I wasn't too keen by the intermission, but it really picked up in the 2nd half.

Things I liked:

:: The action scenes were all very well done. The whole Arena thing was great, as was (against my expectations) the Coruscant chase.

:: Stuff cropping up from the original trilogy - The homestead was lovely, the Jawa transports looked great, Darth Sidious back in the hood and the death star popping up was superb.

:: Other nods such as the scene on the retracted bridge (like ANH) and getting good old trademarks like "I have a bad feeling about this" and hands being cut off.

:: Some great individual scenes - Anakin riding his speeder to the sound of DOTF, Yoda with the kids, the archives, Dooku's strategy table, the Diner, the waterfalls.

:: Better acting than Episode 1 - When the first line was delivered I thought "Oh No" - but it got better. Still not as good as what we've seen from these actors, but that's probably Lucas' and the Blue screen's fault.

:: No mention of Midi-chlorians anywhere, and less Jar Jar.

:: C3PO and R2D2 getting the screen time they deserve.

:: Some moments of humour which really worked well.

:: Getting to see Jedis in numbers. Samuel L. Jackson also looks great in action.

:: The language spoken by the head Genosian (sp?) - with clicks and all.

:: The scene where Anakin gets revnege for his mom. Chilling stuff. I thought Hayden did quite a good acting job actually. He sure knows how to look nice but seem evil deep down.

:: The music. Hearing the Imperial March again on the big screen is worht any ticket price. The love theme works great too, and the the other themes make some great and notable appearances.

:: CGI Yoda.

Things I didn't like:

:: The dialogue. The script is better than Episode 1, but it's still littered with strained lines, which varied from ok to cringe-inducing. However, by the 2nd half they were practically all forgotten.

:: The natives of Kamino. Too A.I.

:: I know that the Star Wars galaxy is littered with different creatures, but does Lucas have to create 4 different CGI ones for each scene? Some looked sort of extra.

:: Some sequences gave me the impression that Lucas just thought they'd look good, without wondering if they were necessary. The conveyer belt sequence for example.

:: I'm quite sure some of the music in the arena scene was recylced from TPM.

:: The camera pans up after the Title crawl. It's supposed to pan down.

:: The pacing during certain parts in the first half, such as the conversation while Obi-Wan and Anakin are watching over Padme.

:: Every time Obi-Wan gives Anakin advice. I dunno exactly why, it just seemed very artificial. Maybe it's meant that way.

Overall, I'm pleased. Looking forward to viewing #2.

Has anyone seen it on both and can compare?

Oh, and another thing...

I'm quite sure that anyone who tried to picture exactly what's going on during the final scenes, based purely on the music, didn't exactly get it spot on

quote:

---

Originally posted by TimT:
I hope you guys saw this on DLP!

---

I did Tim, and wow, wow, wow. It was incredible! Being my first experience with DLP, I can't imagine a better film to have seen it with.

Mark, you're dead on with most of your criticisms... but none of that detracted from the film in my opinion. Didn't bother me a bit. I loved the conveyor belt sequence! Regardless of its purpose, it was just plain fun.

But, as you said, none of all this made the film any worse.

But I say that all in good fun, because I thought his little surprise was very entertaining.

Though I don't know if I'll be able to get tickets in time, I'm desparately going to try to go to another showing tomorrow night in DLP. Regardless of the film itself, this was without a doubt the worst experience I can ever recall having in a movie theater. I really need to go off on a rant about this, so if you just want to know what I thought of the film, skip the following list of theatrical gripes.

Consider this your warning: you are about to listen to a string of nasty complaints. I want to make it clear that I'm not forcing you to listen to any of them. You can scroll down if you want to get to the picture.

:: The sound was absolutely atrocious. The Minority Report trailer came on first (it must be attached to the film because it was the only attraction to preceed the screening) and the sound was overbearingly, piercingly loud. So far, so good. But then the film started, and suddenly it was as if there was someone in the front row with a little boom box turned up as high as it could go. The sound was that aweful. And this was a big, seemingly well-off theater; I've heard far superior sound in $2 arthouses no bigger than a broom closet.

:: The picture was (literally) painfully out-of-focus. You'd think they'd have someone there to make some attempt to correct it. After all, this was the only thing playing and they had a full staff. Bright objects (and subtitles) were strobing terribly throughout, as well.

:: At least four chairs in the theater broke during the course of pre-show seating. And the rest were creaky and filthy.

