Summary:
Ten years after their initial meeting, Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala begin a forbidden romance, while Obi-Wan Kenobi investigates an assassination attempt on Amidala’s life.
My Thoughts:
When “Episode I” came out, I was at the perfect age to gobble it up without questioning what it was that was placed in front of me, and I have to admit that I was still incredibly obsessed with Star Wars when “Episode II” came out. I honestly couldn’t say if I’ve seen “Episode I” or “Episode II” more, but out of all the Star Wars flicks, it’s between the first two entries contending for which film I’ve seen the most (and I know that’s pretty pathetic for a cinephile- it’s just because of when I was born). By the time “Episode III” came out, I had started to catch on that the majority of the Star Wars fan base regarded the prequels as nonessential; my obsession with the galaxy far, far away began to dwindle, and I stopped caring that much about Star Wars (to this day, I’ve only watched “Episode III” twice- my third time will be when I rewatch it for the review).
Revisiting the prequels after at least five to ten years has been interesting. I certainly still remember a fair amount of the films- from plot progression to the horribly stilted dialogue- to say my viewings have been rife with feelings of nostalgia would be the absolute truth. I still sort of enjoyed sitting down to watch “Clones”, but I wont say it’s a great film. I do think that in terms of enjoyment, this film outweighs “Episode I”, primarily because of the lack of Jar Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd, but I also think that this film has just as many problems as the first one. So, “Episode II” is more watchable, but it receives the exact same score as “Episode I” (3/5 Stars) because it fails in other ways that the first film didn’t.
“I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.”
Ten years after the battle of Naboo, Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”), now senator of Naboo, travels to Corusant where she suffers an assassination attempt. In an attempt to protect her, the Jedi council assigns Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen, “Star Wars: Episode III” Revenge of the Sith”) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, “The Ghost Writer”) to Amidala. Kenobi investigates a lead on the latest assassination attempt and Anakin goes with Amidala to a remote location, where the two begin an incredibly awkward, steamy, and forbidden romance.
I stated above that I think “Episode II” is more watchable than “Episode I” and there’s a few reasons for that, but the biggest reason is because I actually, genuinely enjoy the Obi-Wan Kenobi mystery storyline in this film. That’s not to say that the storyline is without flaws, there are plenty there; but I think Obi-Wan’s story opens up the Star Wars Universe in an interesting way, and we get to see things that we normally wouldn’t have seen. I think Ewan McGregor really grew as an actor between Episodes “I” and “II”. While he was fine in “I”, I feel as if starring in two pictures that received pretty wide acclaim did a lot to boost his confidence (those pictures being “Moulin Rouge!” and “Black Hawk Down”). He commands the screen with ease, and I still found myself enjoying plenty of moments in his storyline. Production design is always a huge draw for Star Wars flicks, and this movie looks pretty good throughout. Though I’ve often complained about the number similar desert planets in the Star Wars universe, I really love the look of Geonosis; the coliseum, the bug-like aliens, the rocky spires that shoot into the orange sky. I also liked the look of the clone planet. I think one of my biggest problems with the look of the movie is the ubiquitous use of digital landscaping. So many of the backgrounds in so many shots are clearly just blue screens, and while that might’ve looked good twenty years ago, today the well-trained eye can easily see the seams between what is real and what is not, and it certainly destroys a fair amount of the immersive experience.
I think the action in this film is better than the action in the first movie. There are a few genuinely fun moments, like the changeling chase through Corusant, but then there are a few scenes that seem totally pointless, like the factory scene on Geonosis. I will say that even though this film is a bit longer than the first entry, it actually moves a bit quicker than that one. The fight between Jango and Obi-Wan was pretty fun and inventive. I actually really enjoy the first half of the coliseum battle, before the film sort of goes off the rails and suddenly there’s an entire army that is able to invade the planet in a matter of minutes- how did no one notice that there was a fleet of star ships cruising towards this world? If Dooku (Christopher Lee, “The Wicker Man”) was really informed as to what was going on in the senate as he claimed, then surely he would’ve known that a whole freaking army was headed his way, right?
My biggest problem with this film is the love story, which, unfortunately, takes up a fair amount of the runtime. There’s no way around it: Hayden Christensen is not a good actor. He’s wooden and stiff, and every interaction between he and Natalie Portman feels uncomfortable and strange. Natalie Portman, bless her heart, does the best she can with the dialogue she’s given, but even she fails to really give any spark to those romantic moments. I cringed my way through those scenes, sometimes chuckling at the most unbearable of lines. The stuff these lovers whisper to each other would feel more at home in a ninety-nine cent harlequin romance than it does in a space opera epic.
Verdict:
“Episode II” is not a great film, but anyone who has followed the Star Wars franchise knows the reputation the prequels have garnered over the years. Even though this film has plenty of flaws, it’s still sort of fun and it takes place in universe that some people really love (I enjoy the Star Wars universe, but it’s no Middle Earth). This film makes some mild improvements over “Phantom Menace” in some aspects, but it also takes a few steps backwards in other aspects, and as a result, the second entry in the Star Wars franchise feels largely middling.
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