Episode 2 : Attack of the Clones

[James]

Well, I went to see it over the weekend. It was certainly better than Episode One - having your intestines pulled out through your nostrils is better than Episode One - but it wasn't what I'd call good. Why can't any of the actors actually act?!

Slight spoiler (highlight to see):
I thought the film was very slow until the last third, from when the bounty hunter escapes from the clone factory onwards. But Natalie leaping through the machinery in the robot factory and the tactical display of the clone vs. robot battle at the end seemed to me to be just things put in to provide a basis for the video game.

 

[adriel]

If back when the original 3 Star War movies were made they had the technology available today, I bet the originals wouldn't be all that good. They would turn out like Ep 1 and 2 did.

 

[James]

I dunno, they got a far better class of actor with episodes 4-6, methinks - at least they have emotions and seem enthused about the whole thing. With episodes 1 & 2 it's like they dug up some of the extras in Resident Evil to do the acting - wooden performances, stiff movement, little depth to the characters.

Even when there were cheesy lines in the originals, the actors managed to carry it off. In 1 & 2 I was rolling my eyes and sighing.

My GF also said with Episode 2 she wished she realised that she needed to have a meal and say goodbye to her relatives, and perhaps pack a lunch and some drinks before she went in. It's so long.

 

[Handruin]

I dunno, they got a far better class of actor with episodes 4-6, methinks - at least they have emotions and seem enthused about the whole thing. With episodes 1 & 2 it's like they dug up some of the extras in Resident Evil to do the acting - wooden performances, stiff movement, little depth to the characters.

Even when there were cheesy lines in the originals, the actors managed to carry it off. In 1 & 2 I was rolling my eyes and sighing.

My GF also said with Episode 2 she wished she realized that she needed to have a meal and say goodbye to her relatives, and perhaps pack a lunch and some drinks before she went in. It's so long.

I agree, I saw the movie Friday and like you said, in the original 3 they were able to pull certain lines off with the stack of actors they had lined up. Even Harrison Ford and Chewbacca was a good combo together. They turned into a nice family of entertainment.

I felt the same way about episode 2. It was better then 1, but some of the development needed refreshment, it was slow in the beginning. I'm really happy that JarJar's role was trimmed down quite a bit. In comparison to JarJar, I never felt the same level of hate towards R2D2, C3PO, Chewbacca, or even Wicket.

 

[cquinn]

(I haven't gone to see it yet, hopefully next weekend)

Actors can only act as well as the Director (and script) allows them to.

The original movies were pushing the limits of "technology" for their
time as well, look at how much of the effects and scenes from eps 4-6
were made up as they went along. But back then technology was just
another tool to carry the story along; now technology is a selling point
to pre-sell the film to theatres. And like any Hollywood Blockbuster
the movie is "adjusted" to reflect popular ideas and trends.

Even the older films had scenes and lines that seem contradictory, or
better left forgotten in retrospect. But they were more easily forgiven
because the dialog was being used to carry a story we were not already
familiar with. And we have gotten older too... We are not walking into
the cinema with the same sense of childlike wonderment that held us along
during the 70s.

I think its ironic that we can say the first films "turned into a nice family of entertainment", yet we bemoan the fact that these new films are being
made as "family entertainment".

 

[Buck]

I’ve seen the movie twice this past weekend. The first time was in a small theater with only average sound. The second time was in a theater twice the size and DTX sound – a huge improvement.

Episode II is better then Episode I, but as many have commented, the acting lacks character development and feeling. I also think that the movie tries to cover too many main-points, and thus crams a series of intense scenes into two hours. Episode II could easily be two movies if all of the characters, and their interaction with one another would be developed more (although today’s young generation might not have the patience for that).

Since this movie has yet to be seen by some in this forum, I won’t discuss any specifics. However, I will mention that the supposed love-story the develops in this episode lacks true emotion and passion; it seems to be driven more my lust.

Conversely, some of the special effects (only some) are fantastic to see on the big screen. Additionally, the choice of alien characters and their languages was done well. The odd cameo appearance by some actors was interesting, and some of the surprise fight scenes were fun to see.

 

[Sol]

I pretty much agree about the acting but would have to say its not all thier fault. I think part of it is that the lines in the first 3 were just better.
I don't remember any part of the original trilogy in which C3P0 punned for a straight 5 minute stretch in the middle of an intense action sequence.

I mean really thats entirly out of character, or would have been, and yet in the gladiatorial bit thats exactly what happened.

I still enjoyed it though, Yoda kicks arse.

 

[Buck]

I pretty much agree about the acting but would have to say its not all thier fault. I think part of it is that the lines in the first 3 were just better.
I don't remember any part of the original trilogy in which C3P0 punned for a straight 5 minute stretch in the middle of an intense action sequence.

I mean really thats entirly out of character, or would have been, and yet in the gladiatorial bit thats exactly what happened.

I still enjoyed it though, Yoda kicks arse.

You’re right Sol, it’s not all their fault. The problem with Episodes I-III is that they are strictly transitional movies that don’t allow time for character development. The first three episodes are being shot to cover a large period of time, and then that time-line tapers off into Episodes IV-VI.

One thing that I have missed is the camaraderie present in the first three movies - the way Luke, Han, Chewy, C3PO, R2, and princess Leia did.

I still enjoyed the movie too, and look forward to Episode III.