Exit: Music
Re-Enter: Movie
--The Good-- Casting was well done, Anakin was well casted, Dooku was well casted, Mace Windu didnt disapoint. Effects, who can argue with the land battle scenes in the last hour? Yoda... what else has to be said be said. Excellent sound, lightsabers sound like they have a personally all to themselves, music... John Williams, come on. Only 30 seconds of Jar Jar Binks dialogue.
--The Bad-- Dialogue... way... way... way too much. Not all of it "cheesy" but 90% of it unnecessary. "Anikan, Im going to the bathroom now." "Are you going to wipe?" "Yes Im going to wipe." "...Im going now." "Im wiping." "Ok, Im done going to the bathroom." "Good, I am glad you are done going to the bathroom." (No this is not an actualy exchange, but gives you an idea of the absurdity of some of the conversation.) Some of the scenes between Anakin and Padme were borderline embarressing, poorly acted, and well.. just bad. Anakin... while well cast, is not going to get an emmy. Some good scenes, some bad scenes... again, too much dialogue that ruined them.
--The Ugly-- Some of the characters... they actually were ugly. Who the hell is Dex? (Big weird thing from the bar talking with Obi Wan.) Obi Wan is a hack... an amature Jedi - gets his bellybutton kicked in in every movie so far. Jengo Fett... the only actor that performed worse than his lackluster attempt was his son Boba Fett... again, pointless lines and absolutely NO personality on both counts. Oh.. and those centipede looking things that try to kill Padme... now those are ugly.
--The Verdict-- Is is Star Wars? Yes. Is it better than Episode I? By 12 parsecs. Is it as good as the original? No. Good music, good action sequences. Everything is starting to tie in together (We see plans for the Death Star, Clone Troopers look like Storm Troopers, and the Troop Transports look like smaller Imperial Star Destroyers.) But the new movies are lacking what the originals had... style. The technology is getting in the way of a good story. The scene where Anikan flips out and goes ninja on the sand people was unnecessary. The "feel" of the original could have been maintained by showing his face... very angry... and the sound of a lightsaber ignighting, maybe a blue hue... and thats it. Next scene. People arent able to form their own theories with the new ones... that was the draw to the old ones... what happened, who was who, when did this occur, what was meant by this? The new movies answer all of these questions for us... there is nothing except a "good movie" there is no debate and analysis of events afterwards.
Example:
2 Best lines/scenes from Original Trilogy
1. The Empire Strikes Back: Darth Vader - "Far too easy..." (Flips on switch for carbon freeze)
2. A New Hope: Obi Wan Kenobi - "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." (Consequently gets his head removed)
2 Best lines/scenes from New Trilogy
::sound of wind... somewhere a pin drops::
No seriously...
There arent any... they are all saturated with dialogue and the is no "mystery" to what is being done or said... "Far too easy" in new trilogy speak is "Fighting Luke is too easy, now that he is down in the carbon freeze vent, I am going to use my force powers to flip the switch 20 feet away." See the problem? IMHO, it is becoming less Star Wars and more Star Trek... strage technologies... visual effects just for the sake of visual effects.. bland action, and bad dialogue.
If I could pick one scene from Episode II that I thought had the feel of the original - and youll know it when you see it - it is when Anikan and Padme are on Tatooine and Anikan brings his mother home wraped in a cloth. Camera closes up on his face - not a word is spoke, and you know he's pissed... then camera shows Padme coming out of little desert hut with simple blue sky and yellow sand. NO DIALOGUE - emotion is imagined by the audience, not explained by the movie - like a good book.
Wow... I got into that huh? Im done, carry on.
