You have to say it's better than PHANTOM MENACE

Rating: Null/10 (26 May 2002)

Title: STAR WARS--EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES Rating: ****1/2 (out of 5)
I have not been a huge STAR WARS fan, but I've love all of them: STAR WARS (*****), EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (*****), RETURN OF THE JEDI (****1/2) an d PHANTOM MENACE (***1/2). Now we have Episode II, which everyone (whether they liked or not), said it is definately better than Episode I. There has been a lot of debate to exactly why Episode I "bombed", but I personally believe it's do the fact that it forced the audience to suck so much of the new story and characters at one time that they came out disappointed and shaking their heads in disbelief (Myself, I'm still trying to get the whole story surrounding the Trade Federetion and what not.) I did agree with a lot of people that the spirit of the first trilogy was more absent than present; however there were still a lot of things I praised Episode I for. First, were the performances: Liam Neeson was towering as always and Ewan McGregor was exceptional as Obi-Won Kenobi (he would give an even stronger performance in Episode II...he is growing into the role quite nicely. I didn't think Jar Jar Binks was annoying, though he was way overdone, and the kid that played Anakin was, I have to admit, awful...Lucas could have found someone better. When I finished watching Episode II, I was totally transfixed because nearly every performance was better than expected....my vote for the best one goes to Ewan McGregor like I said before. There have been a lot of criticism about Hayden Christenson and Natalie Portman with their roles and I have to say....they are definately no Mark Hammill and Carrie Fisher, though I think they were good enough, if anything they definately had thier great moments. The best scene I think is when they confront each other on Tatooine where he says he wants to become more powerful. Christopher Lee was perfect as Count Dakoo, giving great strength and conviction to an evil role much like his former fellow Dracula actor Peter Cushing did, who was terrific as Grand Moff Tarkin in Episode IV. Plus, C-3PO, R2-D2, Yoda, as well as the other famaliar characters had much more screen time and thus kept you riveted as much as the first trilogy. Then there is the special effects which are genuinely eye-popping, though I've been nervous ever since Episode I with the issue of the effects: how are the filmmakers going to end this trilogy making the effects of the first trilogy believable? I think the CGI is overused to an extent considering the fact that the effects in STAR WARS, though not really aged, look very pale to these effects. However, other plusses include the magnificent cinematography: the scenes on Naboo are positively breathtaking (or maybe that's why I think Australia is paradise above most other countries), as well as the wonderful costumes (particularly the ones given to Portman). For those of you who were disappointed by the PHANTOM MENACE, this is all I'm saying: you WILL NOT be disappointed by this film.