His ability to tease us is significant, and George Lucas is handy with the scissors, too. That’s assuming that it was he who cut the teaser to the most critical sequel of all time, and for those rarefied fans of The Phantom Menace, and for the stubborn faithful, the most eagerly awaited film of 2002 — Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
As I write this, it’s 9:30PM on a Monday night in Eastern Australia, 2:30AM on the West Coast of North America. Myself, plus countless of people in the southern hemisphere with broadband connections, along with insomniacs and loyalists who reside in the top half of the globe, have already seen the online — but bootleg — teaser for the new film. I’ve played the teaser ten times, and I think I’m now ready to put forth my impressions.
It’s dark; it’s moody; it’s luscious; it’s dynamic; it’s mature; and it’s an effective tease. Hayden Christensen has one of Mark Hamill’s (or Luke’s) facial expressions down pat (you’ll see), and someone has been hired by ILM who still knows how to compose beautiful, and not just good-looking, images. Oh, and the computer-generated glimpse of Yoda also looks promising!
However, there are a few shots in this trailer that just don’t belong in our first look at what many hope is the most expensive apology of all time. You’ll know ’em when you see ’em. The first two shots are the most glaring examples, and it’s the first two shots of any teaser that must present arresting visions. I’m going to forgive George Lucas, though, as the second shot from the teaser is actually Anakin’s deft impression of one of his future son’s facial expressions, and because the majority of the shots that comprise the teaser are quite sumptuous.”
So why haven’t I described the teaser in minute detail? If you really want it spoiled for you, or if you don’t have a fast enough connection and you have no intention of seeing “Monsters, Inc.,” or if you live in a country with a Christmas (or later) release date for Pixar’s latest gift, and you have a slow connection to boot, then hop on over to a site like TheForce.Net or Dark Horizons and read one of the many blow-by-blow descriptions.
Do I dare venture my opinion on what Attack of the Clones might be like based on this sixty-second string of snippets? Nope! Hey, I’m not stupid! But it hints at something that is obviously a tonal departure from the first, and still unfinished, instalment of the precarious prequel trilogy — it’s that good kind of departure, an almost Empire-like departure, from the visual conservatism that, at times, æsthetically hamstrung “A New Hope,” Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace.
But I still don’t like the subtitle, Attack of the Clones. From what I can tell from this first teaser, George has been listening, but has he swallowed enough pride to tease us all with the finished film, too? Here’s hoping.
