Episode II Gets Rave Review

Astin writes: "Dark Horizons has obtained a copy of what it believes is the script for Attack of the Clones, and has posted a review. Apparently they got this one right, with epic battles, lots of action, and that sense of adventure that was missing from Episode I. Canoe.ca is also carrying a synopsis from the site."

Re:So, maybe sucky title != sucky movie?

[ASCIIMan]

"a movie with such a horribly bad title"

... like Star Wars?

Re:So, maybe sucky title != sucky movie?

[MrFredBloggs]

`return of the jedi`?

They are all just pulp fiction. I cant believe people take it so seriously! I can imagine people over 30 who saw it the first time around may have some sort of emotional attachment...or a highly developed sense of irony, but the idea that intelligent, grown men are going to queue up and pay good money to see `star wars 5 - attack of the clones` is a little disturbing.

Epic Battles?

[Thnurg]

Epic Battles eh? I hope so, since from the trailer that is currnetly doing the rounds at the cinema it looks like an over blown love / teenage angst story.

(Star Wars) history repeating itself?

[Zocalo]

Hmm. Cheesy first film, somewhat like Star Wars (be honest), and what looks like a cracking second film (just like ESB). Just what is it with Lucas and trilogies anyway? It always seems to take him a film to get upto speed, then he makes another that rocks, and then runs out of steam for the third and throws in things like Ewoks.

!Scoop

[Rogerborg]

A short, shallow review of something that might be the script for Episode II hardly qualifies stopping th presses.

A decent script is neither a guarantee of quality, nor necessary for it. The script for Episode IV looks like a fourth grader wrote it, and yet it produced a film that both children and adults loved. The magic happens in the casting, sets, costume, makeup, acting, lighting, camerawork, direction, FX and post production editing. Even if it's a genuine script (what reason have we to believe that? There must be dozens of fan scripts doing the rounds) then the final product might be almost unrecognisable.

It's an interesting bit of speculation, but I'm giving it no more credence nor weight than any other fan generated hype.

Probably a hoax.

[netsharc]

I doubt the script is real.. and seeing how much of a freaking lunatic George Lucas can be, he'd probably decide to change the script if the real one that got leaked out were the real one.

I saw the trailer of Episode 2, and I can't believe how fucking cheesy the dialog is. "Anakin, you have grown."; "So have you, Princess. In more ways than one.", or "What if something you want is really here.", said while they're holding hands before Anakin has to go fight some aliens. fffUUUCCCKKK!!! In contrast, Dawson's Creek may not have realistic dialog, but at least it's better than watching a dialog that looks like it was stolen from a conversation between a Britney Spears-listening, boyband-loving bimbo teenager and his duh football-jock boyfriend.

Stupid Hollywood shit, I can't stand watching most films nowadays, goddamn unrealistic plot development and fucked-up acting of unrealistic dialogs...

Spoilers and Notes for Episodes 2, 3 and 7

[phil_atk]

The review for EpII is quite informative from a storyline perspective. Anyone interested in viewing the final script (which ties in with this review) should go to www.supershadow.com [supershadow.com] where there are also (preliminary) scripts for episodes III and VII.

What is interesting from looking around the supershadow site and reading reviews such as this one is that Lucas is, if nothing else, a very smart business man. EpI was designed to attract a new generation of fans and epII was designed to build on this base and reinvigorate the older generations. This is obviously contrary to the utopian desires of the older generation, but if this movie is as much of a success within that demographic as it could be, would you have done anything different?

While it is fair to give Lucas respect for being such a astute profiteer, it is a great disappointment that a man with such wealth would feel the need to have to use characters like JaJa to make more quick bucks. Surely there is a line to be drawn between a new ivory back-scratcher and a creative legacy?

Re:Sadly, it's a hoax.

[darien]

All Slashdot says is that "Dark Horizons has obtained a copy of what it believes is the script for Attack of the Clones" (emphasis added); and there's a link to the site and the relevant page. Unless you think Dark Horizons is simply trolling, you can hardly say Slashdot is being taken in. It's just publicising something interesting, which is pretty much what it's supposed to do.

And anyway, if it is a hoax, how are the editors supposed to know? The synopsis is perfectly plausible, and Dark Horizons is a well-respected site, which reviews many scripts ahead of release. It's not (AFAIK) normally given to perpetrating hoaxes or excessive credulity. In the absence of any "official" material, this is about as convincing it's going to get until the thing's released.

