Je früher und länger, desto lieber.
Achtung: Potentielle Spoiler!
Episode II - Kritiken
The Trades vom 10. Mai 2002 sagen in einer http://www.the-trades.com/column.php?columnid=1162 über Natalie:
As far as the performances go, Natalie Portman is clearly the standout. Not since Vivian Leigh in "Gone With the Wind" has a young woman of such dramatic power and captivating beauty guided an epic. Flawless throughout, Portman should have no problem surviving the "Star Wars" curse and becoming an accomplished and Oscar worthy actress.
Übersetzung:
Was die schauspielerische Leistung anbelangt, ragt Natalie Portman klar heraus. Seit Vivian Leigh in "Vom Winde Verweht" hat keine junge Frau mehr mit einer solchen darstellerischen Kraft und fesselnden Schönheit ein Epos angeführt. Perfekt in jeder Beziehung sollte Portman kein Problem haben, den "Star Wars-Fluch" zu überleben und eine fähige und oscarwürdige Schauspielerin zu werden.
--
Aleph
As far as the performances go, Natalie Portman is clearly the standout. Not since Vivian Leigh in "Gone With the Wind" has a young woman of such dramatic power and captivating beauty guided an epic. Flawless throughout, Portman should have no problem surviving the "Star Wars" curse and becoming an accomplished and Oscar worthy actress.
Übersetzung:
Was die schauspielerische Leistung anbelangt, ragt Natalie Portman klar heraus. Seit Vivian Leigh in "Vom Winde Verweht" hat keine junge Frau mehr mit einer solchen darstellerischen Kraft und fesselnden Schönheit ein Epos angeführt. Perfekt in jeder Beziehung sollte Portman kein Problem haben, den "Star Wars-Fluch" zu überleben und eine fähige und oscarwürdige Schauspielerin zu werden.
--
Aleph
Natalie selbst meinte gegenüber der Nachrichtenagentur AP:
"I really love it. I personally like this film a lot better," said Natalie Portman, who returns as Padme Amidala, reunited with her Jedi pals Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the now grown Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen).
"I get really bored in action movies, but I was at the edge of my seat with my mouth open," said Portman, who saw the finished film last weekend. "It's so gorgeous. It's got a great story, a real arc. You really care about the characters."
--
Aleph
"I really love it. I personally like this film a lot better," said Natalie Portman, who returns as Padme Amidala, reunited with her Jedi pals Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the now grown Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen).
"I get really bored in action movies, but I was at the edge of my seat with my mouth open," said Portman, who saw the finished film last weekend. "It's so gorgeous. It's got a great story, a real arc. You really care about the characters."
--
Aleph
Peter Travers, http://www.rollingstone.com/mv_reviews/ ... id=2043824 (unbeeindruckt)
David Thomson, http://www.salon.com/sex/turn_on/2002/0 ... index.html (bissig und unter der Gürtellinie)
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout ... ID=31&cs=1 (nur für Abonnenten) - http://www.natalieportman.net/wwwboard/ ... 69021.html
--
Aleph
David Thomson, http://www.salon.com/sex/turn_on/2002/0 ... index.html (bissig und unter der Gürtellinie)
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout ... ID=31&cs=1 (nur für Abonnenten) - http://www.natalieportman.net/wwwboard/ ... 69021.html
--
Aleph
Roger Ebert, http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/c ... ert10.html
Chris Hewitt, http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/ ... eview.shtm
Chris Gore, http://www.filmthreat.com/Reviews.asp?F ... sTop20.inc (light side)
Tim Merrill, http://www.filmthreat.com/Reviews.asp?F ... nc&Id=3099 (dark side)
antigk, http://www.natalieportman.net/wwwboard/ ... 69101.html
(Links gefunden auf dem NPMB.)
--
Aleph
[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Aleph am 2002-05-10 21:01 ]
Chris Hewitt, http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/ ... eview.shtm
Chris Gore, http://www.filmthreat.com/Reviews.asp?F ... sTop20.inc (light side)
Tim Merrill, http://www.filmthreat.com/Reviews.asp?F ... nc&Id=3099 (dark side)
antigk, http://www.natalieportman.net/wwwboard/ ... 69101.html
(Links gefunden auf dem NPMB.)
