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Let me just say before you read any further
that Episode II has without a doubt put the Star Wars saga back on
track, after the surprising disappointment of The Phantom Menace-
although Episode I did have its interesting moments, and one hell
of a lightsaber duel at the end, there was much left to be desired
after viewing it. I can say with the utmost happiness now that after
seeing Episode And now, onto the good stuff! The film
was shown at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, just a few blocks
away from the infamous "Ground Zero"- the screening was
only available to people who'd purchased tickets for the entire film
festival, which rang in at $2500
I was afraid that since
the people sitting around me were all celebrities of some sort (actors,
politicians, and the like), that there would be no shouts of joy or
clapping during the opening crawl- something I was eager to hear as
I did during the opening of Episode 1. But man was I wrong... As the
lights dimmed, and that well-known drumroll began tapping through
the air of the theatre, people started hooting, clapping, whistling,
everything I needed to get my adrenaline flowing!! And from there,
through the opening crawl, clear through to the end credits, we were
all completely astounded. It was evident that Lucas had heard the
voice of the fans, and the disgruntled commentary that resulted from
some of the content of Episode 1. Episode II is complete with excellent
plot development, traditional scene wipes (I even noticed the "clock"
wipe, my all-time favorite!), excellent sound effects, and BEAUTIFUL
visual effects! There were only 2 points where I felt that the graphics
team skimped a tad, but when you see this film, I think you'll allow
the gang at ILM the OK, you want specifics??
Well, I'll try to describe the event without making this article chock-full
of spoilers.. First of all, somebody Next, I have to comment
on Jango and Boba Fett.. It looked to me as if Lucas had taken some
notes from an excellent fan-film called "Bounty Trail" (available
at theForce.net for download), and made alot of FETT fans' dreams
(like mine) come true. Not only does Jango satisfy us bounty hunter
fans by using his entire arsenal of gadgets, his relationship with
Boba is equally satisfying. And let me just say that Daniel Logan
as Boba is a PERFECT fit! The kid has "problem child" written
all over him via his behaviors and facial expressions, and has done
an excellent job of laying the foundation for the mysterious bounty
hunter we see in Episodes IV, V, and VI. The only person who I think
could have done a better job in the role would have been someone who
could be a real-life example of that kid named "Sid" in
Toy Story.. You know- the kid who enjoyed blowing things up for fun?
Now that sounds like a Boba trait.. While I'm on the topic of Boba and Jango, I have to say that the footage shown of the Slave 1 in full action is totally excellent. As a teeny tiny spoiler, I have to make mention of the mines that are launched from this ship... All I can say is when they go off, you will be BLOWN AWAY (no pun intended) by the effects used for their sound. I wanted to stand up and say "DROP ANOTHER ONE!!!!!" just to hear a replay of the effect! That's one that will be viewed about 7,000 times by me when the film is out on DVD.. The ship's guns, flight, motion, everything, are both eye-candy and totally based on what you saw of its motion in ESB. Once again, without being specific, I want to point out some minor things that I thought could have been done a little better.. As I've mentioned already, I was more than amazed by this film. But if I don't write something that I felt could have been improved, readers will label me as a one-sided jackass who would approve of anything that had Star Wars written on it- so, here goes.. At one point in the film, Obi Wan is given a tour through the Clone Chambers of Kamino- while he walks through the hallway, he can see through windows to what looks like thousands if not millions of Clone Chambers.. The sad part is, what he is looking at looks almost like a cartoonish-type backdrop. It doesn't seem anywhere near as three-dimensional as the other CGI-related aspects of the film. However, as I said before, ILM did a hell of a job putting this movie together, so one would have to expect them to have some points in the film that seem as though they could have received a bit more of a touch-up. My other criticism is regarding
something that simply didn't seem like it even needed to be in the
film. At one point, Anakin and Padmé are together, and Anakin
is shown riding an animal while Padmé watches and laughs..
The CGI in this scene is terrible, and would have been best left on
the cutting room floor.. Sadly, it only takes away from the scene
where it is shown, and I would have much rather seen someone dedicate
that time to cleaning up the clone chamber glitch I just mentioned
above. So, with those two I'll close out by saying
that Yoda is amazing, and that his new CGI-look impressed me more
than I thought it would (I'm old-school, so I will always think of
a puppet when I think of the little green guy...). And, as has been
mentioned in other reviews, they show in true |