:: They closed off the restroom during the show. You cannot do that when there are so many people bringing kids into the theater.

:: Then again, what parent would want their kids using those restrooms? Outhouses are generally much tidier.

:: Parents: If you can't figure out why your child won't stop crying, it might have something to do with the movie.

:: Parents: If your 4- to 6-year-old child has been perfectly healthy for an hour and then suddenly develops a hacking cough that lasts for over 10 minutes, for the love of your offspring take them out of the theater and give them some water! This poor little kid was coughing the entire last hour of the film, and all the parents could do was tell her to "shut up."

I'd say "at least it was free," but even that's no excuse for facilities this bad. I wouldn't see another film in this theater even if I was being paid to go.

That was the end of the theatrical rant.

This is where I start talking about the movie. I'll try not to spoil anything, but I make no guarantees.

This is more like it! From what I could tell (see above) this was an exciting, involving, fun, and beautiful-looking film. Is it as good as the originals? No, I don't think so. But it's damn close, and it's a major improvement over Episode One, which, I should say, I didn't hate.

It gets off to a shaky start. Some things don't work, and there's a good deal of dialogue that just isn't right. Most of this is due to campiness in the script, but some of the fault does lie with performances. Particularly bad (against my expectations) was Natalie Portman. She should confine herself to romantic comedies; she has charm, but she simply doesn't have the voice or the presence that was required to really make her part work. But I'll grant that the script doesn't give her much to do other than reject Anakin at first, then change her mind. Maybe if she had been cast opposite a lesser performer, she wouldn't have seemed so flat.

And that brings me to Hayden Christiansen, who (also against my expectations) was excellent. I was very surprised to find myself thinking when he was on screen, as I did later when Christopher Lee arrived, that the screenplay seemed unworthy of his abilities. I really hope he doesn't fall to the easier, more seductive dark side of male teen leads (banal "romantic" comedies), because he has way too much presence on screen to go wasting himself in such projects. Despite his Justin Timberlake looks, he does a very good job of making Anakin seem imposing and, at times, fearsome, and the weakness of Portman's presence only makes him that much more intimidating when they're on screen together.

It also makes their early love scenes seem very forced and non-kinetic, and I'm still trying decide whether you're intended to feel that way or whether it was a weakness in the storytelling. And if it was intentional, I think it was the wrong choice. Sure, you should see evil and foreboding in Anakin's demeanor, but he should also be seductive, and there was no trace of that other than the fact that Padme eventually tells him she loves him.

Ewan McGregor was wonderful this time around. In the first film he seemed wooden, unsure of himself, but here he has completely immersed himself in the part, which unfortunately makes it seem very out-of-place when he does things that you wouldn't imagine Obi-Wan doing. Again, this boils down to problems in dialogue.

Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. Actually, it's not even dialogue, it's one-liners. If there weren't so many bad lines in this film, I daresay it could have competed with the original trilogy. Most disappointing are the things that come out of C-3PO's mouth, particularly during the arena battle. He has a couple of lines there that are just as bad as any of the wretched unmentionables that spouted from Jar Jar's mouth in Episode One.

It's unfortunate that I'm getting too tired to go through everything in detail, because what I've written so far makes it sound as though I thought the film was bad. Rest assured, it is a very, very enjoyable film, and even if you are disappointed by some things in the movie, the film as a whole will not disappoint you. While I can't say I enjoyed it tonight, because of the terrible conditions I mentioned above, I am more than certain I will love it on my second viewing. Hopefully, that will come tomorrow and I can tell you all about the great things in the crisp imagery, and in the music (which was barely audible, because of the aforementioned reasons).

It's good stuff, and it's worth seeing.

Kirk

The experience was a tons more enjoyable than Episode One but it took forever to "get going" and seemed to drag...and drag...and drag.

Oh and George, thanks for making Jar Jar more likeable but that didn't mean have C3PO take his ****ing place!!!

I give a thumb sideways.

LOL

That's what makes these midnight screenings so great - the atmsophere. And even on a normal day, a packed cinema makes a huge difference.

To quote Ed Gonzalez -- "Attack of the Clones, the latest toy from George Lucas's soulless Star Wars factory, is better than The Phantom Menace. Now the bad: it's not much better."

To quote yet another, this time Lisa Schwarzbaum -- "Here we are again: not entertained, not nearly enough, by an installment of the Star Wars epic that, for the first time, exhibits symptoms of... nerves."

