Aint It Cool News Review of AOTC

[stillakid]

I just went to the site that was mentioned on the Front Page of SSG and needed to chime in real quick as a non-spoiler fan.

The news article says that there are no real spoilers, and to be totally honest, I don't know for certain if it's true. I read every word of the first 4 or 5 paragraphs or so and they were relatively safe, except for a brief mention of something that Jar Jar does.

Just after that, and you'll see what I mean, the author goes into detail about individual characters. I sensed huge spoilers within those sections and scrolled right past them.

Just after those sections, the author gets back to his general thoughts about the film, which again reveal nothing about plot points.

So, as always, read at your own peril, but hopefully this guide will help you to avoid any misleading information that might lead you to learning more than you want to know.


Having said that, if you don't wish to risk going to the actual site, I'll summarize his thoughts briefly in the following post, which you can choose to read or ignore, so don't scroll down if you don't want to hear anything at all. Once again, I do not know of spoilers so I can't reveal any. All the following is is a summation of his feelings about the movie.

[stillakid]

Here is a summary of the the author of the AICN sites EPII review.





He liked it a lot. A better film than ESB and turns the saga away from the frivolity of Jedi and Phantom Menace.

To say anymore would get into specifics that you can read yourself at www.aicn.com

[2-1B]

I hope too many people aren't comparing it to ESB, because that's a pretty lofty goal. I think it would be cool to see a new SW movie come out and make a legitimate case of being "the best" . . . but let's be reasonable here.

[Wolfwood319]

I don't know, it'll be hard pressed to beat ESB in terms of "Best SW film" but I think it is a realistic goal, especially with E3. I think that SW3 will have the most provocative story, with Anakins fall towards the dark side, I see it as a really dark movie. Very character driven, more so than any others I would assume.

[stillakid]

I personally never saw ESB as the best. Rather ANH outshines the rest by far as the most fully realized film. That may be because it was designed to not have to rely on other films to have it make sense like the others do, but in terms of a well-conceived story and beautifully drawn characters (before the Greedo shoots first debacle), ANH is far better than ESB.

ESB had some truly wonderful scenes, like Yoda lifting the X-Wing from the water then explaining the Force, and just about every Vader scene, but as a whole the film suffered from a kind of detachment which is understandable once you realize that Irwin Kershner was a Canadian filmmaker from the documentary tradition. Instead of drawing us in (take the Hoth battle, for instance) we are left to simply watch the events unfold in front of us. Like I said, there are moments later that he redeems himself, but not enough to make this the better film.

ROTJ of course suffered from a Disney-esque cartoon flavor all 'round. It had a good, bright feel throughout, which works as the climax of the saga, but next to the documentary realness of ESB and the epic feel of ANH, ROTJ had ranked last among the films.

Until TPM, which combined the worst elements of Disney with the drawn out impersonal feel of the Hoth sequences. Drop in some elements which conflict with the OT, poor casting, and bad acting and the film suffers deeply. It did have it's moments which save it from being entirely unwatchable, like the Pod Race and the Final Duel, but what makes those exciting is just the action and prodution design...not the story that goes along with it.

From the review, AOTC apparently combines the best elements of character development from ESB with the best battle sequences of the OT. Aside from some individual quibbles with Jar Jar and whiny Anakin, the reviewer paints an encouraging picture of the film as a whole. Thus far, we don't have a perfect (?) Star Wars film, but we can hope that AOTC can live up to the expectations that we had come to expect before TPM.

[bigbarada]

I read this guys review and the first thing that struck me was his frightening level of Jar Jar hatred. I don't know if he is trying to be funny; but it just struck me as a little creepy and disgusting. I don't see how one character can have that severe of an effect on anyone unless they have some serious mental problems.

ROTJ still ranks as my least favorite of the Star Wars films, simply because it fails to entertain me now that it's special effects are 'old hat.' TPM takes third, while ESB takes second. Prior to the Special Editions, ESB was my least favorite for looking like a cheap episode of Star Trek in the Bespin scenes. Visual thrill has a lot to do with how much I like a film. ANH is far and away the best of the films, pre-SE; but since my THX version is wearing out I just have to turn away from the painful additions when I watch the SE version now. Still, the least visually impressive; but the most watchable and imaginative of the series.

Plus, you can't have continuity glitches with only one movie. ESB introduced the first with all the officers afraid to even speak around Vader, when all the officers in ANH talked to him like he was their irritating kid brother.

[snakeplkn]

Barada,

Outside of the officers who helped secure Tantive IV, the rest of the officers who talked to Vader died in the Death Star explosion (minus the two that survived for the Holiday Special). Being the sole survivor of the Death Star could have made Vader go on a killing spree afterwards before The Empire Strikes Back (notice how calmly Piett reacts to Ozzel's death or how quickly Needa is pulled away).

Snake Plissken
"A little human compassion"

[bigbarada]

True, Vader could rack up quite a reputation in the year (3 years?)between ANH and ESB. I guess it's just knowing that the ANH officers were talking to him like that because his character wasn't originally intended to be the Dark Lord of the Sith, but simply a washed out general who relied on life support for his many battle wounds. But you're explaination does hold water.

[stillakid]

Originally posted by bigbarada
True, Vader could rack up quite a reputation in the year (3 years?)between ANH and ESB. I guess it's just knowing that the ANH officers were talking to him like that because his character wasn't originally intended to be the Dark Lord of the Sith, but simply a washed out general who relied on life support for his many battle wounds. But you're explaination does hold water.

This all brings up an interesting idea. We never really see a Stormtrooper "suiting up." He's either in one of the black officer uniforms (like the guy who talks back to Vader in ANH "She'll die before she tells you anything...), or he's dressed in armor white. Perhaps that's all to "impersonalize" the troops for the audience. Or more likely, there was never a reason to add that kind of transition into the storyline. In any case, it might have been interesting to see. I've always kind of thought that the gruff voice that surprises C3PO in ESB was a Stormtrooper without his helmet on. That would account for why we hear the voice so clearly, yet 3PO says that there are Stormtroopers on Bespin the moment that he gets reactivated.

But, you're right BB, there is a distinct change in Vader's relationship to practically everyone else between ANH and ESB. But we can see his character maturing as well, from the "ready for action" guy in ANH, to a more serious and focused character in ESB, and ending with a wisened and weary old Jedi in ROTJ who becomes much more powerful with words than he ever was with a sword (ie, I hope so Commander for your sake. The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am.) In ANH, Vader probably just would've run the guy through. The ESB Vader would've choked him to death, but ROTJ Vader knows that fear is a better weapon than violence.