HTF REVIEW: "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) (with screen - Page 4

quote from bill hunt: "Simply put, this is the best looking DVD video I have ever seen."

nuff said!!

Ron,
What makes you think your reviews aren't as valid as any of these "professional" reviews. Surely your take on the content of a film is as valid as everyone else's since it is a matter of pure opinion. Even rating the audio/video quality varies dramatically between these so-called "professional reviewers".

I understand your not wanting to be praised over someone else's review, as that is not appropriate and would certainly be uncomfortable to both parties, but don't sell yourself short either I'm not sure that there's such a thing as "amateur" or "professional" in terms of DVD reviewers - it's completely subjective, and I find everyone has as valid a view as the next person.

Great review Ron. Love the screen shots.
This is a must buy for moi, dazzling visual effects, Nat Portman, pure eye-candy.
Better than Episode I but nowhere as good as the classic original trilogy, bad acting and bad dialogue runs rampant but its still exciting expensive space opera, roll on Episode III, hopefully with a new Anakin, um Vin Diesel as Darth Vader anyone?
Can he do any worse than Hayden??

I am so glad someone else feels this way, I wish Lucas would let someone else do the casting. His (or the casting agent's) choices for Anakin have so far been abysmal IMO.


So about the review, Ron what kind of set-up did you use for the sound review? I have heard that this DD-EX track is even more aggressive than TPM's hearty DD-EX track.

I don't know if this should be posted here or in its own thread, but I was over at the Bits a little while ago, and they said that Suncoast will have, as an exclusive, the entire "R2D2: Beneath the Dome" mockumentary (Ron's review, and others, indicate that there's only a preview for this on the DVD itself). Would it be worth it to pay Suncoast's high prices to get the entire mockumentary, if indeed it will be exclusive to Suncoast?

BTW, Ron--great review! Thanks!

Sorry about that Ron, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. It takes tremeandous talent to write these dvd reviews and IMO you've got it. I know that your not a pro, but you could be a natural. I also certaintly meant nothing bad against our good friend Mr. Hunt, I think he's great and I read his fine reviews all the time.

Again sorry about that Ron.

Sorry to nitpick, Ron, but I've found some typos you may want to fix. Christopher Lee's character's name is spelled Dooku, the city planet's name is spelled Coruscant, and the producer's name is spelled McCallum (you messed up that one twice). But other than that, excellent review. It says a lot that for such a mediocre opinion of the film, the disc itself gets a status of "Highly Recommended".

Myself, I can't wait for this disc. I loved the film. Sure it had its faults. Maybe it is true that The Fellowship of the Ring and Spider-Man had better acting and dialogue, but Star Wars means a lot to me. It has a special place that no other film can fill, no matter how good the acting or writing.

I suppose that if Episode II has a mind-blowingly good transfer, and Episode I has a lackluster transfer, they cancel each other out and make two average transfers.

Clint B: The entire mockumentary has been on starwars.com for several months now. While the quality of a DVD version would be slightly higher, otherwise it's not a big deal. I'd reccomend checking it out, as it's VERY funny.

It also completely rips off "Jar Jar Binks: The True Hollywood Story".

That was a fan film that was made before the R2D2 one. Apparently ol' George didn't like it, so it was pulled down from most sites that were hosting it. A little while later, the R2D2 thing came out and copied a lot of things that the Jar Jar short did.

Edit: It's still up at Ifilm.

Thanks for the in-depth review Ron. I'll be picking this up as well. Despite it's flaws it *is* a Star Wars film, and there's some great eye candy in AOTC. The rave reviews of the transfer and extras cinched the purchase for me. Well, those factors plus the insistence of a 6 year old boy.

As for the artistic merit of the film itself, I'm still amazed at how polarized people are over the Prequels vs. the Original Trilogy. Personally I find the new films uninvolving and boring from a character perspective. Anakin, Padme, Obi-Wan, etc. are flat and lifeless compared to Han, Luke, Leia and Vader in the originals. The OT had a magic, a chemistry, a sense of urgency that started with a bang in ANH, peaked in TESB and trailed off in ROTJ. Lucas has completely and utterly failed to capture the same excitement and spark that made the OT so fun and engaging.

A good director coupled with good actors can make you forget or forgive a bad script, and there's certainly no lack of high caliber acting talent in TPM or AOTC. But you know, I could care less about Padme, Anakin, Mace Windu or any of the other characters in the new films because they are so damned BORING. That is due almost entirely to George Lucas' failings as a director. He's great at concept and production but he should give up The Chair to someone with some talent. The Prequels could have been great films, but instead they're just soulless playgrounds for the wizards at ILM. All in my opinion of course.

Thanks for the review, Ron. I can't wait to get this disc! I am going to have a TPM and AOTC double feature for some friends after AOTC comes out. Should be fun.

