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dangermousieOK, I am about 2/3 of the way through the Ep 2. Well, the dialogue is as bad as I’ve been led to expect. Sample: “From the moment I met you, all those years ago, not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of you. And now that I'm with you again... I'm in agony. The closer I get to you, the worse it gets. The thought of not being with you- I can't breathe. I'm haunted by the kiss that you should never have given me. My heart is beating... hoping that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me... what can I do?- I will do anything you ask.... if you are suffering as much as I am, PLEASE, tell me." Anakin, darling, this is how a Mary Sue talks, not the future Dark Lord of the Sith. If I were 10, I might have thought it was swoonily romantic. However, I am not 10. (Though my inner 10 year old, Hrithik-loving girl is in extasies over the purple prose). He is so callowly in earnest, that it makes me imagine Padme as a Mrs Robinson figure, which I am sure was not Lucas’ intention :D But Hayden Christensen must be a really good actor to be able to spout that stuff half-convincingly with a straight face.
This however, is much better than Ep 1. For one, very little annoying Jar Jar. For another, I’d rather look at Hayden Christensen than Jake Lloyd. Basically, this is cheesy entertaining pulpy eye-candy. Which is exactly what the original Star Wars were. In fact, I think the prequels are better: the tech stuff is better (due to CGI), the characters at least show some grief (e.g. Amidala on her double’s death, Anakin’s rampage at the raiders), unlike Princess “my whole planet has just been destroyed. Oh well. Must do my nails now” Leia. And yeah, Prequels don’t have Harrison Ford sexishly roguing it across the galaxy, OTOH, in the originals it was only Ford and Alec Guinness who could act, but here a whole bunch of actors manage, probably despite Lucas’ direction.
But yeah, great fun was had by all. I loved Ep 2 so far and am definitely getting a copy. Basically, it has great CGI, decent enough acting by most actors, interesting enough plot, but horribly atrocious dialogue. George Lucas, for the love of Pete, get yourself a different screenwriter.
After seeing this, my opinion is confirmed: GL is great at world-building. I wish I saw this on the big screen: I love the cloners, so alien looking and their sterile environment, I love the asteroid field and the sonic boom-thingy, I loved Amidala’s 1001 costumes (this movie so should have gotten a costumes nom). I loved the alien city where Obi-Wan and Anakin chase the assassin. Very alien yet comprehensible. Basically, salivation territory.
However, GL absolutely sucks at dialogue and direction.
The direction of actors is not good at all. The older, more experienced actors (Christopher Lee, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson) manage OK. But it must be hard acting in front of the blue screen. And Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman, both of whom are very good elsewhere (Hayden has a GG nom and Natalie an Oscar nom!) sink under the blue screen. HC manages to act well in a couple of places (probably fighting Lucas off. Was Lucas just telling him “blank. No, less acting. Less, less, less, less!”), and NP in none (the costumes wear her, not the other way around). Pity.
The plot itself is pretty interesting (more on it later), but the dialogue often sinks it. The lines are usually OK when they are politically minded, but when GL tries to write two people in love, or Anakin voicing his issues, or anything else personal, it becomes worthy of the “It was a dark and stormy night” contest. Oh, and “Annie” is really not a suitable nickname for the future Dark Lord :) It’s a great pity because swimming in that murky sea of sloppy writing is a whole bunch of really fascinating ideas that he is not a good enough writer to explore.
Like the fact that Padme is an enabler. She really should not encourage Anakin to break Jedi rules. Anakin’s problem is NOT that he is too obedient. His problem is that he doesn’t obey enough. He already thinks he is too good for the rules, he does not need another voice reinforcing that opinion and encouraging him. Also, when the guy comes in and says that he’s killed “men, women and children” to avenge his Mom, the last thing he needs to hear is “Anger is OK.” Woman, what is wrong with you? He needs a verbal equivalent of a big slap. Yes, it’s OK to grieve, and it’s understandable he’d snap. However, it’s not OK to go on a murder rampage of the kind he engages in. To kill women and kids is just wrong, wrong, wrong and it amazes me that Amidala seems unfazed. He needs to be brought to understand he cannot do this. Oh, and woman: a guy who slaughters a tribe is probably not the best date material, however cute his braids. I guess Lucas might be trying get at the fact that since she first saw him as a cute lil kid, she can’t see that he is quite Dark now (that is probably what he was getting at with his horrible “you will always be little boy to me” intro dialogue, but he failed). Basically, Padme is the worst possible influence on him.
