(OT) Hmmm Star Wars II Seen I Have!

[Sepulchrave II]

Utterl, utterly dismal.
What can I say?

This may be one of the worst movies EVER.

Will I go and see Episode 3?

Yes, I am an incorrigible optimist.

 

[Arcane Runes Press]

Utterl, utterly dismal.
What can I say?

This may be one of the worst movies EVER.

If you honestly, TRULY believe that..........

well, words fail before the colossal wall of hyperbole.

Patrick Y.

 

[hong]

Utterl, utterly dismal.
What can I say?

This may be one of the worst movies EVER.

Will I go and see Episode 3?

Yes, I am an incorrigible optimist.

Worst. Haiku. Evar.

 

[hong]

If you honestly, TRULY believe that..........

well, words fail before the colossal wall of hyperbole.

Patrick Y.

Worst. Limerick. Evar.

 

[Bagpuss]

Have to agree with Psion I thought the Jedi lightsabre duels in Episode I have yet to be bettered.

The fight in the hanger was too fast and poorly lite to get any apprication of the moves, and bit with two lightsabres was over as soon as it began.

If Yoda can move like that how come he hobbles with a cane and uses a floating wheel-chair?

Maybe seeing it on DVD at (1/2 speed) will improve the fights.

Over all I liked the movie however.

 

[WizarDru]

Have to agree with Psion I thought the Jedi lightsabre duels in Episode I have yet to be bettered.

The fight in the hanger was too fast and poorly lite to get any apprication of the moves, and bit with two lightsabres was over as soon as it began.

If Yoda can move like that how come he hobbles with a cane and uses a floating wheel-chair?

Two words: Force Powers. I mean, give the guy a break, he's, what, 800 years old almost? Criminey.

I think part of the issue with that fight is that Lee is too old to be doing it, so they were using a double, and couldn't afford to get too close to the action, or it would have been too obvious, methinks.


I still think Empire is the best film, but think that Episode II was much, much better than Episode I, which I didn't dislike. But ultimately, I'll never enjoy the film in the same way that I enjoyed the originals....times have changed, I've changed.

But the ten-year old boy who was in the theatre with me yesterday with his family...the one who shouted out "Oh yeah, It's starting! It's starting! Finally!!!" with barely contained anticipation: he's the one who will. And I'm glad. Lost in this great spanning discussion of the new Star Wars films (and by discussion, I mean everywhere, not the ENBoards) is the fact that this is not just mythology...it's pure entertainment. It's transportation to another universe so powerful, that we're captivated by it. The scope of Star Wars has always been one of it's greatest assets. The story itself is a classic, well-used one...but before Star Wars, no one had attempted something on the scale of an actual Universe, not just three or four starship sets and a planet set or two. Star Wars, as a series, spends virtually no time explaining its aliens, its technology or its politics. Instead, it delivers more information about it's universe OUTSIDE the actual motion picture, for good or ill. For those so interested, it's endlessly fascinating. For the rest of us, it's just nice not to have all that extra baggage....lord knows we get enough exposition as it is.

Episode II fulfills its promise to entertain, even if it does so unevenly. I'll be interested in how it appears to us in a few more years, with the benefit of time.

 

[Welverin]

And...just to mention.. unlike us.. .the characters in the movie have not seem what has gone in the past.. or are privy to all the information.. and because they don't have Character Knowledge (oddly apt that this is on a RP'ing page) nobody suspects who Darth Sidious really is.

Actually I think Yoda suspects something is up with Palpatine. He gives a little scowl at one point when Palpatine is talking that gave me the impression he realizes Palpy is two faced.

Also Bail Organa gives a look at the end that shows his feelings on where the Republic is.

 

[Tom Cashel]

If Yoda can move like that how come he hobbles with a cane and uses a floating wheel-chair?

"Judge me by my size, do you? Hmmph. And well you should not, for my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is."

Although you can rationalize it just fine by saying, Yoda does what he's gotta do despite being 760 years old......I think that was also meant to be a bit of a joke. You know: funny?

Anyway, I don't have much to add in the way of details (except the fact that Dooku heisting the Death Star plans was just brilliant)...I liked it a lot. Much of the theater was laughing out loud during the "love scenes," so that helped to put things in perspective. Good movie.