--
Aleph
[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Aleph am 2002-05-10 21:01 ]
Mehr Online-Kritiken, gefunden bei http://www.theforce.net/episode2/index.html:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storyprint.cf ... ID=1844357
http://www.boxoff.com/scripts/newsviewstory.asp?ID=2401
http://www.gamestar.de/magazin/specials/vermischt/8617/
http://www.dvdeastereggs.com/showReview.php?rid=86
http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/starw ... ovie.phtml
http://boxofficemojo.com/review/movies/ ... rwars2.htm
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,52391,00.html
--
Aleph
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storyprint.cf ... ID=1844357
http://www.boxoff.com/scripts/newsviewstory.asp?ID=2401
http://www.gamestar.de/magazin/specials/vermischt/8617/
http://www.dvdeastereggs.com/showReview.php?rid=86
http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/starw ... ovie.phtml
http://boxofficemojo.com/review/movies/ ... rwars2.htm
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,52391,00.html
--
Aleph
Die ''Ain't It Cool News'' hatten mit http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=11796 am 17. März 2002 die erste Kritik überhaupt online. Nun sind zwei weitere hinzugekommen:
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=12200, 9. Mai 2002
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=12201, 9. Mai 2002
Aus letzterer die folgende, vernichtende Bemerkung:
"But that’s the great thing, isn’t it? I’m this far into the review, and I’m hard-pressed to talk about what I didn’t like. I could talk about how weak some of the dialogue is, or how I think Natalie Portman gives a boring and, at times, wholly unbelievable performance."
Es ist erstaunlich, wie sehr sich an Natalies Leistung - wie schon zu Zeiten der Möwe - die Geister scheiden (vgl. weiter oben die Kritik bei The Trades).
--
Aleph
[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Aleph am 2002-05-12 02:08 ]
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=12200, 9. Mai 2002
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=12201, 9. Mai 2002
Aus letzterer die folgende, vernichtende Bemerkung:
"But that’s the great thing, isn’t it? I’m this far into the review, and I’m hard-pressed to talk about what I didn’t like. I could talk about how weak some of the dialogue is, or how I think Natalie Portman gives a boring and, at times, wholly unbelievable performance."
Es ist erstaunlich, wie sehr sich an Natalies Leistung - wie schon zu Zeiten der Möwe - die Geister scheiden (vgl. weiter oben die Kritik bei The Trades).
--
Aleph
[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Aleph am 2002-05-12 02:08 ]
Sorry, dass ich nicht gleich gepostet hab', als ich zurück war. Aber dafür jetzt
DAAAAMN .... aaaaaaaaaaah ..... whoa ..... I'm dying ......
grade zurück aus München von der Vor-Premiere von Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones ..... was sich später zu Angriff der Klonkrieger entwickelte ..... meine Onlinefreunde der SW Community waren genauso enttäuscht wie ich, als wir erfuhren, dass der Film auf deutsch läuft.
Aber ich hatte Stühle dabei, es war also auszuhalten. Und dann während dem Film war alle negative Aura verflogen..... Freudenschreien und -kreischen, Applaudieren, Pfeiffen während des Films, einfach nur noch genial.
Und dann hinterher allen in den Armen liegend, Wahnsinn *lol*.
Und der Film is wirklich das Beste, was ich von SW kenne ...... bin ich froh, wenn ich am Mittwoch die echte Premiere dann auf English sehe *gg*.
CU
~Harry
*dying*
Also ich muss sagen, der Film ist wirklich einzigartig, sowohl was schauspielerische Leistung angeht, als auch Story, als auch die Effekte. Letztere sind zu Ep I verglichen nochmal um Ewigkeiten gesteigert worden, Wahnsinn.
Obwohl ich das meiste der Story schon kannte, gab es doch noch ein paar Szenen, von denen ich nichts wusste. ([Spoiler!] z.B., dass Count Dooku Anakins Hand abschlägt, dass bereits Pläne für den Todesstern exisistieren oder dass Mace Windu Jango Fett tötet.)
Also, wenn es sich bei einem der SW Filme lohnt, ihn zu sehen, dann ist es dieser!!!!
Da fällt mir noch ein, zum Thema "deutsch" ..... als wir das erfuhren,
wollte wir schnell ne Blitzpetition starten, um den Film auf English
zu sehen (denn wir hatte ja auch durch ne Petition erreicht, dass der
Film weltweit gleichzeitig gezeigt wird.), aber als wir mim Chef vom
Kino sprachen, ham wir erfahren, dass sie die Englishe Filmrolle gar
ned dahatten
(( ....
Naja, nichtsdestotrotz hier die Eintrittskarte *g*:
CU
~Harry
[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Harry am 2002-05-12 13:59 ]
DAAAAMN .... aaaaaaaaaaah ..... whoa ..... I'm dying ......
grade zurück aus München von der Vor-Premiere von Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones ..... was sich später zu Angriff der Klonkrieger entwickelte ..... meine Onlinefreunde der SW Community waren genauso enttäuscht wie ich, als wir erfuhren, dass der Film auf deutsch läuft.
Aber ich hatte Stühle dabei, es war also auszuhalten. Und dann während dem Film war alle negative Aura verflogen..... Freudenschreien und -kreischen, Applaudieren, Pfeiffen während des Films, einfach nur noch genial.
Und dann hinterher allen in den Armen liegend, Wahnsinn *lol*.
Und der Film is wirklich das Beste, was ich von SW kenne ...... bin ich froh, wenn ich am Mittwoch die echte Premiere dann auf English sehe *gg*.
CU
~Harry
*dying*
Also ich muss sagen, der Film ist wirklich einzigartig, sowohl was schauspielerische Leistung angeht, als auch Story, als auch die Effekte. Letztere sind zu Ep I verglichen nochmal um Ewigkeiten gesteigert worden, Wahnsinn.
