Category: Star Wars

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Re-watching Star Wars – Attack of the Clones

~ dbw
Attack of the Clones

We’re watching the Star Wars movies in order, and last night we watched the second movie.

This is not a review. It’s just my thoughts after re-watching Attack of the Clones for the first time in about 20 years. This isn’t meant to rain on anybody’s love for this movie – it’s an attempt to articulate my own feelings about it. Your mileage may most definitely vary.

I remember watching Attack of the Clones when it was first released in the theater. But unlike with the first movie, I can’t remember anything about it. Essentially, last night was like watching it for the first time.

Compared to the mess that was The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones is a better movie. That bar was set very low, though. The plot was better, but still overly complicated. At least the tone of the movie was consistent this time.

Warning! Spoilers Below (if there can be such a thing as spoilers for a movie released in 2002).

What I Liked

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Re-watching Star Wars – The Phantom Menace

~ dbw
The Phantom Menace

We’re watching the Star Wars movies from the beginning (in chronological timeline order), starting with The Phantom Menace.

This is not a review. It’s just my thoughts after re-watching The Phantom Menace last night for the first time in at least 20 years. This isn’t meant to rain on anybody’s love for this movie – it’s an attempt to articulate my own feelings about it. Your mileage may most definitely vary.

When this movie was first released, I watched it in the theater. I remember I was blown away by the special effects, but disappointed with the story. Knowing that time can change one’s perception, I was curious if my original opinion would change upon seeing it again after all these years. It did, but not in a good way.

I really was hoping I’d have a much more positive reaction this time around. Yeah. Not so much.

I think the entire problem for me with The Phantom Menace can be summed up by saying that the movie couldn’t figure out whether it wanted to be a kid’s adventure or an adult drama, and it did neither of those things well. Considering it’s the first movie in the tragedy trilogy of Anakin Skywalker, I’d say the attempts at a “kid’s adventure” feeling were particularly egregious. Not to say that there shouldn’t have been humor. There absolutely should have been – just not the kind of humor that was actually in the movie.

Warning! Spoilers Below (if there can be such a thing as spoilers for a movie released in 1999).

What I Liked

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