 

[King_Stannis]

The movie is freaking awesome. I must admit that the nattering nabobs of negativism (ie the Critics) had me a tad worried, but as I watched the film all of that disappeared. A few points that I would like to address…

Hayden Christianson ends up looking like a whiny, confused and love-struck character. He needed to be…uhhh….well, whiny, confused and love-struck! All of that crap about the acting in the movie was wrong. As I said, Christianson was playing a FREAKING teenager! He’s supposed to look awkward! Natalie Portman delivers a pretty solid performance. Their love story was not too bad. It certainly wasn’t as bad as some of you have made it out to be. As far as it being clichéd, well, okay. That is just terrible, considering it is FREAKING FAIRY TALE! Would you have preferred they bust out in some sort of “Moulin Rouge” moment just to be different? No thank you, I’ll take my fairy tale love predictable and clichéd. And while we’re at it, is there anything more clichéd than a “good girl” (i.e. Leia) falling for a “bad boy” (i.e. Solo)? People just seem to casually forget that one.

Perhaps Anakin should have just given her the Slam! Bamm! Thank you Senator!? I think some of you need to learn how to immerse yourself in a movie. If you found fault in the acting, you were looking for fault to begin with – which is crazy, seeing as nobody is paying you for you opinion on the acting! I’ll say it again, the acting in this movie was universally solid. End Of Story!

The parts on Khimino were just great. It really gave to me a sense of vastness to the SW universe. I really felt those cloners were fantastic aliens, and creepy!

Jango and Boba rocked. Everything that has been said about the fight is true at the end. I was in a full theater at 10:30 last night and almost everyone was clapping and saying “Yeah!” with Yoda at the end. Also, the bygone tradition of clapping at the end of a good movie was brought back in force – pun intended, as the theater gave a great ovation at the end credits.

So that’s my capsule review. I am now firmly convinced that critics are unloading on this movie because they don’t understand and hate the SW phenomenon. No big deal, though. Film critics are the scum of the earth, right up there next to used car salesmen.

All told, a really, really good movie. If you are a Lucas hater and go in looking for stuff to hate, no doubt you’ll find it. But after seeing it, I only have pity on your miserable, wretched lives. I was seriously pumped up when I got home – at 1:00am. I could barely fall asleep. And I can’t wait to go with my wife and 3 year old.

p.s. I thought it was very interesting the way that yoda uses a cane, though clearly he doesn't need. So does the emperor in Return of the Jedi! Both want to appear frail and old, and both are frightfully powerful.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

JUst chiming in (spoilers)

I have to say that I was very plesantly surprised. I'm in the large camp of those who loved 4-6 and were deeply disappointed with 1. But I think we can at the very least talk about 2 in the same class as 4-6, although I don't know where among those it would fall on my personal list.

I miss good dialog -- a combination of good writing and good directing that brings out the power of a bit of banter. 4-6 had it. It's still missing from 1 and 2, although 2 is closer.

But the grand plot is there. The Death star plans, the genesis of Boba Fett and the clone army of stormtroopers -- and the irony that the storm troopers are fighting on the side of the Jedi in this one. And the fact that this entire battle - including the death of several Jedi, was all orchestrated by the Sith, putting two sides of the same unwitting republic against each other to put the republic in a position where they would be willing to vote Palpatine into dicatorial power. Yoda, of course, is right again, at the end, when he questions the idea that they have won a victory.

The return of irony to the Star Wars movies helps a lot. I wish there were more human banter, but Yoda makes up for a lot. Macgregor's Obiwan is just around the corner from being a great character in the way that Ford's Han Solo was. And the casting of Christiensen as Anakin is a good choice too -- he's not quite likeable, but does angry and sinister very well. Just that casting choice alone was a good move -- it sells the turn that Anakin must make in the next movie, and there will be some GREAT lightsaber fights in that one, I'm sure. Anakin will kill Dooku to take his place at Sideous's side. Then Obiwan, trying to protect Amidala, will duel Anakin and nearly kill him. Perhaps with the help of Yoda -- I'm guessing that Windu will be dead by then, killed by Boba Fettt, who is hunting down the Jedi. I don't know if we'll see anything quite so acrobatic as the duels with Darth Maul -- the one bright spot in SW1, but it would be nice to see it happen.

Now I'm trying to figure out when I can go and see it again.

-rg