JAR JAR BINKS IS DEAD...just kidding. We didn't get THAT lucky, but at least his character has been marginalized to the point of virtual obscurity. He's even required to appear stately (at times) because he represents Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman) during official proceedings. In my review of "Episode 1", I lamented the fact that the successful formulas for Episodes IV and V must be forever lost and that we must accept the insertion of "cute" characters (Ewoks, Jar Jar, et al.) to appeal to kids. George Lucas himself must have read my review because it appears that we're well on our way back to the successes of Episodes IV and V...mostly.
Firstly, THERE ARE NO "CUTE" CHARACTERS! WOO-HOO!! Kids will love this movie regardless of the gimmicks that other movies need. C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), once again, has tongue-in-cheek dialogue with R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). The action is fun at times, perilous and treacherous at other times.
Another major aspect of Episode II that I really enjoyed is the huge buildup of dramatic irony. We all know where the story winds up in Episode IV, but we still do not know the path that leads us there. In Episodes IV-VI, the stories were clearly defined (especially during US-USSR cold war relations): the Rebel Alliance against the evil, Galactic Empire. At the conclusion of Episode II, we have an idea as to who the enemies are, but we really do not know how (or if) they will join or how serious their threat really is-very similar to contemporary US relations. However, because we already know that Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Amidala will be the parents of Luke and Leia, a romance must be developed between the two. I did not feel that this relationship was developed to point of believability. |
