lucas' vision with unimaginable worlds and creatures, but there can be too much of a good thing. A multitude of cartoon animals scurry around actors' feet, zip overhead in aircraft and engage humans in dialogue. Even worse, the sci-fi world created by digital masters looks all the more unreal when contrasted with scenes shot in Seville, Spain, or Lake Como, Italy."

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1112314/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=312060

 

"Going through motions

 

And so the scene is set for the Big Showdown: Clones vs. Battle Droids. But you can think of the clashing forces as blips on a computer grid. They're kind of neat to watch, but they're like the proverbial armies in the night -- one big roiling mess.

 

To be blunt, ``Clones'' is more star chores than ``Star Wars,'' more phantom menace than ``Episode I,'' which used to represent the series' low point. It's a good thing Lucas has episodes IV-VI in the can: The way he's going, the diminishing ``Star Wars'' fan base will be drawn to the dark side (as in Zzzzzzz) before Anakin metamorphoses from budding fascist to wheezing Darth Vader."

 

Lucas now would seem to have three paths before him. He can hand over the reins to ``Episode III'' to a real director who knows how to work with actors and balance story and effects. Or he can retire Obi-Wan, Anakin et al. and allow us to use our imaginations to connect narrative dots that were never very far apart to begin with.

 

Or, he can continue on as bogus wizard behind an increasingly frayed curtain.

 

To borrow Yoda's tortured syntax, ``Down this path, my wealthy Jedi friend, darkness and disaster found can be.''

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1112314/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=313912

[NerfYoda]

You cant say "Critical" without "Critic." Let em say what they want, I loved it.

[Xirion]

oh well the people love it so thats more important

[Fnord]

I'm a person, and I didn't love it. The original trilogy wasn't about choreographed lightsaber duels, pretty CGI effects, or bad one-liners; it was all about the characters. Memorable ones. Those movies were invovling, and when things took a turn for the worse, you really cared about what happened to its stars. That's EP's 1 and 2 have gone completely wrong. I just don't care enough about any of these lifeless husks (perhaps with the exception of Obi-Wan) to justify sitting there for two hours watching them drone on and on. I agree--as he did with The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Lucas needs to relinquish control of his saga to someone competent.

[Boreas]

lol, he is more than competent.

[Lord_FinnSon]

First of all, why do I have a feeling that most of the people can't have discussions without whining about something; they don't seem to think that there's much to talk about IF there aren't flaws somewhere that should be exposed to others and then analyzed to death bringing whole movie down with them. Why, oh why they just can't ENJOY someone's vision that he wants to share with us?

 

There was so many things people whined about before I even saw the movie. Now, even though I sayed to myself "don't care about them", I noticed every one of them. So, here we go:

- Image was a little bit blurry when watched from traditional reel(something that seemed to distract some people). In my case it didn't ruin the experience in any way(besides I'm gonna take a trip to another city, which has a brand new DLP projector).

- Music was too quiet. Maybe, but I don't know how loud it SHOULD have been to please some of those "fans". However, IT SURELY WASN'T BURIED UNDER THE SFX AND VOICES.

- Lucas hacked the score that John Williams recorded for the movie and used some ques from TPM. Okey, I noticed those edits(most of them can be only heard during arena battle), but they DIDN'T jump out from the movie too much(except to the ears of John Williams purists) and in most cases were approriate.

- Lame dialog. Damn you people! You have whined about the dialog with every SW movie so far, so what's the deal?

- Lame, forced romance. Fu** you, you little unemotional brats!

 

Phew, I had to get those out of my system.

[NewBJedi]

Originally posted by Boreas

lol, he is more than competent.

 

That was articulate.

[NewBJedi]

Originally posted by Lord_FinnSon

First of all, why do I have a feeling that most of the people can't have discussions without whining about something; they don't seem to think that there's much to talk about IF there aren't flaws somewhere that should be exposed to others and then analyzed to death bringing whole movie down with them. Why, oh why they just can't ENJOY someone's vision that he wants to share with us?

 

If people aren't critical than you might as well forget education, and have everyone follow a religious cult or dictatorship.

 

Besides the movie isn't free. When something costs, it deserves criticism.

 

I don't see what the problem is with analyzing the movie.

 

Are you offended by it? Do you take it personal?

