Posted on 04/29/2002 11:22:07 AM PDT by JediGirl
It was shot in "High Definition" video, which saved at least $2 million, and made it easier to tinker with and match to the other purely computer-generated imagery so heavily laced throughout this phantasy series. Ergo...it is a moving comic book. What we shall see is not what anything, including people look like...but what Mr. Lucas and rooms full of salaried technicians will have spent thousands of hours electronically "painting."
What I find particularly cloying and distressing is that this production will play into the hands of manufacturers and salespersons, who have been relentlessly pumping impressionable young minds -- those of countless "Film Students" -- with the easily demonstrable error that digital video of any form is equal to the results achieved in film photography. After sifting through reams of sales pitch, the promoters' arguments come down to one thing...the equipment is cheaper. Consequently, starry-eyed "wannabees" are expecting electronics engineers to compress 100 years of Filmcraft into a tiny, plastic box, which many now believe they can hold at just about any angle, point at a representation of their lofty concept (usually an equally starry-eyed actor wannabee), and out will pop their Feature Film. Ain't capitalism great? There's one more patsy graduated every minute...somewhere. Bring on the clones.
Is it as good as the original trilogy? No. Is it as good as Episode I? Well, the pacing is bad. The first half is worse and the second half is better. Wait 'till you see Yoda in a light-saber fight!
The real problem is Anakin. He's played like a pig-headed, self-indulgent teenager. I can think of no reason why a woman as beautiful, intelligent and successful as Amidala would ever fall in love with him.
There isn't much Jar-Jar, but he does commit the act that ultimately will destroy the Republic. So there's hope he will be executed in the next movie.
See the movie. May the Force be with you.
I became sorely disillusioned after the first 3 installments were reworked. Cleaning up the original effects was a good idea. The matte-work on the battle scenes on Hoth comes to mind. But the extra, added, new-and-improved scenes ranged from superfluous (entering Mos Isley), to downright dumb (the song-and-dance number at Jabba's palace).
The space battles gained a few extra TIE fighters scattered here and there, which only served to make the shots look cluttered, if they were ever noticed at all. And I blame Lucas for the current Hollywood fetish of an expanding ring of fire around every major explosion nowadays. Why, George, why?
I have not seen When Clones Attack, yet, and I expect to see it in the theater, but more out of a sense of dreary obligation than out of any real boyhood exuberance and anticipation. TPM served to suck that joy right out of my soul. George, much like Indy, is making this up as he goes, and that approach was painfully obvious in Episode I. Everything that I've heard has given me little hope for the second installment.
Here is one review that encapsulates the above at The Onion AV Club, and here is another from TomatoNation wherein George gets positively bitch-slapped.
The second review especially contains spoilers. Be warned.
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