Doug I find your opinion that the prequels are "lifeless" or "souless" differs significantly from mine. My three favorite scenes from the prequels (thus far) are:

1. The TPM "dinner scene" where little Anakin delivers the heart-breaking line: "No one can kill a Jedi!"

2. The Anakin "confessional" scene in AOTC where Hayden delivers his best performance as a young Jedi on the edge.

3. The scene with Anakin and his mother in AOTC, where a son has to watch his mother die....then he snaps. Another fine performance by Hayden (IMHO).

Now all these scenes barely have ANY special effects (with the exception of Jar Jar in #1 and possibly some digital backgrounds in #2). But they had an emotional impact on me, showed real character development and depth, and provided real groundword for Episode III and the OT. That is the sign of a talented director.

All in my opinion of course. Can't wait to hear Jango's depth charges on my system...

The prequel scenes I found most touching are:

1. When young Anakin had to say good-bye his mother. That's tough acting, even for an adult. If anyone wants to condemn Jake Lloyd as a bad actor, they haven't seen this scene. He plays it with true sincerity and emotional impact. That and the musical climax by John Williams as Ani departs really did the trick.

2. And one Chris pointed out, Anakin's confession scene after he slaughters the Sandpeople. Sure Hayden Christensen is a little sloppy with Lucas' awkward romance dialogue, but he did this scene like a pro. Just looking into his eyes and listening to his words, my imagination starts to form a black mask over his face. I can imagine that this is the same character who is later voiced by James Earl Jones, and accompanied by the ominous hiss of his breathing.

Oh how I am wanting this dvd now!!!!! I loved this movie. 4 times at the theater. But it will be quite the experience at home. November cannot come quick enough. Ron said this is his most anticipated dvd over the next few months, I agree with that, however November has 4 releases that just can't come quick enough. AOTC, LOTR, Band of Brothers and Spiderman! Can't wait! One of the best months ever for dvd releases IMO.

My only disappointment is that it appears none of the extras were subtitles or Close Captioned. They were all close captioned for the EP1-TPM DVD.

Apparently Van Ling doesn't know anybody who needs these features, so he doesn't think to include them. I wish someone with access would bring this to his attention.

I can't wait a month (!!!!) for this. My home theater craves those amazing sounds and images.



Regarding the prequels..............


I think people miss the raging galactic war of the OT. Because while the kiddie POV of TPM (ie: Darth Vader as a tot) legitimately made TPM feel very different than the OT (so I could at least UNDERSTAND the detractor's perspective ), other than the missing tension of EPIC WAR, AOTC is more than consistent with the "OT magic".


Ewan was awesome as Obi-Wan. As fun as Harrison Ford at his best. Hayden was fantastic. Damn, Ron even mentioned during the time of his original review that Hayden was what separated his TPM experience from his AOTC one. Despite all of Anakin's teenage growing pains, you could relate to him. He was likable through all that adolescent debris. And that kid can act. The confession scene is as powerful emotionally as anything in ESB's final act.

BTW, Anakin can't hold a candle to Luke's incessant whining in ANH.....through that WHOLE FILM!!!! Anakin only whines to Padme about Obi-Wan. Luke whines about EVERYTHING.

Sorry to report this but one review states that there is EE visible in the movie. It does not sound like it is too intrusive but it's there all the same. Also, apparently there is moire patterning in the sky in one scene. (What is moire patterning anyone?) Anyway, overall the picture gets a big thumbs up from the reviewer so not too much to worry about!

I will try to supply the link shortly but untill then the review can be found at DVD Basen. Just enter the disc title in the search bar and click on the review.

Lee_eel:

That review is of the R2 release and has already been linked here.

It is interesting that one review from a major site quotes absolutely no EE or halos at all throughout while the other quotes to having seen them. Obviously equipment has something to do with it.

Actually, all reviews except that one state that there is no EE whatsoever. Digital Bits, DVD File, IGN, DVD Review, CHUD, and Ron all state there is no EE. That UK review is the only review I've seen that says there's EE, and that is a review of the Region 2 DVD.

DVD File:

Digital Bits:

DVD Review:

IGN:

Ron:

I think we can trust these people, all of whom have said there's no EE.

I love reading all those great reviews but it just makes it tougher to wait!!!!

Yes, the next month will be unbearable after these reviews. I love reading early reviews, but I hate them because the anticipation gets greater.

I already have this DVD and is it all that Ron says it is, just wait and you will be amazed.........

As usual wonderful, comprehensive review. I have to agree with some of the others regarding the dialogue thing. Check out the dialogue on the first Star Wars movie and if you are like me, you'll almost cringe. An awful lot of expressions used that were really 70s...
In any case - its not the point, my kids still love the movies and so do I - these were B Movie action serials (which I loved as a kid) modernized.
I have to say this movie does that wonderfully and I know I'll watch this movie and enjoy it many, many times.