[thrEEpaGe]

I really could care less how some overpaid slug of a reviewer thinks of a movie. It will not influence any of my spending money to see Attack of the Clones many times. Why are you people letting a few people dictate how you feel about something that is so dear to you?

[NewBJedi]

Originally posted by thrEEpaGe

I really could care less how some overpaid slug of a reviewer thinks of a movie. It will not influence any of my spending money to see Attack of the Clones many times. Why are you people letting a few people dictate how you feel about something that is so dear to you?

 

I find it interesting to get different perspectives.

 

It's a bunch of pictures flashing by on frames.

 

It's a movie.

 

Real life is more dramatic and interesting.

[acdcfanbill]

well, i should become a reviewer so i could review them like i me, and most normal people like movies, then i could be the most liked reviewer ever

[Hikeeba]

What do you expect the professional critics to say? Lucas is a bad writer and an even worse director. And the Star Wars movie's were never known for great acting(I'm looking at you Mark). The've never been great cinema, nor will they ever be. They entertain(except for Episode I) and that's the important part for Star Wars.

 

I'm still going to see it tonight. I've read everything I could, and it sounds good to me. Even if it ends up sucking royally, Yoda will kick ass.

[wardz]

I've just seen the film and I left feeling quite numb.

 

The script is so disjointed. Its simple as that. If I said it was wooden, that would be an insult to chairs.

 

I couldn't stop laughing at some points, and it wasn't because it was deliberately funny, it made me cringe!

 

So much of it was flat and boring and I wont go into details now as I will try and let most of you make up your own mind. However, I am sure that you will be quite disappointed that this could have been a really good well written film which again, has turned out poorly.

 

I am not blaming Lucas entirely as it is his idea and story, but you should know your limitations. I think the people around him are just as much to blame for letting him release a half baked "film".

 

 

Anyway, I am sure I am not alone.

 

 

wardz

[Daexiar]

Well, i went out and watched it, i loved it and that's it. It has got the jedi fights, which is most important. Suprising plot, if you ask from me - I could never thought that Yoda would lead clones. Also it shows perfectly what Anakin is, and what he'll become. Anyone saying he's just an overspoilet brat obviously doesn't know, that he's about to turn to the dark side and that's what people tend to do before turning.

[Floydian]

Don't tell me this is going to be one of those love-hate type of films...

 

The thing that bothers me about critics is that they only have one paradigm to rate movies. The love story in Episode 2 is judged at the same level as the love story in say "Titanic"...it's a freakin action movie for God's sake -- how many of the Star Wars hard-core fans (myself included) would have flipped out if the movie had an amazingly boring and mushy love story -- it might as well have been a chick-flick then! This movie should be judged for it's amazingly entertaining action sequences.

 

The action sequences in this movie are some of the greatest I have ever seen. This movie helps to remove the egg on Lucas's face from Episode 1 -- total redemption.

 

Reading through most of these previous posts I see that many of you have a lot of beef with this movie...I don't see why. What were you expecting? Why are people so spoiled by Episodes 4-6?

 

Someone mentioned that Episode 2 was bad because of the coreographed (sp??) lightsaber duels...come on, look at how boring and still the battle between Old Obi-Wan and Darth Vader is in Episode 4!!! I'm so glad they finally learned how to actual Direct an exciting saber duel with Episodes 1 and 2.

 

I think that most people are spoiled these days. When the first three movies came out, there was nothing out there even close to being as innovative and technically advanced. Now a days, we're not suprised by anything we see anymore, so the technological eye-candy and effects are not nearly as special anymore. That's why I'm afraid that even Episode III will not even live up to most peoples expectations.

 

I for one loved Episode 2 -- In my opinion, it is pushing the limits as the best Episode of the entire series. Okay, flamers...begin.

[NewBJedi]

Paradigm means nothing without an explanation.

[BlackDove]

Movie owned for me

[venom420]

Letz see.. I went and watched it twice in one day... humm.. it must suck ass. I've one word for you guys.. "YODA"!

[Ice (Sic)kle]

I agree with all the people that like this movie, it is one of the best and the rest of you are just cynical *ssholes.

[Leagle]

You realise Anakin is supposed to be a spoiled brat.

[nattydred]

Original poster nailed it.

 

I am sorry, but anyone who thinks Portman and that guy who played Anakin are good actors is just plain ignorant.

 

 

Those performances were AWFUL!

And not only because of the amazingly bad lines they were given.

I dont have to prove it, go see it for yourselves.