Let me start by saying that I truly find myself to be too jaded to enjoy a film directed by Lucas -- or should we even call him a director?

It's been said that Lucas is not an "actor's" actor, but come on... He has absolutely NO control. I'm guessing that by the time he's actually filming the scenes, he's finally come to the full realization that every word of dialogue he has written is utterly pathetic, and even Al Pacino would fail miserable in an attempt at performing it with grace. Still, it comes off as deeply unsettling when so many good actors seem to be put to waste.

For starters, the romantic portion of the film is an absolute joke. Of course, this can -- yet again -- all be directed towards Lucas' amateur writing, but it really doesn't help that the actors seem to do nothing with what they're given. It's all too contrieved, too corny, and really too laughable. Though a lot of people seemed to enjoy the film at the screening, there were at least (and I'm not joking) seven or eight instances in which the whole theatre was rolling on the floor in laughter... And trust me, these scenes were not intended for that. And the pacing of the whole romantic plot... Don't get me started!

Anyway, so the romantic part doesn't work; there's still much to admire, right? Ehhhh.

Yes, the movie is a feast for the eyes. It has its CGI faults, but more than makes up for this with its scope. At the same time, I still feel Lucas takes far too much advantage of the CGI, and the digital technology often makes it way too easy in distinguishing computer from live sets.

There aren't any surprises in the script, and it's pretty much run of the mill stuff. Anakin is pissed and wants out of Obi Wan's control, yet at the same time wants Portman in those gratuitous outfits she seems to always be wearing. Meanwhile Dooku is planning the bad deeds and political stuff occurs. Blah blah. Jango is cool, but his scenes aren't quite as exciting as I thought (and SPOILER what's with him dying like he's just another extra? He took his son's route in Jedi) they would be.

Admittedly, the final act is the best of the bunch, simply because it features almost non-stop action with minimal dialogue. The Arena scene was awful (the creatures prancing around the screen were an abonimation, and the scene itself didn't fare much better), but immediately after it picked up.

When Jackson spurts out "The party's over", you expect him to pull out a glock and immediately form a fro... But he doesn't. When the (most certainly cool) Yoda pulls out his bag of tricks, the camera swoops around in a Matrix-esque way and karate begins... It's all so very cool, but it also doesn't feel like the Star Wars I grew up on.

Essentially we have a movie filled with bad dialogue, bad acting, and bad pacing... A great score by Williams (with bits of everything thrown in -- and I didn't think it was inauidable as some say it is), some impressive CGI, and a wholly entertaining concluding 35 minutes or so don't quite make up for what's otherwise a poor movie, and one that's still far closer in quality to The Phantom Menace than the original trilogy.

And though, like I said, I'm most certainly one jaded mofo, don't think I can't turn my mind off and simply enjoy the ride.

I'm simply a lover of good movies, of which unfortunately Episode II is not.

I'm not even going to attempt to read and edit the incoherent mess of which I just wrote above, just take word for what you will.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Hasta:
(and please, Jeron and the like, don't shout your witless, smart-ass remarks on my differing tastes from yours. I can respect your opinions regardless of whether I agree with them or not, so ask you do the same... If this disclaimer seems silly, ask yourself if it ceased to appear if you would have responded with a "you're too critical" or what not.)

---

There is so much potential for a great battle music for the clone/droid war (like the battle of Hoth), but instead, we are given the "Charging the Blast Door" cue from TPM.

And the acting... which is plain bad... and the dialogue (e.g. Jango to Zam - Be careful with these, they are very dangerous.) C'mon, you can deliver the line better than that!

And there seems to be a bad editing (the transition from the dinner scene in the lake retreat and the fireplace scene). It just doesn't make sense. One minute they are both happily having dinner, and the next scene you can see Anakin pouring his heart out to Padme. Perhaps an additional scene to show how they ended up in the fireplace would do some justice. Overall, I am not pleased with the dramatic acting of the two lovebirds.

I could go on rambling, but heck I am sure gonna watch it again in a week or two's time...

Just my 2 cents.

1. Is there any reason why Watto now has the headgear he was supposed to have in TPM?

2. I take it Lars was born before Shmi came along, cos he sure looks older than 10 to me.

3. Most fun thing about listening to the score after having seen the film:
Saying (in your best Yoda voice) "Begun, this Clone War has." just before the Imperial March kicks in in track 13.