Obwohl ich das meiste der Story schon kannte, gab es doch noch ein paar Szenen, von denen ich nichts wusste. ([Spoiler!] z.B., dass Count Dooku Anakins Hand abschlägt, dass bereits Pläne für den Todesstern exisistieren oder dass Mace Windu Jango Fett tötet.)
Also, wenn es sich bei einem der SW Filme lohnt, ihn zu sehen, dann ist es dieser!!!!
Da fällt mir noch ein, zum Thema "deutsch" ..... als wir das erfuhren,
wollte wir schnell ne Blitzpetition starten, um den Film auf English
zu sehen (denn wir hatte ja auch durch ne Petition erreicht, dass der
Film weltweit gleichzeitig gezeigt wird.), aber als wir mim Chef vom
Kino sprachen, ham wir erfahren, dass sie die Englishe Filmrolle gar
ned dahatten
(( ....Naja, nichtsdestotrotz hier die Eintrittskarte *g*:
CU
~Harry
[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Harry am 2002-05-12 13:59 ]
New York Times
Kicking Up Cosmic Dust
May 10, 2002
By A. O. SCOTT
AFTER sitting through "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones," I'm tempted to quote an evergreen Public Enemy song: don't believe the hype. But really, belief is beside the point. The promotional machinery around the "Star Wars" franchise exists beyond fervor or skepticism; it is a fact of life. When the fifth installment in George Lucas's pop-Wagnerian cycle opens nationally on Thursday (after being shown at the first TriBeCa Film Festival on Sunday afternoon), the event will have all the spontaneity and surprise of an election day in the old Soviet Union.
Like weary Brezhnev-era Muscovites, the American moviegoing public will line up out of habit and compulsion, ruefully hoping that this episode will at least be a little better than the last one, and perhaps inwardly suspecting that the whole elephantine system is rotten. Even the true believers camped out on the sidewalks with their toy light sabers (or the ones at the screening I attended who burst into applause at the appearance of the 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm company logos) seem more dutiful than enthusiastic.
Already I can hear the equally habitual murmurs of protest: Oh, come on, lighten up! It's only a movie.
Well, for one thing, given the scale and expense (reportedly $140 million) of the enterprise, not to mention its ability to command the money and attention of audiences around the world, there's nothing "only" about it. And for another, while "Attack of the Clones" is many things - a two-hour-and-12-minute action-figure commercial, a demo reel heralding the latest advances in digital filmmaking, a chance for gifted actors to be handsomely paid for delivering the worst line readings of their careers - it is not really much of a movie at all, if by movie you mean a work of visual storytelling about the dramatic actions of a group of interesting characters.
Twenty-five years ago the first "Star Wars" picture, which we are now supposed to call "Episode IV - A New Hope," offered a revelatory combination of whimsy and grandeur. The big, archetypal themes were there and would emerge into sharper relief through the next two films, but they were leavened by a cheeky sense of fun grounded in Mr. Lucas's love of old serials and B-movies. The solemn drama of Luke Skywalker's Oedipal struggle with Darth Vader was offset by, among other things, the twinkling Gable-and-Lombard sexiness of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher as Han Solo and Princess Leia. The special effects were spectacular and elaborate, but there was also something jaunty in the inventiveness that produced them.
That was a long time ago. In reviving the saga, and setting out to chronicle Luke's genealogy and the earlier history of the Jedi order, Mr. Lucas seems to have lost his boyish glee. As the effects have grown more intricate and realistic, their ability to yield pleasure and astonishment has diminished.
"Clones" takes place 10 years after "Episode I - The Phantom Menace," and it is as thick with exposition as an undergraduate history course. An early reference to disgruntled miners on one of the moons of Naboo elicits a spasm of anxiety: will this be on the final? Footnotes to the earlier (which is to say, to the later) episodes are interesting in a scholastic kind of way. Now, at long last, we know the parentage of Boba Fett, the vengeful bounty hunter from the first three films.
But where are the clones? Send in the clones! Patience, young Jedi. They're already here, on a distant, storm-tossed planet, waiting for their big climactic battle scene. First, however, you must attend to the political turmoil that threatens the stability of the republic. Separatists in far-flung solar systems, apparently in cahoots with the dark side, are causing all kinds of trouble, and the beleagured Jedi and the fractious senate are ill equipped to contain it. This leads to some earnest palaver among the sinister chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and the Jedi elders, who include Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits, Ewan McGregor and Yoda, as well as assorted masked and computer-animated space knights and politicos.
Mr. McGregor, revisiting the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi and looking ever less likely to age into Sir Alec Guinness, must also undertake some intergalactic police work, trying to find those responsible for an attempt on the life of Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), who has become a legislator after her tenure as the elected (and apparently term-limited) queen of Naboo. (Jar Jar Binks, the notorious duck-billed racial caricature from "The Phantom Menace," has also returned, accent and all. Now you may call him Senator Binks. Whether this makes the character less offensive or more is something to ponder.)
