Wow! How different our impressions were!

I felt that the first Star Wars (Ep. IV) came much closer to capturing the innocence of youth with Luke's feelings for Princess Leia and his efforts to seek adventure. True, Mark Hamill didn't have the chops to stretch his acting very far, but he was much more believable than the current actor portraying Anakin. Granted, Hayden Christensen is probably about the equal of the child actor used in Ep. I, but that doesn't raise either film in my estimation.

I'm forced to agree with many of the current SW critics who've concluded rightly or wrongly that George Lucas has lost his ability to direct actors convincingly, in manner that conveys anything resembling passion. The SW saga is virtually (pun intended) all FX show now and indeed the story suffers for it. Suspension of disbelief has apparantly been traded for the oohs and ahs of an immobile roller coaster ride and character development has been replaced with rapid-fire choreographed action sequences which literally segue into each other from the openning title to end credits, the pace only briefly slowing for the awkward forced romance between the leads. The only logical explanation is that Lucas probably assumes no one will notice the plot flaws and precious coincidences because of all the action crammed into Episode II.

BTW, the silly light-sabre duel between Yoda and Senator bad-ass was comical to the point that my wife was almost in histerics; I'm quite sure that the humor was unintended; in retrospect, this scene is just embarassingly bad. If Lucas had wanted to convey Yoda's power more believably, he could've had the character bring the fight to him, first with his mental control of objects and then with anticipatory movements in the duel. Of course, big surprise, after the scene started with Yoda using his mental prowess Lucas chose to end it with the "whirling dirvish" Yoda because the rapid pacing showed off the improved ILM special effects.

AuPh

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Now the reviews are REALLY in! It's official, "Attack of the Clones" is permanently rotten... - Audiophilander 16:02:33 05/16/02 (24)

"Attack of the Clones" is NOT permanently rotten... - mikenyc 16:30:29 05/19/02 (3)

Yeah, an entertainment institution for the institutionally committed. ;^) - Audiophilander 23:58:41 05/19/02 (2)

Re: Yeah, an entertainment institution for the institutionally committed. ;^) - mikenyc 10:29:51 05/20/02 (1)

No offense mikenyc, but if you paid to see SW Ep. II, ... - Audiophilander 10:59:11 05/20/02 (0)

Re: Technically spectacular, emotionally hollow. - thegage 21:23:54 05/18/02 (0)

The best Star Wars yet - Alan Breece 17:49:15 05/17/02 (5)

Re: The best Star Wars yet- totally agree!!! - Dman 06:10:37 05/19/02 (3)

C'mon Dman, the romance between Anakin and Amidala was hokey at best. - Audiophilander 00:13:30 05/20/02 (2)

Re: C'mon Dman, the romance between Anakin and Amidala was hokey at best. - Dman 05:11:49 05/20/02 (1)

Wow! How different our impressions were! - Audiophilander 11:59:22 05/20/02 (0)

My "hat" is off to you. - Audiophilander 07:54:42 05/18/02 (0)

ENOUGH already. - Tom §. 08:58:08 05/17/02 (5)

How old are you anyway, Tom? - Audiophilander 15:03:18 05/17/02 (4)

Old enough to have perspective. - Tom §. 18:40:26 05/17/02 (3)

I guess I'm NOT a fan, by your definition. - Audiophilander 08:25:40 05/18/02 (2)

Respect for audiences. - Tom §. 13:03:39 05/20/02 (1)

No, IMHO Indiana Jones is far more entertaining than the current SW entries.... - Audiophilander 19:43:31 05/20/02 (0)

Two comments from the Boston Herald... - clarkjohnsen 08:28:21 05/17/02 (0)

Re: Now the reviews are REALLY in! It's official, "Attack of the Clones" is permanently rotten... - marantzman 04:26:07 05/17/02 (0)

Rename it Attack Of The Groans...........NT - michael w 23:28:50 05/16/02 (1)

Newsweek already has...........NT - late 08:19:46 05/17/02 (0)

even the ads looked lame - late 17:53:00 05/16/02 (2)

Re: even the ads looked lame - Dman 06:19:45 05/19/02 (0)

Re: even the ads looked lame - McW 20:15:27 05/16/02 (0)

Follow Ups

Wow! How different our impressions were! - Audiophilander 11:59:22 05/20/02 (0)

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