Media

Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - October, 2011

"Star Wars - Episode II" (Blu-ray) - Reviewed by Chris Heinonen

Synopsis

Ten years after The Phantom Menace, the republic moves closer and closer to breaking apart.  Led by the renegade Jedi Count Dooku, thousands of systems are threatening to secede, leading up to an attempt on the life of Senator Amidala.  Anakin Skywalker is assigned to protect her, while Obi Wan Kenobi is assigned to investigate the attempt on her life.  As they spend time together, a relationship grows between Amidala and Skywalker, despite being forbidden by the Jedi code.

Commentary

Much better than Episode 1, but still not as good as any of the original trilogy, Star Wars Episode 2 moves along at a brisk pace.  George Lucas unfortunately did a bad job at casting both versions of young Anakin Skywalker, as Hayden Christensen gives a fairly wooden, sullen teenager styled performance in the main role.  Thankfully the role that Jar Jar plays in this film is much lower than the first, sparing us from that accent.

Shot digitally the transfer for Episode 2 looks very nice.  I actually would have given it 5 stars if I hadn’t watched Episode 3 right after it.  Looking at the screen I can’t say there is certainly anything wrong with the image, just it doesn’t have the eye-popping clarity and definition that the third prequel has.  The soundtrack, however, comes in second to no one and does a fantastic job.

Extras

The disc itself has commentary, though there are a lot more extras if you buy the box set of all six films.