Good feedback everyone...yeah, even you Hasta...albeit predictable.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Camillu:
:: The camera pans up after the Title crawl. It's supposed to pan down.
[Message edited by Camillu on 05-15-2002]

---

And this is some type of second commandmend in the bible of Star Wars?

saw the movie. Had my ticket days ago, waited 15th in line for over 4 hours (more about that in another post...I think), had a great seat, saw the movie.

Outch. Great trash. Terrible mess. My oh my, how can one make such a travesty? Shoot, blind monkeys could have done that piece of worthless digital machinery. Bad acting, bad script, heck, even the cgi creatures farting was terrible.

Now,that I am out of my Hasta - Andre mode, let me give you my Jeron - Scott opinion:

What a film. My gosh, I can't stop thinking about it. I am at work, only slept 3 hours and all I wanna do is go back and see it. Sure got some flaws, maybe a lot of them, but it is Star Wars, it is not supposed be a Shaekspearean play (however you spell it). Overall I had so much fun and so did the audience.

Now my level headed thoghts: No masterpiece but kick butt fun and nice and smart the way the pieces come together.

Lastly, let me put up the review of my little new buddy who sat next to me...all but 7 years old. He made it through the whole movie and at the end told me that it was the best movie he has ever seen and that he'll become a Jedi knight when he grows up.Hehehe...good for him. .

You know what? Im out...

May the Force be with you...always.

Scott

But now that I'm a bit more awake...

The movie is infinitely better than TPM. But, it moves slowly. If you can get through the first 2/3 of the movie, the last third makes up for the rest. The action sequences were very good. The unfortunate part is that most of it was at the end of the movie. Before that though, you get one chase near the beginning and a fight between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett around the middle. And the Obi-Wan portion of the story is much more interesting than the romance between Padme and Anakin. They should have stuck with him more.

But, I'm glad we got answers to some questions like how Owen Lars (aka Uncle Owen) and Anakin are related, how the clone army was created and for whom, and how Boba Fett came to be. And I like that we get to see Owen's Moisture farm from the first movie.

On the whole, it's more entertaining than Menace and has a better story, Yoda kicks ass, Ewan McGregor is much better this time as Obi-Wan but overall the acting and dialogue aren't great (should have been more action sequences). Hayden Christensen tries but comes off as either stiff or an angst ridden teenager. And the romantic dialogue was so hokey at times, I didn't know whether to laugh or groan. And I didn't really believe there was a romance there anyway, but that's ok. It's just there to move the story along.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 7. That's mostly because the end of the movie makes up for the stuff before. Would I go see it again? Yes, I probably would and will (maybe catch a matinee on Sunday). But, now that the love story is out of the way, I'm expecting Ep. III will be extremely dark and disturbing like ESB. Can't wait to see the Obi-Wan/Anakin showdown.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bradley:
overall the acting and dialogue aren't great (should have been more action sequences)

---

Umm.... yeah, that's kinda bass-ackwards..

"Our story and actors suck, so let's toss in more action!!"

How about in lieu of mindless (albeit cool) action sequences, they hire a GOOD writer (i.e. Lawrence Kasdan) who can pen a decent script with good character interaction and notable dialogue?

Dan

quote:

---

Originally posted by Scott:
Well, anyways...

saw the movie. Had my ticket days ago, waited 15th in line for over 4 hours (more about that in another post...I think), had a great seat, saw the movie.

Outch. Great trash. Terrible mess. My oh my, how can one make such a travesty? Shoot, blind monkeys could have done that piece of worthless digital machinery. Bad acting, bad script, heck, even the cgi creatures farting was terrible.

Now,that I am out of my Hasta - Andre mode, let me give you my Jeron - Scott opinion:

What a film. My gosh, I can't stop thinking about it. I am at work, only slept 3 hours and all I wanna do is go back and see it. Sure got some flaws, maybe a lot of them, but it is Star Wars, it is not supposed be a Shaekspearean play (however you spell it). Overall I had so much fun and so did the audience.

Now my level headed thoghts: No masterpiece but kick butt fun and nice and smart the way the pieces come together.

Lastly, let me put up the review of my little new buddy who sat next to me...all but 7 years old. He made it through the whole movie and at the end told me that it was the best movie he has ever seen and that he'll become a Jedi knight when he grows up.Hehehe...good for him. .

You know what? Im out...

May the Force be with you...always.

Scott

NP: Star Wars - Episode II

---

but I liked K-Pax too....

