Better than EP1

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2002)

This movie is MUCH better than the first episode. Here are some pros and a few cons with this movie: PROS: 1. Jar Jar Binks gets VERY LITTLE screen time this time. That is GOOD. I think Mr. Lucas did listen to all the comments he got from viewers of EP1, and toned him down A LOT. Makes the movie SO much better. 2. Yoda was AWESOME. I loved the computer effects. I loved the fact that he kicked some MAJOR ass. I also liked his calming force in the movie. He is clearly the most powerful Jedi on the council. This was even apparent in EP1, and it really shows this time. 3. The Visuals were truly AWESOME. The different places that the movie took us to were just stunning. The different creatures that were put in were very cool too. 4. This is of course expected, but the special effects were just great. The computer effects were outstanding. I really liked the race in the city. That was cool. 5. There was NO mention of "mediclorians." Another big plus. Seems Mr. Lucas heard the fans on that one too. 6. This makes EP1 quite a bit more understandable. This movie also answered several of my questions from the first three films (parts 4, 5, and 6). 7. Natalie Portman is just stunning. She was kind of reserved and held back a bit in EP1. But, for this movie, she is powerful and well used. And she is just such a BABE.
CONS: 1. The fact that this movie was filmed in digital is great. I am a big fan of it, and I hope this raises the stature of digital movie making. HOWEVER, the transfer of the digital to analog film did muddy up the movie a bit. It was especially apparent when the camera was panning fast past overhead shots, such as when the camera looked at the cloning facility. I think this problem will be solved when this comes out on DVD. 2. Sorry folks, but the love story sucked. These people were very stiff, and the lines were just a bit trite. 3. The pacing for this movie was a bit bad too. In this movie, there were several scenes that didn't last more than a minute or two. Now the original movies did go back and forth to different places, but at least they stayed in one place for a while. 4. Yoda's fight scene was TOO SHORT. I was VERY impressed by that scene, and I wanted MORE.