She should also not encourage him to feel strong emotions, such as anger or passion. The Jedi have that rule for a reason. Normal people do pretty crazy things when under the grip of them, and as his massacre showed, someone who has all the Jedi powers could do horrible damage under their sway. Let in one powerful passion and you can be swayed. Only their asceticism keeps them from using their powers for bad and falling into temptation. The mental discipline isn’t optional, it’s a necessity.
Though on the sex front, they can’t have passionate love, but no one mentioned anything about dispassionate one-night stands ;) Anakin is cute enough, he can have plenty of fun. Why settle for mere one chick? Btw Padme, a hint: If you are telling a guy that you really really shouldn’t get together, try wearing an outfit that doesn’t display all of your cleavage like fish in a market stall.
Oh, and another interesting idea is that Obi-Wan, nice though he is, is precisely the wrong guy to train Anakin. He is too easy-going. He lets him get away with things. Anakin needs someone to reign him in, to beat into him some discipline. He needs Yoda (who whupped Luke into shape) or Mace Windu (can you imagine disobeying someone with Jackson’s voice?). And of course, the need is all the greater, because Anakin is both very powerful and imaginative. That is why he can do so much damage. If he was less powerful, traitor or not, he would not have managed to do all the harmful stuff.
And another idea, that is not mine, but from the book I am reading on the end of the Roman Republic: Anakin’s whole outlook must really be influenced by the fact that he grew up on a slave planet (which seems to be a rarity) as a slave. As the book indicated, people who grow up in a hierarchical society seldom question it, but merely their place in it. I.e. a Roman slave would not think to question the existence of slavery, he would just want to turn into a Master himself. That is why Anakin might not be as keen on the idea of Democracy as Padme, an always free person from a Democratic society. That is not Anakin’s framework.
But alas, this is not really explored, and the descent of the Jedi into a Dark Lord looks at times remarkably like the biggest teenage sulk in history.
However, as I’ve said, this is cheesy, pulpy, glorious fun and I liked it quite well. It might not be Gotterdamerung or even Lord of the Rings, but it’s a fun couple of hours and there are worse things to say of a movie than that!
This however, is much better than Ep 1. For one, very little annoying Jar Jar. For another, I’d rather look at Hayden Christensen than Jake Lloyd. Basically, this is cheesy entertaining pulpy eye-candy. Which is exactly what the original Star Wars were. In fact, I think the prequels are better: the tech stuff is better (due to CGI), the characters at least show some grief (e.g. Amidala on her double’s death, Anakin’s rampage at the raiders), unlike Princess “my whole planet has just been destroyed. Oh well. Must do my nails now” Leia. And yeah, Prequels don’t have Harrison Ford sexishly roguing it across the galaxy, OTOH, in the originals it was only Ford and Alec Guinness who could act, but here a whole bunch of actors manage, probably despite Lucas’ direction.
But yeah, great fun was had by all. I loved Ep 2 so far and am definitely getting a copy. Basically, it has great CGI, decent enough acting by most actors, interesting enough plot, but horribly atrocious dialogue. George Lucas, for the love of Pete, get yourself a different screenwriter.
After seeing this, my opinion is confirmed: GL is great at world-building. I wish I saw this on the big screen: I love the cloners, so alien looking and their sterile environment, I love the asteroid field and the sonic boom-thingy, I loved Amidala’s 1001 costumes (this movie so should have gotten a costumes nom). I loved the alien city where Obi-Wan and Anakin chase the assassin. Very alien yet comprehensible. Basically, salivation territory.
However, GL absolutely sucks at dialogue and direction.
The direction of actors is not good at all. The older, more experienced actors (Christopher Lee, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson) manage OK. But it must be hard acting in front of the blue screen. And Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman, both of whom are very good elsewhere (Hayden has a GG nom and Natalie an Oscar nom!) sink under the blue screen. HC manages to act well in a couple of places (probably fighting Lucas off. Was Lucas just telling him “blank. No, less acting. Less, less, less, less!”), and NP in none (the costumes wear her, not the other way around). Pity.
