Oooh!

[arib]

Saw Episode 2 Last night with my friends Avi, Rubin, Daniel and not-roommate-Jesse.

Wow.
Was lots of fun. We analyzed the living hoohah out of the film as it was going on, and talked back to the movie, amusing those around us, and annoying a few.

I'll probably be seeing it again with Avi and his sister Merav, since they have a spare ticket, and Avi offered it to me.

and now, my analysis.



Let me just say, Yoda's duel with Dooku is worth waiting the entire film for. He's like a Jedi pinball on crack, as Avi put it.

Hayden Christiansen, as Anakin does a great job imitating Jake Loyd, the whiny kid who played Anakin in Episode One. You have to suffer through some of his scenes, but the rest of the cast carries him well enough.

Natalie Portman was, as usual, amazing, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous, especially with some of the outfits they had her wearing. (mmm... black corset)

Samuel Jackson worked well with what he was given, and had some great action scenes. Although I kept expecting him to work a "mother$&*#er" or two into his lines somewhere.

Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan is starting to resemble Alec Guiness' Obi-Wan, which was impressive.

The battle scenes put Episode 1's to shame, and the "car-chase" scene on Coruscant made up for the travesty of pod-racing.

Lots more good stuff, but I don't really remember it, so I'll have to write it after my second viewing...

Comments

[griffen.livejournal.com]

I think you missed mentioning what is perhaps the most important point of all... the *reason* why Episode II was so much more satisfying than Episode I. Any idea why that is?

(I know, but I want your analysis, first.)

Re:

[arib.livejournal.com]

It was just so much cooler?

[griffen.livejournal.com]

It also answered a lot of questions that Episode I asked, but didn't answer. I think that's one of the main reasons it worked.

[hakamadare.livejournal.com]

the "travesty" of pod-racing? the pod race was one of the few things that kept me awake during episode i... but i do agree, the car chase was phenomenal. watching obi-wan and anakin work as a team was gratifying. speaking of obi-wan, i think my favorite part of his character is the occasional "oh, shit!" look (there's one when he's hanging from the flying drone, i believe, there's another during the fight with jango fett when he realizes he's about to be pulled over the edge of the platform, plus a great one in the arena when the big mantis-monster catches the spear in its jaws and snaps it more or less effortlessly). the way ewan mcgregor plays those looks makes me think of obi-wan less as a remote, all-powerful Jedi and more as a human, well-intentioned guy who occasionally gets himself in over his head (which, coincidentally, could also serve as a description of pretty much any of my favorite action heroes).

for me the best parts of the movie were the lightsaber duels. watching the line of Jedi charging forward, sabers raised, during the arena battle made me want to leap to my feet and cheer. but what was up with everybody constantly dropping their lightsabers in the one-on-one duels? i thought Jedi used the Force to keep their sabers in their hands. (and even if not... hey, i know i'm just a lowly SCA heavy list grunt, but i've figured out how to use a damn lanyard to keep my sword in my hand!) i was also a bit surprised to see less throwing of lightsabers; i know that if i were obi-wan, standing on the platform watching jango fett's ship lift off, i would have chucked my saber after it, even if just out of frustration.

but all in all, it was a good flick. the pacing seemed odd to me; the final third of the movie felt kind of like i was watching a long trailer, as each scene seemed to end too quickly. and i have a theory that i'd like to test; i need to go back and watch the original trilogy again, because i seem to recall that the original movies had far more dialogue during the action scenes (and far better as well).

-steve

Re:

[arib.livejournal.com]

*shrug*
the "travesty" of pod-racing? the pod race was one of the few things that kept me awake during episode i

It was a shot-for-shot ripoff of the chariot race from ben Hur,according to my film student friends. It was also a 14 minute long ad for the podracing videogame.

the way ewan mcgregor plays those looks makes me think of obi-wan less as a remote, all-powerful Jedi and more as a human, well-intentioned guy who occasionally gets himself in over his head.

And you can see how he's evolving into the ep. 4 Obi-Wan.

for me the best parts of the movie were the lightsaber duels. watching the line of Jedi charging forward, sabers raised, during the arena battle made me want to leap to my feet and cheer.

When Yoda had it out with Dooku, the audience at the first showing cheered throughout, at the second showing, they laughed until Yoda whipped out his lightsaber, then they went nuts from cheering.

but what was up with everybody constantly dropping their lightsabers in the one-on-one duels?

Constantly using the force to hold your saber would, IMO, distract you from fighting.

was also a bit surprised to see less throwing of lightsabers; i know that if i were obi-wan, standing on the platform watching jango fett's ship lift off, i would have chucked my saber after it, even if just out of frustration.

If a saber leaves the user's hands, it shuts off.

I think AotC ranks as my second favorite of all the Star Wars films, next to Empire.

[hakamadare.livejournal.com]

It was a shot-for-shot ripoff of the chariot race from ben Hur,according to my film student friends.

it's been a number of years since i've seen Ben Hur, but i'd believe that. and, though i'm a bit ashamed to admit it, i spent many happy hours playing the pod-racing video game (it's the first good Star Wars game LucasArts has made since TIE Fighter, with the possible exception of the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight FPS series)

but your point is well taken.

Constantly using the force to hold your saber would, IMO, distract you from fighting.

hrm. one might also argue that constantly remembering to keep my own hand closed would distract me from fighting, but personal experience tells me otherwise.

on the other hand, i notice that Yoda and Mace Windu never seemed to drop THEIR sabers. perhaps the junior Jedi just aren't bad-ass enough. :)

If a saber leaves the user's hands, it shuts off.

you may have bested me on a point of canon here, ari... i thought i remembered Luke throwing his saber around in one of the Timothy Zahn books, and those were supposed to be Lucas-sanctioned, i thought? perhaps i am wrong.

and besides, i'd think that if there were some sort of grip safety mechanism, similar to that of a lawnmower or something, it should be possible to hold it closed using the Force.

mmmm, geeky debate... :) don't get me wrong, though - i thought attack of the clones was phenomenal. it's only because i take it seriously that i'm inclined to nitpick.

-steve