Obi-Wan's apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), is assigned to be Padmé's bodyguard. He promptly falls in love with her, which occasions some of the most embarrassing romantic avowals in recent screen history. The gifted Anakin also manifests some of the traits that will eventually pull him over to the dark side: arrogance, a hot temper and contempt for democratic institutions. It is clear by now that the purpose of the saga is to do for Anakin/Darth Vader what Robert A. Caro has been doing for Lyndon B. Johnson, but Mr. Lucas lacks Mr. Caro's feel for human psychology and his insight into the workings of politics.
The story of a young, ambitious knight's corruption, set against a backdrop of incipient civil war, has enormous potential, but Mr. Lucas (who wrote the script with Jonathan Hales) is, at best, a haphazard storyteller. He also has lost either the will or the ability to connect with actors, and his crowded, noisy cosmos is pyschologically and emotionally barren. Mr. Christensen and Ms. Portman are timid and stiff, and uncertain of their diction. They alternate between the august tones of high-school Shakespeareans and the suburban soap-opera naturalism of "Dawson's Creek." Only Mr. Jackson, Frank Oz (the voice of Yoda) and, later, the formidable Christopher Lee seem comfortable in their performances, perhaps because they know better than to take the proceedings too seriously.
Now is perhaps the time to say that the special effects - the scaly critters and planetary landscapes, the swordplay and the spaceship chases - demonstrate impressive polish and visual integrity. But now is also the time to say: so what? Yes, the battle scenes and the monster rallies are superior to anything in "The Mummy," "The Mummy Returns" or "The Scorpion King," but that lowbrow franchise at least has the good sense to acknowledge its silliness. "Attack of the Clones," in contrast, like "The Phantom Menace," lumbers along in the confining armor of bogus wisdom.
There are two moments, one early and one late, in which the sententious hooey is cast off and some of the old "Star Wars" spirit peeks out. The first is an aerial chase through traffic-clogged skies, in which the great cinematic challenge of conveying flight is breathtakingly surmounted. The other is a light-saber duel between the evil Count Dooku (Mr. Lee) and Yoda. Watching the elfin, leaping Yoda mix it up with the tall, graceful British bad guy momentarily dispels the ponderous tedium that has come before, but it is too little, too late.
Given Mr. Lee's long career in horror films, the contest also recalls one of those debates that erupt among third graders about the relative prowess of fictional characters. ("No way could Batman beat up Superman. He doesn't even really have powers." "Yuh-uh, 'cause what if Batman had some Kryptonite?" "Yeah, but neither one of them could beat the Incredible Hulk.") Could Yoda beat up Dracula? Good question. But the more relevant one is whether Anakin Skywalker can beat Spider-Man. The answer, young Jedi, is in your hands.
"Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). It has many violent scenes, none of them terribly upsetting or, for that matter, interesting.
STAR WARS
Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Directed by George Lucas; written by Mr. Lucas and Jonathan Hales; director of photography, David Tattersall; edited by Ben Burtt; music by John Williams; production designer, Gavin Bocquet; produced by Rick McCallum; released by 20th Century Fox. On Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers Street, TriBeCa, and the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers Street, as part of the concluding day of the TriBeCa Film Festival. Opening nationwide and in many foreign countries on Thursday. Running time: 132 minutes. This film is rated PG.
WITH: Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Natalie Portman (Padmé Amidala), Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine), Christopher Lee (Count Dooku), Jimmy Smits (Senator Bail Organa), Temuera Morrison (Jango Fett), Kenny Baker
(R2-D2), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Frank Oz (voice of Yoda) and Ahmed Best (voice of Jar Jar Binks).
Kicking Up Cosmic Dust
May 10, 2002
By A. O. SCOTT
AFTER sitting through "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones," I'm tempted to quote an evergreen Public Enemy song: don't believe the hype. But really, belief is beside the point. The promotional machinery around the "Star Wars" franchise exists beyond fervor or skepticism; it is a fact of life. When the fifth installment in George Lucas's pop-Wagnerian cycle opens nationally on Thursday (after being shown at the first TriBeCa Film Festival on Sunday afternoon), the event will have all the spontaneity and surprise of an election day in the old Soviet Union.
Like weary Brezhnev-era Muscovites, the American moviegoing public will line up out of habit and compulsion, ruefully hoping that this episode will at least be a little better than the last one, and perhaps inwardly suspecting that the whole elephantine system is rotten. Even the true believers camped out on the sidewalks with their toy light sabers (or the ones at the screening I attended who burst into applause at the appearance of the 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm company logos) seem more dutiful than enthusiastic.
Already I can hear the equally habitual murmurs of protest: Oh, come on, lighten up! It's only a movie.