The Phantom Menace suffered most from the kid's absolutely horrible acting sucking the pace and the impact right out Liam's hands (A much bigger problem than over the top Jar JAr). If you don't agree, just check out the documentary where you see Lucas rationalizing the kids awful performance - its classic. Also check out the screen tests for the 2 other kids - THEY WERE SO MUCH BETTER. Why would they be included in the documentary? We never saw other actors that auditioned for other parts??? Again, this shows Lucas had his own doubts... In any case, this film never suffers from these sort of problems. plus, in a movie theater - I have witnessed maybe a handful of times in my life when an audience started applauding or cheering - the yoda fight sequence was one of them.
One last question - no mention of edge enhancement. Is it an issue with this film - it was really bad on the last DVD. Guess I'll have to wait to find out....

Ronald!! You are on lucky fellow!! The rest of us just have to wait till Nov 12!! Sigh! Just can't wait to get my hands on this!!

I still think Jake Lloyd was cast because of his looks more than anything...although the other blond haired kid had "Skywalker" looks too....

If Ron talks about the movie, then that is part of the review and thus a legitimate part of the thread.

If he had chosen to only talk about the DVD, then the thread could only have been about the DVD.

I think this is a reasonable place to apply the cliche - "You can't have your cake and eat it too".

And I also thought the review was excellent as well.

PS One has to remember that what Lucas spent all his time doing, in between SW6 and SW1, was to raise several children (see the second interview above). At the time of the release of Phantom Menace, I saw the film with my son who was approximately the same age as Anakin. It was very clear to me that the film was intended to be most appreciated by viewers who were about the same age as Anakin, which is why adults did not like it. I think that the same thing applies to "Attack of the Clones", ie it is aimed at an audience the age of Anakin in the film...

Since no one has commented on the Jango-asteroid chase sonic charges, I figured I'd post what I found on The Digitial Bits at this url.

But my favorite sound effect from the film was the sound (or lack thereof) of the seismic charges Jango fires at Obi-Wan's starfighter. The "audio black hole" (as Burtt describes the effect) is immediately striking... and then the blast wave races towards you, envelopes you and then goes groaning away behind you. A really incredible sensation of 3D space is created. Amazing.

I usually agree with Ron's critique of a film, but find myself agreeling LESS in regards to the A/V quality of a dvd.
In regards to AOTC - I have to say that the pre-screenin buzz has probably raised expectations of the movie and, to some degree, hurt its chances to sway disappointed SW fans from their opinion on the direction of the episodes.
It's very apparent that Lucas has lost his touch with the finer nuances of writing a screenplay, and with the vast capabilities of CGI, he's been more focused on spelling out the story on screen with rich special effects and "ceremonial-level" action sequences that dominate the plot points instead of supplementing them. Rather than let his audience anticipate what the characters should do, he clearly has set their path before us and what end up watching is the story weaved around the obligatory action sequences.
It's funny to see that the consderably lower budgeted original trilogy is able to stretch an audience's imagination because more effort had to be placed on layering the SW universe and, with no CGI to distract, the characters are at the forefront of the story.

AOTC was most definitely poorly edited and poorly written. I did like some of the dialogue, but the pacing and forced jumps from action to romance sequences did not play well to drawing the viewing audience in to the film. Instead, I've noticed many people snicker at Anakin's pining of Amidala and the ridiculous field sequence of him falling off the fat, ant-eater looking animal.

I'm not a die hard SW fan but definitely appreciated the original trilogy. I find the new world created in the prequels to be a huge departure from what I thought the SW should be - a loosly controlled Galactic society and not with a huge blend of different alien species. The original SW trilogy featured a universe with just enough technology to make sense and keep the galaxy in order. I find it difficult to believe that this same "society of alien species" are able to even build such a grand Capital city. Without getting too far into it, how can thousands of alien races get together for form a senate, yet be completely unaware that one alien species is attacking another planet (Episode I) - This is an example of how the prequels lost a lot of credibility when Lucas ENLARGED the Star Wars universe to such a sophisticated level. I find that the introduction of Coruscant and the "prequel" universe, has introduced too many contraditions that it's akin to giving modern technology to King Arther and the Round Table.
The prequels will probably never achieve the "timeless" status as the original trilogy in this respect. The CGI enhancements and its affect on creating a universe too large for Lucas to conceptualize properly with his writing will be outdated within the decade. It would have been much easier to creat a universe that made sense and didn't take away from the adventures of the characters..

I think Ron agreed that this has turned into a debate about the film, which can be done in the Star Wars threads, rather than here. The thread should stay on topic about the review. People are debating about the film, rather than discussing Ron's review and the DVD.

Ron stated:

I think he's right.