Wilmington and Ebert on "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones"

Rotten Tomatoes.com ^ | May 14, 2002 | Michael Wilmington and Roger Ebert

[Snake65]

I didn't really care for Phantom Menace. Glad this one sounds like an improvement.

[Snake65]

Natalie Portman is bodacious ping.

[Penny1]

...this is sounding even worse than I feared...

[Darth Sidious]

Be of good cheer. I pray that some certain scenes are not cut... for Episode II is sounding like quite a conservative film.

[Penny1]

I think Lucas probably has a very good meta-narrative going, but he's not so great on the character side of things. For me, the characters are what make a movie, so it's not looking good.

[AmishDude]

I've heard more than one of these critics praising the original trilogy. The fact is that Luke is annoying in A New Hope -- whining throughout the movie.

[Darth Sidious]

The coolest character in AOTC has got to be Christopher Lee's portrayal of Count Dooku. He *totally* screws around with the mind.

[Penny1]

I have to admit, I am very much looking forward to seeing him! I got a sense from a really short clip from a Christopher Lee interview that the character isn't a simple bad-guy, that he has some legitimate concerns about the Jedi Order and part of his character's function is to point those weaknesses out. That will be fun, although I will have a hard time not snickering when I hear his character say, "You must join with me, Obi Wan..." Hehehe, now where have I heard him say something like that before?

[Darth Sidious]

Massive spoiler for those who are yet blissfully unaware (highlight to read): SPOILER Count Dooku is the new Sith apprentice! His Sith title is Darth Tyranus, as we find out toward the end of the film when he meets his master, Darth Sidious (the real one, not yours truly :-)END SPOILER

With that in mind, Dooku is set to be the most complex character of the saga, only surpassed by Anakin. I suspect that Dooku's motives are VERY elaborate, and not merely "I'm bad and I'm gonna kick your tail". No, Dooku will do that too... but at heart, I do believe he's got a higher good in mind, in a sort of "Doctor Doom"-ish sense.

[Penny1]

He's probably also going to foreshadow some of what Anakin will become...

[irishtenor]

Don't worry, penny, it'll be better than you think, though probably not as good as LOTR, of course. We'll go together, ok?

[Brett66]

Just got back from the early showing, this was a great movie! The best battles and light-saber duels ever.Jar Jar is only a bit player in this one, maybe about 20 seconds of dialog. Lucas paid attention to fan's complaints and made a much better movie.

[Darth Sidious]

Oh, it's a GREAT movie, but it could have been a LOT better still. I'm very disappointed with a number of things (the scenes that were cut, the wooden/forced romantic scenes, some other stuff).

And Jar Jar had a much more impressive role in the script. Hope he gets more time on the DVD.

[ironwill]

Yoda! The theater went wild when Yoda brushed aside his tunic to reveal his lightsaber then went absolutely nuts when he engaged Count Dooku in an unforgetable light saber duel. That alone was worth the price of admission.

[2Jedismom]

The theater went wild when Yoda brushed aside his tunic to reveal his lightsaber then went absolutely nuts when he engaged Count Dooku in an unforgetable light saber duel.My oldest boy and I just got in from seeing it. I did chuckle when Yoda reclaimed his walking stick and started creeping along, after that "brisk" lightsaber fight!

[Penny1]

We'll go together, ok?

It's a deal! However, I don't know if I can promise to wait till you get back from Alaska, so we'd better see it quick! ;)

[Elenya]

The theater went wild when Yoda brushed aside his tunic to reveal his lightsaber then went absolutely nuts when he engaged Count Dooku in an unforgetable light saber duel

Same here. By far the best part of the movie. Yoda is the best! But Anakin spoke and acted like an obnoxious spoiled brat ("That's not fair!"etc..) and Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn't charismatic at all.

A good movie, though, worth seeing.....once...unlike LOTR.

How many months before TTT?

[strela]

Lucas had to be very, very careful with the Yoda/Dooku duel, to prevent it from looking ridiculous. He was, mostly. The look on Yoda's face at the start of the duel was priceless.

That was NOT my favorite part though - Anakin matter-of-factly describing what he did to a group of freebooters was the part that most transfixed me. Niiiiiice foreshadowing.

Some parts of the story dragged a bit, and Samuel L. Jackson DON'T got game, but the tech was awesome. Go see it - you know you want to!

So, any bets on the title of Episode III? I'm putting my oar in for "The Fall of the Jedi.".

[Brett66]

The title could simply be "the clone wars" since Yoda declared they had begun towards the end.

[BibChr]

It is not what's there on the screen that disappoints me, but what's not there

But it's what is on the screen that you are supposed to be reviewing! He did this same thing with Lord of the Rings, and he was DEAD wrong there. He didn't like it because it wasn't made the way he thinks he would have made it. This makes no impression on me.

Dan