EPISODE II FAN TRAILER
Web site

review written 2/22/2003

(Note: Two versions of this exist, one with Leonardo diCaprio as Anakin, one with Hayden Christensen. I'm sticking to Hayden.)

When I first saw the crappy David Lynch Dune, I recognized the sand dune shot that this Anonymous Director used. His shot choice stuck in my mind. Lynch's looked wrong without the second sun.

And when I see the Braveheart shot at 0:33 in the actual Braveheart film, I am reminded of this work.

But what the hell kind of tagline is "Every general leads in battle"?

This glimpse at Episode II using pre-existing movie media is well-crafted and nicely thought-out. I like Jimmy Smits' little cameo (must be hard to find shots of him that look Star Warsy!) I like the Kuloshov effect (look it up) between Gabriel Byrne and Hayden Christensen—what sort of part did the editor think Byrne might be playing? I think the Elizabeth shot is wonderful.

And I can't believe that's not actually Natalie Portman at 0:51.

And anyone who doesn't appreciate the shot at 1:24 needs to have their heads examined.

What hurts this trailer is its overall look. Shots look good, but I don't get the sense that they're all part of the same movie. (Of course, they're not. But I'm supposed to think they are.) Even some color correction might have helped.

And I don't know if you want to call the use of Christopher Walken and Gabriel Byrne (who of course did not actually turn up in AOTC as rumored) a flaw or not. Hmm.

What I like best about this is the fact that it brings back memories of the wait for AOTC (before it even had a name). What was your life as a Star Wars fan like back then?

Remember those days?