Well, for one thing, given the scale and expense (reportedly $140 million) of the enterprise, not to mention its ability to command the money and attention of audiences around the world, there's nothing "only" about it. And for another, while "Attack of the Clones" is many things - a two-hour-and-12-minute action-figure commercial, a demo reel heralding the latest advances in digital filmmaking, a chance for gifted actors to be handsomely paid for delivering the worst line readings of their careers - it is not really much of a movie at all, if by movie you mean a work of visual storytelling about the dramatic actions of a group of interesting characters.
Twenty-five years ago the first "Star Wars" picture, which we are now supposed to call "Episode IV - A New Hope," offered a revelatory combination of whimsy and grandeur. The big, archetypal themes were there and would emerge into sharper relief through the next two films, but they were leavened by a cheeky sense of fun grounded in Mr. Lucas's love of old serials and B-movies. The solemn drama of Luke Skywalker's Oedipal struggle with Darth Vader was offset by, among other things, the twinkling Gable-and-Lombard sexiness of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher as Han Solo and Princess Leia. The special effects were spectacular and elaborate, but there was also something jaunty in the inventiveness that produced them.
That was a long time ago. In reviving the saga, and setting out to chronicle Luke's genealogy and the earlier history of the Jedi order, Mr. Lucas seems to have lost his boyish glee. As the effects have grown more intricate and realistic, their ability to yield pleasure and astonishment has diminished.
"Clones" takes place 10 years after "Episode I - The Phantom Menace," and it is as thick with exposition as an undergraduate history course. An early reference to disgruntled miners on one of the moons of Naboo elicits a spasm of anxiety: will this be on the final? Footnotes to the earlier (which is to say, to the later) episodes are interesting in a scholastic kind of way. Now, at long last, we know the parentage of Boba Fett, the vengeful bounty hunter from the first three films.
But where are the clones? Send in the clones! Patience, young Jedi. They're already here, on a distant, storm-tossed planet, waiting for their big climactic battle scene. First, however, you must attend to the political turmoil that threatens the stability of the republic. Separatists in far-flung solar systems, apparently in cahoots with the dark side, are causing all kinds of trouble, and the beleagured Jedi and the fractious senate are ill equipped to contain it. This leads to some earnest palaver among the sinister chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and the Jedi elders, who include Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits, Ewan McGregor and Yoda, as well as assorted masked and computer-animated space knights and politicos.
Mr. McGregor, revisiting the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi and looking ever less likely to age into Sir Alec Guinness, must also undertake some intergalactic police work, trying to find those responsible for an attempt on the life of Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), who has become a legislator after her tenure as the elected (and apparently term-limited) queen of Naboo. (Jar Jar Binks, the notorious duck-billed racial caricature from "The Phantom Menace," has also returned, accent and all. Now you may call him Senator Binks. Whether this makes the character less offensive or more is something to ponder.)
Obi-Wan's apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), is assigned to be Padmé's bodyguard. He promptly falls in love with her, which occasions some of the most embarrassing romantic avowals in recent screen history. The gifted Anakin also manifests some of the traits that will eventually pull him over to the dark side: arrogance, a hot temper and contempt for democratic institutions. It is clear by now that the purpose of the saga is to do for Anakin/Darth Vader what Robert A. Caro has been doing for Lyndon B. Johnson, but Mr. Lucas lacks Mr. Caro's feel for human psychology and his insight into the workings of politics.
The story of a young, ambitious knight's corruption, set against a backdrop of incipient civil war, has enormous potential, but Mr. Lucas (who wrote the script with Jonathan Hales) is, at best, a haphazard storyteller. He also has lost either the will or the ability to connect with actors, and his crowded, noisy cosmos is pyschologically and emotionally barren. Mr. Christensen and Ms. Portman are timid and stiff, and uncertain of their diction. They alternate between the august tones of high-school Shakespeareans and the suburban soap-opera naturalism of "Dawson's Creek." Only Mr. Jackson, Frank Oz (the voice of Yoda) and, later, the formidable Christopher Lee seem comfortable in their performances, perhaps because they know better than to take the proceedings too seriously.
Now is perhaps the time to say that the special effects - the scaly critters and planetary landscapes, the swordplay and the spaceship chases - demonstrate impressive polish and visual integrity. But now is also the time to say: so what? Yes, the battle scenes and the monster rallies are superior to anything in "The Mummy," "The Mummy Returns" or "The Scorpion King," but that lowbrow franchise at least has the good sense to acknowledge its silliness. "Attack of the Clones," in contrast, like "The Phantom Menace," lumbers along in the confining armor of bogus wisdom.
There are two moments, one early and one late, in which the sententious hooey is cast off and some of the old "Star Wars" spirit peeks out. The first is an aerial chase through traffic-clogged skies, in which the great cinematic challenge of conveying flight is breathtakingly surmounted. The other is a light-saber duel between the evil Count Dooku (Mr. Lee) and Yoda. Watching the elfin, leaping Yoda mix it up with the tall, graceful British bad guy momentarily dispels the ponderous tedium that has come before, but it is too little, too late.
