Begun this clone war has...

Rating: 10/10 (12 May 2002)

Whatever you thought about Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace, whatever you disliked about Jar Jar Binks or the little child Anakin had been in the first part of this spectacular space saga, forget you must about all your concerns! I had the possibility to watch Episode II this night at about 1:00 o'clock in the city of Munich/Germany at a charity preview screening! What I saw some 13 hours ago is the movie of the movies, the movie every true fan and every moviegoer has waited for! This time director George Lucas managed to deliver a fine performance in directing, storytelling and visualization of the great events that take place in this 2 hours 22 minutes thrill-ride I'd like to call the second best Star Wars movie of all time which means that this is the second best movie of all time (after the original Episode IV - but, hey, I've only seen it one time until now so things could hint at a No. 1 spot in my personal list!). The movie's atmosphere is far more darker than that of Episode I and I think that Episode II is even darker than Episode V. The galaxy's in a real turmoil, because of the separatists that want to leave the Republic. The story has a wonderful pace I'd like to compare with Episode IV. There's not a single second one feels bored or one feels strange about anything. All the different subplots are developed perfectly and find their climax in a gigantic battle in the end of the movie. The actors all deliver excellent performances. Especially Hayden Christensen's performance marks the perfect portrayal of the later Darth Vader. You can really feel his inner battle with the dark side. He is a good person with a good heart, but certain things make him turn. In Episode II, during one of the highlights of the movie, Anakin is confronted with his first dark actions. It will take your breath away, I promise you! Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor do a great job and keep up the fine pace of the movie. McGregor gets to do a lot this time and some of his quotations will be remembered! The hidden star of the movie, now one can deny that, is Yoda. Yes, you heard it right, Yoda. The Jedi-Master shows the audience why he is the greatest Jedi of all time and also proves that the advance of digital animation can't be stopped...... The Special Effects are totally exciting, excellent and brilliant, but they never stand above the story, no, they drive the story forward and underline all the aspects of the movie. The CG-characters in this movie look so realistic (especially Yoda) that you just won't believe it. Compared with Spider-Man (a very good movie, too!) where the animated Spider-Man can be recognized during a lot of scenes as an animation Episode II's CG-characters interact perfectly with the real actors. And talking about technical aspects...... I didn't see any hint that the pictures were entirely shot digitally! The picture looks brilliant, colourful and very rich! The sound effects are superb and John Williams' score perfectly underlines this motion picture experience! What else to say than well, I already have my tickets for the midnight premiere on Wednesday/Thursday and I'll again enjoy a hell of thrill-ride watching this movie that tells us a story of good versus evil from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... May the force be with you! Always!