karohemd | Ep II

Well, as I expected, there are about 15 minutes worth seeing, the rest is pretty dire.
Best performances are most certainly Christopher Lee as Count Dooku and Samuel L Jackson as Mace Windu.
I went in with the right expectations and only wanted to enjoy the visuals which were quite good. I don't know but this time, Coruscant looked a lot like Metropolis and the undercity looked right out of the Bladerunner set, Japanese-style neon advertising included.

Naboo was just really cheesy but Tatooine was quite awesome. Nice to see the Lars homestead again which was really the only time the connection to the old movies was felt.

I also really liked the cloning compound and those tall, skinny aliens. It had this desinfected, clean , hospital/lab look about it (which it theoretically was). Not sure what to make of Jango Fett, he seemed so flat (well, none of the characters were any developed anyway, I was really disappointed in Bail Organa who was always portrayed as a kind man and a great diplomat but felt more like a slimy courtier).

As Nash said on

eddyfate's LJ, Mace Windu doing Jools' bible quote from Pulp Fiction would have been appropriate. ;o)

As expected, the Anakin/Armidala love bit was cringeworthy and I wished for a fast forward button several times, the fact that neither actor was any good didn't help...

How many Dark Side points did he get when he slaughtered that Tusken Raider camp? 10 at least, I'd say. That was the first proper step down the Dark Side. Nice.

Humour was missing as well, only C3PO in the arena delivered some urgently needed comic relief. The quote of the film goes to him as well:
I'm programmed for etiquette, not destruction!!

The only really good thing were the fight scenes, both the mass combat in the arena with some cool Jedi tricks and some nice swordplay. It showed that McGregor and SLJ did a lot of work and that was good. Still, fighting with a lightsaber (in the Star Wars world) is hard as hell, as the blade is pure energy and doesn't weigh anything which must make it really difficult to control.

Which brings us to the finale - the lightsaber duels. Definitely better than the one in Ep I.
Dooku saluting Yoda was a very nice touch. Yoda was good, although the kung fu stance was a bit silly. Still, force-pulling his lightsaber into his hand and bouncing around like mad was a joy to watch. And then, when it was all over, he was the humble and wise Master again, hobbling away.
I'm sure they'll clash again next episode and Yoda will win again. Hey, if he can absorb Force Lightning just like that.

All in all, I don't have to see it again, and I won't need the video, unlike for LotR.