Given Mr. Lee's long career in horror films, the contest also recalls one of those debates that erupt among third graders about the relative prowess of fictional characters. ("No way could Batman beat up Superman. He doesn't even really have powers." "Yuh-uh, 'cause what if Batman had some Kryptonite?" "Yeah, but neither one of them could beat the Incredible Hulk.") Could Yoda beat up Dracula? Good question. But the more relevant one is whether Anakin Skywalker can beat Spider-Man. The answer, young Jedi, is in your hands.
"Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). It has many violent scenes, none of them terribly upsetting or, for that matter, interesting.
STAR WARS
Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Directed by George Lucas; written by Mr. Lucas and Jonathan Hales; director of photography, David Tattersall; edited by Ben Burtt; music by John Williams; production designer, Gavin Bocquet; produced by Rick McCallum; released by 20th Century Fox. On Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers Street, TriBeCa, and the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers Street, as part of the concluding day of the TriBeCa Film Festival. Opening nationwide and in many foreign countries on Thursday. Running time: 132 minutes. This film is rated PG.
WITH: Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Natalie Portman (Padmé Amidala), Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine), Christopher Lee (Count Dooku), Jimmy Smits (Senator Bail Organa), Temuera Morrison (Jango Fett), Kenny Baker
(R2-D2), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Frank Oz (voice of Yoda) and Ahmed Best (voice of Jar Jar Binks).
New York Times
At the Movies: 'Star Wars: Episode II'
May 11, 2002
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:22 a.m. ET
``The dark side clouds everything,'' Yoda warns in the fifth installment of the ``Star Wars'' series.
He might as well have been talking about George Lucas' thinking.
``Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones'' is better than the 1999 prequel, ``Episode I -- The Phantom Menace.'' Anything had to be. But Lucas, as writer-director-czar, still fails to recapture the fun and adventure that infused the original trilogy.
A bigger disappointment, though, is how derivative the movie is. Once hailed as the creative genius of our generation, Lucas has been copied so many times, he now seems obsolete, and ends up copying from himself.
As in 1980's ``The Empire Strikes Back'' -- the best film in the series -- ``Clones'' features an asteroid storm, lumbering mechanical contraptions, and a key character who loses a limb in a light saber duel.
But Lucas also steals identifiable, sometimes iconic imagery from at least a half-dozen other movies: the nightmarish cityscape of ``Blade Runner''; the Coliseum showdown of ``Gladiator''; the robotic gadgetry of ``Robocop''; the open helicopter flight of ``Apocalypse Now'' and ``Platoon''; and a conveyor belt sequence straight out of ``Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.''
The premise is basically just ``The Bodyguard,'' with light sabers. Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), former child queen of Naboo, is the target of an assassination attempt, and Jedi-in-training Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), who's loved her from afar for the past decade, is assigned to protect her.
Meanwhile, Anakin's mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), searches for her attacker and discovers the development of an army of clones; this is where the story loses focus. Eventually, he reteams with Anakin and Amidala to fight Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), a former Jedi knight who's turned evil and wants to take over the galaxy because ... who knows? He just does. That's how indiscernible the plot and motivations are.
``Clones'' samples almost as obviously as ``Shrek,'' but not to the point of parody like ``Scary Movie.'' Lucas does it often enough, though, that it makes me wonder whether he recognized the popularity of those movies and wanted a bit of the same.
Such pop culture amalgamations have become enormously successful because they give us what we already know; they make us feel comfortable because we're in on the joke. With ``Phantom Menace,'' Lucas created a truly original world, and he was universally derided for it (even though the movie made $431 million).
He'll deny it, but he clearly listened to the complaints about ``Phantom Menace'' and adapted to please the audience for ``Clones.'' Jar Jar Binks was annoying and we saw too much of him last time; here, he's been toned down and only appears in a few scenes. Amidala's Kabuki makeup and Vegas showgirl-style headdresses were too distracting; here, her look is pretty and feminine. Conspicuously, she's also lost the faux British accent she spoke with as queen; now, she giggles like a schoolgirl when she talks about a boy she had a crush on, with ``dark curly hair and dreamy eyes.''
But Portman and Christensen are so bland together, they're the Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away -- good-looking and powerful, but torn by their individual ambitions. Their love scenes are so devoid of romantic sparks, you'd never know that their coupling in Episode III produces Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.
The all-digital effects of ``Clones'' are just as ineffective; the backgrounds look like the cartoons that they are. A scene in which Amidala and Anakin frolic in a meadow has such a hyperreal pastoral quality, it looks like a commercial for a feminine hygiene product. The special effects from the original ``Star Wars'' may seem cheesy 25 years later, but they had a charm and a substance that's missing here.
The digital technology does allow for a miraculous scene involving a surprisingly agile Yoda; it's one of the few bright spots in an otherwise lifeless film. Other bright spots are unintentional -- they're the result of laugh-out-loud bad dialogue.
A protracted battle scene toward the end between clones and droids is especially draggy; it's no fun watching mechanical soldiers zapping each other with lasers. A reddish dust that swirls around them makes it impossible to tell who's shooting whom; maybe that's Lucas' point, but it renders the scene inaccessible.