If you start blasting Slashdot for running reports like this then where does it end? Olaf Christ running TCP/IP on Mindstorms? Uncorroborated. Linux for the PS2? We only have Sony's word for it. Judge grants request to bar the media from the MS trial? That's what he says. Etc. etc.

Re:Probably a hoax.

[Tryfen]

Stupid Hollywood shit, I can't stand watching most films nowadays

Then don't watch films from Hollywood! There are pleanty of films from Britain, France, India etc. etc.

Broaden your horizons - don't just eat what the commercials force feed you.

Re:Epic Battles?

[albino eatpod]

That's way the trailer you're referring to is called "Forbidden Love". The other two trailers "Mystery" and "Breathing" hint at the battles to come.

Re:(Star Wars) history repeating itself?

[jejones]

Maybe Lucas is doing it backwards this time. After all, it's Episode I that has the smarmy character thrown in to appeal to children, blatant "let's throw this in so we can base a video game on it" stuff, etc. So...we can expects a "cracking second film" and then a cheesy third. (After all, it will in the SW chronology be closest to the cheesy first film, right?)

Re:Not so fast

[Geek In Training]

It just seems like he's jumping on the cloning bandwagon we've been seeing lately in sciencefiction.

Perhaps you've heard of a little movie from 1977, called "Star Wars?" Later retitled "Star Wars - A New Hope?"

There's this little plot piece in there that goes soemthing like this:

Luke: "You fought with my father in the Clone Wars?!?"

Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi: "Yes, your father was one of the best fighter pilots in the Galaxy..."

I'd hardly think that coming up with a premise twenty-five years ago qualifies as "jumping on the cloning bandwagon" of today.

:P

Still might hurt....

[Nagash]

Even if the script is good, we're still gonna get clubbed over the head with wooden acting on this one, if the trailers are any indication.

I saw Life As A House [imdb.com] with Hayden Christensen. He can act. Here's to hoping Lucas remembered how to direct on this one.

Woz

Re:Not so fast

[sphealey]

The two things that ruined Phantom Menace were Jake Lloyd's bad acting

Jake Lloyd may not be the best actor in the universe, but he had at least the potential to do the job right. The failure there was 100% one of directing. Using children in movies/plays is always difficult. There are a number of reasons for this, but the primary one is that childen with the traits you are trying to portray won't sit still on a movie set 6 days a week for 12 months. Children who will sit still and take direction must be directed so that they appear right for the character. 101% the adults fault.

I would have forgiven TPM everything, even two fart jokes, if it had just included an adult conversation between Qui-Gon and Anniken's mother about how she came to be in that prediciment. Oh well.

sPh

Big deal

[cnkeller]

This is the same script that has been out for months here [aldera.net]. What's new about it? From what I've read and seen, it's dead on accurate with the officially released trailers, and was posted long before they were released.

Face it LOTR is an order of magnitude better...

[justin sane]

more creative, more interesting characters, better acted, better plot and allegory, uses technology to enhance the story instead of technology *being* most of the story.
Watch Star Wars again and youll see that even it was cheesy and sucky--it just sucked less that most Hollywood drivel.

Me, I'll wait for the DVD on Netflix like I do for most dogs. LOTR was worth a trip to the theater.

Acting???

[Mr. Neutron]

Sure, Harrison Ford was great as usual, but Mark Hamill whined his way through the trilogy, and Carrie Fisher was too wasted to put on a decent performance.

What made the original trilogy great was the "human" aspect of the characters. Han's scoundrel-turned-reluctant hero. Leia calling Han a "scruffy-looking nerfherder" and Chewy a "walking carpet." While the fate of the galaxy hung in the balance, the main characters were really just a bunch of crazy kids having a good time. It was light-hearted in the face of impending doom.

That element was utterly missing from TPM. Qui-Gon was serious and dour. Obi-Wan was serious and dour. There was no sense of fun in the face of grave danger, but rather a sense of solemness in the face of bland political intrigue and trade embargoes. Jar-Jar was an attempt to inject the needed element into the movie, but it was forced and stale. If Jar-Jar had been a human, or at least a live actor, it might have worked.

I also have a great fear about AOTC: the trailers clearly are geared towards the "WB crowd." A cheezy romance story (unlike the childish and subdued Luke-Leia-Han triangle that was not the focus but rather a "fleshing out") isn't going to fit well into the arc of the Star Wars saga in general. I fear it's going to be forced, stale, and drag down a trilogy that already shows deep flaws.