World Famous Comics: Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)
Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson Directed By: George Lucas Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: 20th Century Fox Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 1 Release Date: March 22, 2005 Running Time: 142 minutes Theatrical Release Date: May 16, 2002
Product Description: When political seperatists attempt to assasinate Senator Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi tries to find out why while Anakin acts as protector to Amidala and begins a forbidden affair with her. Genre: Science Fiction Rating: PG Release Date: 22-MAR-2005 Media Type: DVD
What WAS Lucas thinking??? Attack of the Clones??? I knew we were in trouble after hearing the title. I was right. I didn't even want to see this because Maul wasn't in it. Christopher Lee is a legend but even his presence couldn't fill Maul's shoes (boots?) The acting? Horrid!!! The love scene with Anakin and Padme? The whole audience was laughing it was so bad. I don't blame Hayden. I think him and Portman should have won best actors for being able to keep straight faces during the filming of that scene. "I love you Padme" " I feel your beating heart Padme" Or whatever he said. C 3PO shows more emotion. Bad. Bad. Bad. The lightsaber fight with Anakin? WAY too short. And what's up with the name Darth Tyrannus. What's next Darth Pterodactyl? Give me a break!!! And lastly the fight between Yoda and Lee. Just plain embarrassing. Lucas did Yoda's fighting style right in Revenge of the Sith. But in this one he looks like a muppet on dope. The only Star Wars film I give one star. Start, middle, finish............horrid!!! Not a must see, or a must own.
Perhaps George Lucas's Most Advant Garde Star Wars Film? *Contains spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen the film*
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is the Star Wars movie that possibly divide's Star Wars fans the most. With The Phantom Menace, most fans are united in their indifference to down right loathing. With Revenge of the Sith, most fans agreed that it was a huge step up in all departments. But with 2002's Attack of the Clones opinion was varied widely between those that hated it more then Phantom Menace right through to those that thought it was a masterpiece on a par with The Empire Strikes Back. Why such a range of opinion? My feeling is that this is perhaps the movie of the series that is closest to Lucas's personal desire to be a truly experimental film maker. Indeed, there's almost something of the advant garde about the style of Attack of the Clones, but at the same time Lucas has gone out of his way to listen and respond and correct much of the criticism of The Phantom Menace.
In a story sense, Attack of the Clones is closest to The Empires Strikes Back. It's a bridging movie that must act both as pathway from Episode I to Episode III and at the same time it must be an interesting and entertaining movie in its own right. It must deepen and flesh out the characters and take the plot in new and surprising directions - Clones achieves all of these things to varying degrees of success. Clearly Lucas realized this film was in some ways connected in story terms to Empire, because he put in a couple of elements from the 1980 movie. So, we have incredibly cool looking Bounty Hunters, a very youthful Boba Fett and his father Jango Fett and a chase through an asteroid field (though the CGI asteroid chase of Attack of the Clones is not a thrilling or exciting as the asteroid chase in Empire)
Attack of the Clones is basically a love story set against the backdrop of war and this is where a lot of the complaints come from. The love story is played out as a very old fashioned, formal courtship, almost in the spirit of King Arthur or Romeo and Juliet. The dialogue is deliberately flowery and over the top. Unfortunately Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman do not have the range to pull off some of the lines they are given. The actors should have had a sense of humor about the guff they have to say, and that would have helped the audience relax into the scenes. As it is, everything is played out very seriously and on one or two occasions the scenes simply become a bore. Listen out for a stunning, melancholy love theme (Across The Stars) composed as ever by musical legend John Williams. This sad piece hints at the tragedy that will await Anakin and Padme.... Juxtaposed to the love story we get a mystery story, where Obi-Wan Kenobi goes off on his own to investigate who is trying to kill Padme. The mystery deepens when Obi-Wan stumbles across a Clone Army that is being developed for The Republic, supposedly at the behest of the Jedi Council. Soon Obi-Wan finds himself caught up in a war beat that explodes into life on the hot and dusty planet of Geonosis. This story is much more interesting than the love stuff and on a number of occasions when the movie is with Anakin and Padme, you'll find yourself wishing to get back to Obi-Wan. Ewan McGregor has a much expanded role, and he shines. This is McGregor's movie and he completely steps up to the plate. Rumor has it that Ewan wasn't particularly happy with this movie, but in my opinion he delivers his best work of the Prequel Trilogy in Attack of the Clones.