``Star Wars'' geeks, however, will be happy to see a few key pieces of the saga fitting into place: the initial stirrings of anger that will turn Anakin into Darth Vader; the origin of bounty hunter Boba Fett; the first appearance of Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.
As Obi-Wan, McGregor truly comes into his own this time, practically channeling Alec Guinness in his demeanor and the cadence of his speech.
And, admittedly, the ritual itself holds some allure. It's still a rush to sit in a packed theater (equipped with THX, naturally) when that first blast of John Williams' fanfare sounds. Then you have to endure the rest of the movie.
``Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones,'' a 20th Century Fox release, is rated PG for sustained sequences of sci-fi/action violence. Running time: 135 minutes. Two stars (out of four).
At the Movies: 'Star Wars: Episode II'
May 11, 2002
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:22 a.m. ET
``The dark side clouds everything,'' Yoda warns in the fifth installment of the ``Star Wars'' series.
He might as well have been talking about George Lucas' thinking.
``Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones'' is better than the 1999 prequel, ``Episode I -- The Phantom Menace.'' Anything had to be. But Lucas, as writer-director-czar, still fails to recapture the fun and adventure that infused the original trilogy.
A bigger disappointment, though, is how derivative the movie is. Once hailed as the creative genius of our generation, Lucas has been copied so many times, he now seems obsolete, and ends up copying from himself.
As in 1980's ``The Empire Strikes Back'' -- the best film in the series -- ``Clones'' features an asteroid storm, lumbering mechanical contraptions, and a key character who loses a limb in a light saber duel.
But Lucas also steals identifiable, sometimes iconic imagery from at least a half-dozen other movies: the nightmarish cityscape of ``Blade Runner''; the Coliseum showdown of ``Gladiator''; the robotic gadgetry of ``Robocop''; the open helicopter flight of ``Apocalypse Now'' and ``Platoon''; and a conveyor belt sequence straight out of ``Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.''
The premise is basically just ``The Bodyguard,'' with light sabers. Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), former child queen of Naboo, is the target of an assassination attempt, and Jedi-in-training Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), who's loved her from afar for the past decade, is assigned to protect her.
Meanwhile, Anakin's mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), searches for her attacker and discovers the development of an army of clones; this is where the story loses focus. Eventually, he reteams with Anakin and Amidala to fight Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), a former Jedi knight who's turned evil and wants to take over the galaxy because ... who knows? He just does. That's how indiscernible the plot and motivations are.
``Clones'' samples almost as obviously as ``Shrek,'' but not to the point of parody like ``Scary Movie.'' Lucas does it often enough, though, that it makes me wonder whether he recognized the popularity of those movies and wanted a bit of the same.
Such pop culture amalgamations have become enormously successful because they give us what we already know; they make us feel comfortable because we're in on the joke. With ``Phantom Menace,'' Lucas created a truly original world, and he was universally derided for it (even though the movie made $431 million).
He'll deny it, but he clearly listened to the complaints about ``Phantom Menace'' and adapted to please the audience for ``Clones.'' Jar Jar Binks was annoying and we saw too much of him last time; here, he's been toned down and only appears in a few scenes. Amidala's Kabuki makeup and Vegas showgirl-style headdresses were too distracting; here, her look is pretty and feminine. Conspicuously, she's also lost the faux British accent she spoke with as queen; now, she giggles like a schoolgirl when she talks about a boy she had a crush on, with ``dark curly hair and dreamy eyes.''
But Portman and Christensen are so bland together, they're the Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away -- good-looking and powerful, but torn by their individual ambitions. Their love scenes are so devoid of romantic sparks, you'd never know that their coupling in Episode III produces Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.
The all-digital effects of ``Clones'' are just as ineffective; the backgrounds look like the cartoons that they are. A scene in which Amidala and Anakin frolic in a meadow has such a hyperreal pastoral quality, it looks like a commercial for a feminine hygiene product. The special effects from the original ``Star Wars'' may seem cheesy 25 years later, but they had a charm and a substance that's missing here.
The digital technology does allow for a miraculous scene involving a surprisingly agile Yoda; it's one of the few bright spots in an otherwise lifeless film. Other bright spots are unintentional -- they're the result of laugh-out-loud bad dialogue.
A protracted battle scene toward the end between clones and droids is especially draggy; it's no fun watching mechanical soldiers zapping each other with lasers. A reddish dust that swirls around them makes it impossible to tell who's shooting whom; maybe that's Lucas' point, but it renders the scene inaccessible.
``Star Wars'' geeks, however, will be happy to see a few key pieces of the saga fitting into place: the initial stirrings of anger that will turn Anakin into Darth Vader; the origin of bounty hunter Boba Fett; the first appearance of Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.
As Obi-Wan, McGregor truly comes into his own this time, practically channeling Alec Guinness in his demeanor and the cadence of his speech.
