When the title of the second chapter in the Star Wars saga was announced, the majority thought, �sheesh! If this is the title, this is gonna suck-ass!� and if you read my review of Episode 1, you�ll know very well that I thought it was a steaming pile of pants. Now that I�ve seen Episode 2, I'm relieved to say that it is a considerable improvement to its predecessor; it�s not a masterpiece with its slightly wooden acting, but definitely worth a look. I won't go into the intricacies of the story, as it�ll spoil your viewing, so I�ll just give you a run down on the pros and cons.
Whilst the story still dwells a little too much on the politics of what�s going on (boring, and baffling those poor kiddies in the audience to death), at least there's a lot more interaction with everything else that is going on with the Jedi Council and main characters, things intertwine nicely instead of it being used as a separate sub plot. There are, however, lots of pointless scenes and the pace is sometimes so slow it hurts!
However things do pick up halfway through when Anakin (an impressive performance from Hayden, despite coming across as a bit of a brat) starts to snap. The interaction between himself and Ewan McGregor is far better than the previous partnership of Ewan and Liam Neeson; they play off each other much better, although there are some one-liners thrown in which stick out like a sore thumb. Natalie Portman is much the same as last time, but with less embarrassing clothing, including a lovely skin-tight Princess Leia-like white catsuit (it must be cold in space fella�s! he he he). Jar Jar Binks is there, but thankfully only dotted here and there for a minute or so. C3P0 returns and forms the famous partnership with R2D2. Jango Fett is quite cool, however he lacks that special lethal touch of Darth Maul�s. Christopher Lee is of course on top form as the big bad guy Count Dooku, displaying some impressive lightsaber stuff with one awesome Yoda!!! Yes, Yoda kicks ass, and it looks cool! A great finale that has a lovely build up with a Gladiator feel to it. The mass Jedi battle is breathtaking with Samuel L Jackson getting in on it too.
Special effects are of course seamless, but this time have improved. The grandeur and spectacle is back, moody lighting and a much darker tone haunts the movie, apart of course the blossoming romance of Anakin and Amidala, fantastic cinematography improving the endless lovey-dovey scenes that start to become annoying. There are some clever references and some obvious ones to The Empire Strikes Back (answers on a post card to�) and some nice retro technology production design, which will help with the transition from Episode 3 to 4. Also, some great introductions as to what�s to come; the Death Star, Anakin's shadow looking a lot like Darth Vader�s, and a vengeful looking young Boba Fett. There, that should do it, a comprehensive guide without giving too much away, now go and see it in its digital glory on the big screen |
