Star Wars Episodes I & II 2-Pack (1999) (4-Disc Set; Full Frame)

Let's pretend these movies don't exist

By Greg  Dec 9, 2002 | 1 out of 2 found this Star Wars Episodes I & II 2-Pack (1999) review helpful

The original Star Wars trilogy are probably 3 of my favorite movies. Sure, sometimes the dialog is a bit hokey, and everyone loves to laugh at Luke when he whines, but the story was fresh, and the talented young actors brought so much life and comra...derie to their characters.I was as excited as any life-long Star Wars fan when Episode 1 was coming out. I pre-ordered tickets to 2 shows on the first day. I tried to like it, I really did, but I think George Lucas basically bowed to the power of the almighty dollar and threw together these movies that lack any sort of quality writing, dialog, acting, and story, and basically just tarnish the reputation of 3 of my favorite films.The first movie is painfully slow, and most of the action revolves around an 8-year old boy with the acting range of my Golden Retriever. The only interesting characters in the film are Obi-wan, who stays aboard the ship for 3/4 of the film waiting for the rest of the crew to return, and Darth Maul, who is killed off because Lucas is a fool. The whole midichlorian/virgin birth idea is riduculous, and besides light saber battles, there is nothing worth watching in this film.So then there is Episode 2. Yeah, this one was supposed to redeem Lucas after the poor reviews from the first film, but I actually like this one less. Hayden Christiansen is the worst actor on the face of the Earth. I will not argue this point. It is objective and a fact. Every scene he is in is disturbingly uncomfortable, and he brings down the rest of the cast. Natalie Portman, who puts in a quality performance in the first film, despite awful writing, just stinks in this one, and it's all because of Christiansen. Lucas totally destroys the character of Boba Fett by taking away all of the mystery that made him a fan favorite for years and making him into a ridculous clone boy. I wanted to cry. Sure, some of the light saber battles are cool, and Yoda kicks butt for about 2 minutes, but the embarrassing 'Yoda Man!' commericals have tainted that scene forever.I wish these movies were never made. They have just hurt the original story (and by original I do NOT mean the reissues from 1997. Han shooting second, please!?). It just goes to show that Star Wars fans (myself included) will pay to see any crap with the same name, in hopes that they can relive what was one the best trilogy ever. Do yourself a favor and pick up the originals, and forget this CGI loaded crap. Read more Less