As the movie develops Anakin and Padme leave the safety of Naboo (Lake Como stands in for Naboo in this film and looks absolutely beautiful) and travel to Tatooine. This is the part of the film where Clones truly comes alive. The acting level rise's all round as we return to the Lars Homestead (the places and sets so famous in the original Star Wars movie) We meet up with C3PO and find out that Anakin's mother has been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. As his beloved mother later dies in arms, Anakin lashes out in an uncontrollable rage (listen out for a ghostly voice crying out at this moment) and his downward spiral to his ultimate fate has begun. These scenes and a confession scene (set in the Lars garage - another famous set from Star Wars) are played out excellently. Christenson and Portman really act well in these scenes. The movie rise's to a whole new level at this moment, and the rest of the film just fly's by.
The final action scenes take place on Geonosis as Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme join up and take on monsters and Battle Droids. They are then joined by Clones Attacking (fancy that) and 500 Jedi Knights, including much expanded roles for Yoda and Mace Windu. All this is overseen by evil Count Dooku, played with great style by horror legend Christopher Lee. Indeed, the climax of the movie is an iconic face off between Dooku and Yoda. The lightsaber fight itself leaves a lot to be desired, but the build up is masterful. The roof, literally, comes down! As we go from one action scene to another in true cliffhanger/Saturday matinee style, the action becomes breathtaking and you'll be exhausted by the end. Finally people get to see why Star Wars is such a special series of movies.
The acting is generally better in Clones than Menace. I've already picked up on McGregor, but Portman and Christenson also do good work outside of some of the love scenes. Ian McDiarmid is again solid as ever as Palpatine (look out for the now Supreme Chancellor to take a further step towards Galactic Domination in a scene that actually justifies Jar Jar Binks's presense in this series) Samuel L Jackson enjoys his expanded role. Tem Morrison as Jango Fett and Christopher Lee both enjoy their villainous roles.
So, what are those experimental elements? Well, firstly the film was the first ever motion picture to be shot entirely with digital cameras. This is problematical as it adds a shiny, somehow false element to many of the scenes. Almost like everything is a little bit too clear and clear - Only when the action moves on to the grimy location of Tatooine does it finally look like a proper camera has been used. The editing is also done in a very abstract way. This was Ben Burtts first movie as a solo editor and many of the cuts, whether deliberately or not, do stand out. There's almost something about this film that jerks you around - This is almost entirely deliberate. Right from the pan the camera motion is up rather than down (or is it just that the camera is up side down????) and from that moment on its clear that nothing is what it seems. There's a water planet (Kamino) where the Clones are being created. Inside the building on Kamino, everything is brilliantly white and sanitized and this environment definitely evokes memories of Lucas's first film, THX-1138. That, set against the hot and mechanical world of Geonosis and the droid factories (where Anakin and Padme have a long action scene) these environments are both much more abstract than any other enviro's in the Star Wars Saga. Lucas has always said Star Wars is a silent movie, but with Attack of the Clones he pushes that to an absolute limit. The last 40 minutes is essentially a silent movie. Yes, there is still some dialogue, but out of 40 minutes, I would guess the total amount of dialogue would come to less than 5 minutes. Instead, the story is told entirely through movement, sound and music. This is absolutely the heart and soul of George Lucas the film maker. Telling stories visually and through sound and music. NOT dialogue. There's a fabulous moment during the lightsaber duel between Anakin and Dooku, where all you see is a black background and the protagonists faces, lit up by the red and blue of their lightabers. No music, no dialogue, just the iconic sound of their sabers and the striking visuals. Almost like a little tone poem. This is surely the most advant garde scene in the whole of the Star Wars Saga? As well as pushing the silent movie element to its limit in the last 40 minutes, George Lucas also pushes the cliffhanger style to its limit. The final 40 minutes is basically one cliffhanger ending after another after another after another and its all done in true Saturday Morning Matinee style.