The plot itself is pretty interesting (more on it later), but the dialogue often sinks it. The lines are usually OK when they are politically minded, but when GL tries to write two people in love, or Anakin voicing his issues, or anything else personal, it becomes worthy of the “It was a dark and stormy night” contest. Oh, and “Annie” is really not a suitable nickname for the future Dark Lord :) It’s a great pity because swimming in that murky sea of sloppy writing is a whole bunch of really fascinating ideas that he is not a good enough writer to explore.
Like the fact that Padme is an enabler. She really should not encourage Anakin to break Jedi rules. Anakin’s problem is NOT that he is too obedient. His problem is that he doesn’t obey enough. He already thinks he is too good for the rules, he does not need another voice reinforcing that opinion and encouraging him. Also, when the guy comes in and says that he’s killed “men, women and children” to avenge his Mom, the last thing he needs to hear is “Anger is OK.” Woman, what is wrong with you? He needs a verbal equivalent of a big slap. Yes, it’s OK to grieve, and it’s understandable he’d snap. However, it’s not OK to go on a murder rampage of the kind he engages in. To kill women and kids is just wrong, wrong, wrong and it amazes me that Amidala seems unfazed. He needs to be brought to understand he cannot do this. Oh, and woman: a guy who slaughters a tribe is probably not the best date material, however cute his braids. I guess Lucas might be trying get at the fact that since she first saw him as a cute lil kid, she can’t see that he is quite Dark now (that is probably what he was getting at with his horrible “you will always be little boy to me” intro dialogue, but he failed). Basically, Padme is the worst possible influence on him.
She should also not encourage him to feel strong emotions, such as anger or passion. The Jedi have that rule for a reason. Normal people do pretty crazy things when under the grip of them, and as his massacre showed, someone who has all the Jedi powers could do horrible damage under their sway. Let in one powerful passion and you can be swayed. Only their asceticism keeps them from using their powers for bad and falling into temptation. The mental discipline isn’t optional, it’s a necessity.
Though on the sex front, they can’t have passionate love, but no one mentioned anything about dispassionate one-night stands ;) Anakin is cute enough, he can have plenty of fun. Why settle for mere one chick? Btw Padme, a hint: If you are telling a guy that you really really shouldn’t get together, try wearing an outfit that doesn’t display all of your cleavage like fish in a market stall.
Oh, and another interesting idea is that Obi-Wan, nice though he is, is precisely the wrong guy to train Anakin. He is too easy-going. He lets him get away with things. Anakin needs someone to reign him in, to beat into him some discipline. He needs Yoda (who whupped Luke into shape) or Mace Windu (can you imagine disobeying someone with Jackson’s voice?). And of course, the need is all the greater, because Anakin is both very powerful and imaginative. That is why he can do so much damage. If he was less powerful, traitor or not, he would not have managed to do all the harmful stuff.
And another idea, that is not mine, but from the book I am reading on the end of the Roman Republic: Anakin’s whole outlook must really be influenced by the fact that he grew up on a slave planet (which seems to be a rarity) as a slave. As the book indicated, people who grow up in a hierarchical society seldom question it, but merely their place in it. I.e. a Roman slave would not think to question the existence of slavery, he would just want to turn into a Master himself. That is why Anakin might not be as keen on the idea of Democracy as Padme, an always free person from a Democratic society. That is not Anakin’s framework.
But alas, this is not really explored, and the descent of the Jedi into a Dark Lord looks at times remarkably like the biggest teenage sulk in history.
However, as I’ve said, this is cheesy, pulpy, glorious fun and I liked it quite well. It might not be Gotterdamerung or even Lord of the Rings, but it’s a fun couple of hours and there are worse things to say of a movie than that!
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Date: 2005-03-14 05:50 pm (UTC)Also, Amidala takes him down the wrong path because she isn't a Jedi, she doesn't understand that he can't act human, he has to have self-control...
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Date: 2005-03-14 07:35 pm (UTC)But do grammar checks, woman!!! :-P I know you knwo this isn't right!
"not the best date material, however, cute his braids."
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Date: 2005-03-14 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 07:51 pm (UTC)You should totally rent Ep 2: it has outrageous costumes, slashy subtexts (hey if you look hard enough!) and girly looking boys :) Plus, it's fun fun fun.