Scott

quote:

---

Originally posted by Hasta:
... and you know why I don't review movies? Because I could never say what I truly thought better than this one:
http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/359/359431p1.html

I could have written that review word for word -- it's spot on.

---

Well...I don't know you could have written that review "word for word" as a lot of the information in it was rather new to me. Espeically the stuff about Kurtz & Kasdan.

HOWEVER...I totally agree with it and with your assessment of the film.

I had lowered my expectations considerably after reading so much about the film on the net, etc. and was luckily surprised that I enjoyed it at all. I agree that Lucas needs to quit playing with the cgi/digital toys and get some meat on the characters. That is what has hurt these last 2 films.

Anakin tells Padme he loves her, but we don't feel it. That's the real problem with the film...there's no feeling...no true emotion.

When Leia tells Han she loves him in ESB we BELIEVE it and his "I know" reply is both humorous and emotional. That type of moment never really happens in AOTC. Lucas tries for one...but it isn't believable at all.

Still...I found myself enjoying the film. Maybe it was the crowd and the few spectacular set pieces and moments here & there that had me smiling. (Minor stuff like that blue milk type drink from the first film being served to Anakin by Padme for example.)

By the way...I found the score to sound rather well mixed in the theatre I saw the film in. (Mann's Village Westwood) I also wasn't as aware of the use of music from TPM & ROTJ at the end. Maybe I was too swept up in the film. But I will say one thing about the score...even the new action music lacks any kind of memorable theme like the asteroid music from ESB or the Ewok Battle from ROTJ. I guess themes are just not in vogue for action sequences anymore.

James

But damnit, why does having a negative opinion always seem to resort in a sort of implied "bashing", of sorts, on this board (by only a few select people, keep in mind)? Sometimes I want to respect everyone's opinion, but some people are so damn unaccepting of other's it's hard to.

You know, I can poke fun of those who like Episode II and pass them off as people without much taste -- because, hey, I like it; if you don't, that's your problem ) -- but I don't.

Though I'm a cynical mother f*cker in real life, it hardly reflects here, but I still come off as overly so because there are so many wanna-be angels here who spit on people with a negative (but neccessary) opinion.

Damn me, but sometimes I wish there were more Andre's, more Daniel's (far-fetched...), more Shaun's (not to categorize, but he vents, and adds some much needed personality)...

Oh, and predictable? Don't even get me started.

And Dan, nice review. That guy's credible if you read his review on the wretched Life as a House.

quote:

---

Originally posted by dgoldwas:
Umm.... yeah, that's kinda bass-ackwards..

"Our story and actors suck, so let's toss in more action!!"

How about in lieu of mindless (albeit cool) action sequences, they hire a GOOD writer (i.e. Lawrence Kasdan) who can pen a decent script with good character interaction and notable dialogue?

---

I know it's ass-backwards, Dan, but I've succomb to what is done today. No dialogue, no plot, no character development...throw in more action.

Believe me, I would have loved to believe that Padme and Anakin were *actually* in love with each other. And I would have loved for the original wit and humor to be in the lines but, George is telling the story his way so if you can't beat him....join him.

Or to paraphrase, "Join me and together we can destroy the trilogy!!!"

quote:

---

Originally posted by BMikeJ:
Probably, my favorite character scene in the whole film was Padme admitting her feelings for Anakin right before they were led out into the arena. It seemed to be the only moment in the film where the characters were in any real danger and they were acknowledging it, not too far removed from Han and Leia in Empire, right before the carbon freeze.

---

Except that I just didn't buy that Padme was in love with Anakin. I mean, come on.... At least with TESB, Han and Leia were characters - and you could feel for them.

Here, it felt like Padme was just saying it to say it. And didn't really feel it.

Dan

I DO respect your opinion, whether I share it or not. It's just as predictable as I or Jeron may be in our more positive (or naive, whatever you prefer) outlook in life or towards movies are, so are you on the negative spectrum. Over time you have become hard to please, extremly cynical (which I actually kinda appreciate) and just so all gloomy-doomy like. I mean, if Andre finds himself agreeing with you more and more...well, need I say more? Yet, if this is all your opinion then I have no problem with it. You comment on my positive reviews, I have no problem with it if you want to.

Above all, we are a family here dude. You and I have known each other for a long time,although my presence on aim is almost none-existent these days, you are still my friend and I value you very much. That will never change and not even a Star Wars movie will have the force to alter that.

