Frankly, Episode II was hands-down awesome. I left the theater totally blown away and impressed by how much Lucas managed to improve the series. To me, Episode I was a bit of a let down. The technology in it was amazing, with the Pod Race and the Gungan city, but the story just wasn’t captivating. I found that with Episode II, I stayed engrossed in the whole film. Naturally, there were some elements of the film that I thought were a bit off, but who is to complain? Lucas really outdid himself this time and upped the standards a notch in the Star Wars series.
If you haven’t seen the film yet, don’t read the full text because it is a bit of a spoiler. With that said, continue reading at your own risk.
Now you shall see why Yoda is the master.
Visually the last 30 minutes of the film are breathtaking. There is so much action on the screen that it can be a bit overwhelming, but I love that kind of stuff. The chaos really begins with the first war involving the clones. The clones are “perfect” replicas of Django Fett designed to be unassuming soldiers. They battle Dokuu and his henchmen first in a Gladiator-style arena with the assistance of Mace, Anakin, Padme, and a bunch of others. I’ve never seen so many lightsabers before. The choreography of that scene was just stunning. The level of movement was simply unprecedented.
Then there’s Yoda. Yoda was awesome. Yoda and a lightsaber were even more awesome. I think my friend Sung sums up the image of Yoda nicely in his movie journal. He notes, “Wow… the moment when Yoda flashes his lightsaber?!! I won’t be able to forget that moment for a long time to come.” Exactly. Actually, the part I loved most about Yoda was when he did the flips against Dokuu. That was just crazy.
The lightsaber fight between Anakin and Dokuu was almost equally cool. I thought the way Lucas filmed the lightsaber fight between the two was unique. He chose to zoom in close with the characters so big that when they move they are flashes on the screen. You see Anakin’s head, a green flash, Dokuu, a red flash, and more movement. That scene was dazzling but not long enough I think. Another minute would have been great.
I was impressed with Hayden on the screen. I thought he was a perfect Anakin and a better cast than that DiCaprio fellow. I remember having seen him in Life as a House but he did a much better job in Episode II. His counter-part, Natalie Portman, is just a goddess. She was jaw-dropping, amazingly beautiful on screen. I thought she looked great in Episode I but she has really matured and grown more beautiful by this film. Now I can’t wait for Episode III. And that white combat suit…wow was that a stunner. So was that black number she was wearing in front of the fire place.
Jar Jar was in the film again but only shortly. Thank you Lucas for that. I thought the way they essentially “killed” Jar Jar off by making him a senator was brilliant. Me-sa think that was-a clever.
If you haven’t seen Star Wars before you won’t really like the film. People that pretend to like the series because it is trendy will be put off by the long dialogues about the Republic and the nature of democracy, etc. etc. I consider this to be a drawback because each episode should stand on its own. However, Episode II is the link between the prequels and the originals, so it needs this dialogue. Episode III is about Anakin and how he becomes Vader. Interconnecting the prequels to IV, V, and VI in Episode III would just be out of place.
Some of the dialogue was a bit off. Lucas is great at writing poignant catch phrases that just fit the scene nicely and there were many in the film. C-3PO was quite funny when he said, “This is such a drag.” It was very Lucas. It made me think of American Graffiti. However, there were parts where some of the dialogue was just off. The thing about sand, yes, that was a bit lame. Natalie (Padme) got stuck with a bunch of cheezy lines that she really couldn’t do anything with. I didn’t think the writing for her character was strong. There was one moment, though that I remember as an exception. I did like the part where she said, “Annie, I still remember you as a little boy.” Ouch. Yes, that was perfect.
There were more things about the film that people could criticize, but I shall refrain from that. I think of the movie too highly to keep criticizing because overall, there were not many bad elements to the film.
Remember, Star Wars is about fun. Don’t take it too seriously. People like Ebert who criticize Lucas for his level of “art” watch movies with an overly critical eye, never taking in the fun. I go to Star Wars to have fun. I love the crowd, cheering at the crucial moments of the film. The applause that erupted when Yoda flashed his lightsaber, that’s what movies are all about. Yeah you have to wait in line. Too bad. If you want the real experience, you have to wait in line because it is all about the crowd.
The graphics in the film were incredible but they didn’t distract from the story. Lucas effectively uses the graphics and rendering as a tool. This is different from films like The Matrix where you go to see the movie simply because of the technology. I thought the color and sound were excellent. I must go see the film in digital some time to compare. The THX, Dolby Digital system was amazing. The part where Django detonates the pulse charges was just awesome. I could feel my chair erupt.
Overall, go see Star Wars. If you like the original trilogy, you should like this film. However, you need to know characters. That is essential. If you know Han and Chewie and that’s about it, you’re screwed. Get to know the people of Courescant and Naboo. I suppose reading the books would help. If you know characters like Mace Windu prior to seeing the film, it will be more worthwhile. All in all, Episode II rocked. Thank you Mr. Lucas.