So this is definitely George Lucas's most abstract Star Wars movie. And this weird blend of the abstract and the commercial makes for an odd combination. As I said at the start, some people love Attack of the Clones and it now has a cult following among a small number of fans. At the same time some people loath it. Like all the Star Wars movies it should be seen at least once and watch with an open mind.
The production is as good as ever. The costumes look great; the CGI (whilst not to everyone's tastes) is as expertly done by ILM as ever. The musical score is better than on The Phantom Menace, despite some poor editing from Burtt. The acting is better. The script is generally better (though Star Wars is NOT about dialouge and if more people understood this they would probably appreciate the Sage more)
As far as extra's go, we have the usual deleted scenes, trailers, music video, full commentary, web-docs and featurette's. The main documentary; From Puppets To Pixels is sadly NOT of the standard of The Phantom Menaces: The Beginning. Nevertheless, it's well produced and is worth a look. Look out also for mockumentary R2D2: Beneath The Dome - A very funny look at the life of R2D2.
Attack of the Clones itself is much darker than The Phantom Menace and has a melancholy feel about it. The ending is a true downer. First we have the realization that the Clone Wars have begun and the Sith are in total control of events. Then we get our first true blast the legendary Imperial March, followed by a doomed wedding set against the symbolism of a setting sun. As Anakin and Padme turn their backs to the camera, their fate is sealed. Episode III awaits....
Speaking for myself (and I can only do that) I highly recommend Attack of the Clones. The movie is better than The Phantom Menace at a very good **** whilst the extra's are slightly worse than those included with The Phantom Menace, but still a solid ***. Please note that this movie will most certainly not be to everybody's tastes.
*PS, Attack of the Clones has a multitude of references to other films, so if your a movie buff, its worth watching purely to see how many references you notice*
"Are You Trying To Use One Of Your Mind Tricks On Me?" ~ Can Viable Lifeforms Survive In A Digital Universe? The year '02 marked the release of `Star Wars - Attack of the Clones', film 5 (episode II by George Lucas' count) in the ever-continuing saga of an intergalactic war between the powers of good and the forces of evil. Once again Lucas disappoints his audience with a visually stunning but lackluster and unimaginative storyline that is surpassed only by the banality of its dialogue.
I don't believe I have ever seen stiffer, more unnatural performances than I did in this film, at least not in a major, big budget project as this one. It's hard to distinguish the real life forms from the robotic. It would seem the only instruction the cast was given was walk here, or sit there and deliver your lines of dialogue without cracking a smile or displaying in the slightest hint of emotion.
It's time to face the truth, in `Attack of the Clones' people populate the screen only to provide proportion and contrast to the landscape and validate the viewers perception of reality. This film is a showcase for George Lucas' digital universe and nothing else.
the movie that made me a pretrilogy fan! when i saw episode 1 in the theater, i thought what the hell is this!! when episode II came out i didnt even go but when it came out on HBO i got hooked. i think padme is beautiful, anakin is very likeable and the romance i believed.
now something where i seem to be alone, i think ewen mcgregor is a horrible ob1. he is such an Ahole. i know his character is supposed to keep anakin down but he overdoes it and i dont like him.
lol.. while im at it, star wars>lord of the rings.
Peace out
great movie We purchased this movie to complete our set. Somehow we had missed this one when it came out. Now we have all the movies in the series. It arrived on time and in good condition.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