So, you hated the movie, I loved it. You live in Washington I am surviving (barely) in LA. Your cool, I'm ....something. LOL. What's important here is that we have become friends through this board and a funny thing called aim, and I would not have it any other way.

Dang, Im at work, better act like it...

Scott

Yeah, the Yoda fight was awesome, but, and I may sound like a pansy, the last minute of the film was absolutely incredible! I think it was the only time I felt Lucas did a good job paralleling ESB. There's a sense of hope (thanks to the music), but you know there's a sense of doom underneath.

And I liked 3-PO! His humor in the original trilogy far surpasses Jar Jar's. His prisiness always lightens a scene without it being vaudevillian.

One more thing about the music: Someone please tell me John Williams wanted music from TPM tracked into the battle scenes at the end. What a disappointment to hear music I had heard before (the use of Duel of the Fates was put in an odd place, but effective). And of course there's just no excusing the lack of themes and interesting music. The love theme is nice, and has a little bit of Luke's/Star Wars theme. And the evolution into the Imperial March was possibly overdone, but effective again.

All that said, this film wasn't great, wasn't horrible. All it did was make me look forward to Ep. 3, which has a good story set up for it (Anakin and Padme, the revelation of Sidious, the death of the Jedi, what happens to Ben and Yoda).

I JUST saw the movie in that new-fangled DLP.

good picture.
The audience I saw it with paid rapt attention throughout the movie and applauded when the end credits rolled.
They all had a great time when Yoda showed up and did this thing.

I think Coruscant is an amazing creation.

the one thing that most detracts from the movie for me, was the sheer amount of digital legerdemain. It makes some of the sets look totally shallow, and UNreal.

but that aside, I had a blast during this movie. I do't go to a Star Wars expecting Citizen Kane (Dan), but a rip-roaring adventure.

Frankly, I thought the talky political manuevering and search for planet Kamino and all that was fascinating.

the movie finished very strongly I thought. Started weakly, then finished strong, leaving me excited for the prospects for Episode III.

Speaking of which, Episode III better damn well address why no one in Episode IV remembers Tattoine, or that Owen Lars doesn't remember owning C-3po; or that Obi-Wan has no memory of Qui-Gonn Jinn.

most chilling bit was the Tusken Camp. I thought Christensen did a pretty good job during his confession to Padme of what he did.

quote:

---

Originally posted by JJH:
I do't go to a Star Wars expecting Citizen Kane (Dan), but a rip-roaring adventure.

---

Hey now!

We talked about this! I did NOT expect ANYTHING like CITIZEN KANE!!! I just expected something BETTER than PHANTOM MENACE.... and I got that.

It's still shoddy acting and dialogue, though.....

quote:

---

Originally posted by dgoldwas:
It's still shoddy acting and dialogue, though.....
Dan

---

Ok, ok, we all agree about that, can we move on?

On second thought, let's dig into this a little more. The acting of Mr. Lee and the emporer or soon to be, were rather well exceuted I think. Sure, Obi, Anakin, Padme and so one had a little of a difficult time which leads me to wonder: If your not that good of an actor after all you will have difficulties with George Lucas but if you're a seasonded professional you will be able to deliver a stellar performance no matter what. I am not saying all these other actors are no good, not in a long shot. I am just saying, look at Christopher Lee. His acting was full of grace and so blieveable. Yet he had the same dialoge, the same director, the same circumstances. Heck, come to think of it, even Yoda was a great performance...

Out.

Scott

With any other movie with dialogue and acting as poor as AotC, it would be the laughing stock of Hollywood... But it's Star Wars, so people forgive it.

I just watched A New Hope on VHS. The acting, while not its strongest element, is far, far better than TPM / AotC, and the writing infinitely better.

It just sounds strange, I suppose. "Can we get past that?" Acting and dialogue often are a movie, and there was certainly enough (bad) acting and dialogue in AotC to pay it mind like Dan was doing.

There was a reason we all got past the sometimes amateur acting in the original trilogy, the films had a heart and soul. The one liners never got in the way of the emotional core of the movie, and we cared.

Even the friends of mine who liked it seemed to say that -- they didn't care for the characters (nor did one of them buy the "love" between the two leads). The movie is a spectacle, often showcasing as much visual effects for the sake of one upping the last scene, and in the end it was only hurt more because of that.

And all this discussion on the movie quite literally has me baffled. Something about this movie keeps some people liking it, but I honest to god can't figure out what. It's got the visual appeal, but are so many people forgetting the essence of the original trilogy (or films in general)?