And, admittedly, the ritual itself holds some allure. It's still a rush to sit in a packed theater (equipped with THX, naturally) when that first blast of John Williams' fanfare sounds. Then you have to endure the rest of the movie.
``Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones,'' a 20th Century Fox release, is rated PG for sustained sequences of sci-fi/action violence. Running time: 135 minutes. Two stars (out of four).
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Atze 2
- The Phantom Poster
- Beiträge: 31
- Registriert: 12.05.2002, 1:00
- Wohnort: Burgdorf
- Kontaktdaten:
Was für ein Fluch??? Kann mich mal bitte iner Aufklären?!? Danke...Perfekt in jeder Beziehung sollte Portman kein Problem haben, den "Star Wars-Fluch" zu überleben und eine fähige und oscarwürdige Schauspielerin zu werden.
--
Aleph
_________________
http://www.clanhamburg.de.vu
..und der Mond zieht seine Bahn übers Reich des HH Clans...
[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Aleph am 2002-05-12 17:25 ]
> Was für ein Fluch??? Kann mich mal bitte einer Aufklären?!? Danke...
Zunächst bitte ich um Entschuldigung, daß ich bei Deiner Nachricht zunächst aus Versehen auf "Edit" statt auf "Quote" geklickt habe. Ich konnte sie, wie ich hoffe, wieder herstellen.
Zu Deiner Frage: Carrie Fisher (Prinzessin Leia Organa) und Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) waren, als sie von George Lucas für die ursprüngliche Trilogie gecastet wurden, ziemlich unbekannte Schauspieler, und hatten nach Star Wars kaum Erfolg auf der Leinwand. Ob das mit dem Umstand zusammenhing, daß sie durch ihre Parts in Star Wars für jede andere Filmrolle "verbrannt" waren - weil niemand etwas anderes in ihnen sehen konnte als Luke und Leia - oder sie einfach nicht das nötige Talent für eine echte Karriere hatten, ist umstritten. Der spätere Mißerfolg von Star Wars-Mimen wird jedenfalls seither nicht ganz ernst gemeint als "Star Wars-Fluch" bezeichnet.
--
Aleph
Zunächst bitte ich um Entschuldigung, daß ich bei Deiner Nachricht zunächst aus Versehen auf "Edit" statt auf "Quote" geklickt habe. Ich konnte sie, wie ich hoffe, wieder herstellen.
Zu Deiner Frage: Carrie Fisher (Prinzessin Leia Organa) und Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) waren, als sie von George Lucas für die ursprüngliche Trilogie gecastet wurden, ziemlich unbekannte Schauspieler, und hatten nach Star Wars kaum Erfolg auf der Leinwand. Ob das mit dem Umstand zusammenhing, daß sie durch ihre Parts in Star Wars für jede andere Filmrolle "verbrannt" waren - weil niemand etwas anderes in ihnen sehen konnte als Luke und Leia - oder sie einfach nicht das nötige Talent für eine echte Karriere hatten, ist umstritten. Der spätere Mißerfolg von Star Wars-Mimen wird jedenfalls seither nicht ganz ernst gemeint als "Star Wars-Fluch" bezeichnet.
--
Aleph
-
Atze 2
- The Phantom Poster
- Beiträge: 31
- Registriert: 12.05.2002, 1:00
- Wohnort: Burgdorf
- Kontaktdaten:
Ach so ist das... Nochmal danke!!!
_________________
http://www.clanhamburg.de.vu
..und der Mond zieht seine Bahn übers Reich des HH Clans...
[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Aleph am 2002-05-13 18:34 ]
_________________
http://www.clanhamburg.de.vu
..und der Mond zieht seine Bahn übers Reich des HH Clans...
[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Aleph am 2002-05-13 18:34 ]
Hi
ja ich hatte ebenfalls die Ehre in München gewesen zu sein und es war einfach nur noch grandios. Der Film war gigantisch. Die erste halbe Stunde geht es im Vergleich zum Ende noch "relativ" ruhig an aber in der zweiten Hälfte ging das ab.
Also Leute wenn ihr in diesen Fílm reingeht, dann versucht in eine Premiere zu kommen, wo möglichst viele Gleichgesinnnte sind, damit der film erst so richtig spass macht.
Abschließend sei noch gesagt...der Meister lebt...
cu vielleicht in der Premiere am Mittwoch in Münster...oder auch nicht
Ciao
ja ich hatte ebenfalls die Ehre in München gewesen zu sein und es war einfach nur noch grandios. Der Film war gigantisch. Die erste halbe Stunde geht es im Vergleich zum Ende noch "relativ" ruhig an aber in der zweiten Hälfte ging das ab.
Also Leute wenn ihr in diesen Fílm reingeht, dann versucht in eine Premiere zu kommen, wo möglichst viele Gleichgesinnnte sind, damit der film erst so richtig spass macht.
Abschließend sei noch gesagt...der Meister lebt...
cu vielleicht in der Premiere am Mittwoch in Münster...oder auch nicht
Ciao