Yes, I too will join the clamoring debate in the streets about which is better; Spider-man or Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Both were well done and visually stunning movies. However, I must say after having seen both films at least twice, I must say I believe Star Wars is the better film. Spider-man was cool the first time through, but it didn’t stand up to multiple viewings. I was relatively bored and nowhere near fully engrossed in the story or the characters on the screen. Star Wars just keeps getting more and more endearing the more I see it. To me that makes Star Wars a better movie. Spider-Man 7 out of 10 on the Spiff-O-Meter Spiderman is visually very cool, and the screen is electrified every single time Willem Dafoe comes on as Norman Osborn aka Green Goblin. Gobie is by far the absolute best thing about this movie. Dafoe does an outstanding job with his role. Tobey Maguire does a great job playing a relatively endearing Peter Parker. Kirsten Dunst does a decent job playing Mary Jane's cleavage. Yes I said MJ’s cleavage not MJ. Though honestly I don’t think that it was her fault that she was written so poorly. Having never read any Spidey books, I really had no preconceived notions going into this film. Overall, it was a very well done movie. It lacked the fun and camp value that I enjoy seeing in comicbook movies. No, I didn’t like either Schumacher Batman movies. All the high romance junk got on my nerves and made me want to go in search of a tourniquet so that I could shoot myself with an insulin shot to counteract the saccharine dialogue on the screen. Additionally, if Peter, after years of being totally in love with Mary Jane, can honestly turn her down when she throws herself at him, he obviously doesn’t have a healthy sex drive. I’m sorry guys, if a red-headed Kirsten Dunst threw herself at you would you tell her you just wanted to be friends? Give me a break! Star Wars: Episode 2 Attack of the Clones 10 on the Spiff-O-Meter I must say I had my apprehensions about Hayden Christensen. My preconceptions were that he looked a little bit too girlie-man ala Leo DiCrapio to be Anakin Skywalker. I was afraid that Lucas had lost his mind and decided to cast him because the thirteen year old girls would adore him. My fears were not abated in the first scene that Christensen appears in. He’s wooden, awkward, and sounds like someone is forcing him to speak through clenched teeth. Luckily for us and the film, his acting drastically improves after that. He very convincingly plays a rather lecherous Anakin Skywalker, and delivers with chilling conviction a speech about how he killed the people who were responsible for his mother’s death. Natalie Portman’s acting is pretty awful anytime she opens her mouth. However, she looks drop dead gorgeous, and can look very deadly with a blaster. I wouldn’t want to travel anywhere with Amidala, though. I swear that woman changes clothes waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too often. "Is that the new engine for the ship?" "No, it’s the Senator’s wardrobe." You may ask why I adore this movie so much, if all I’ve said so far is pretty negative. Because the supporting cast is absolutely unbelievable. When you go to see the movie, close your eyes, and listen while Ewan McGregor is talking, you’ll swear that he was Sir Alec Guinness. All I have to say about the Jedi Council is that Mace Windu and Yoda so unbelievably kick butt. It has it all non-saccharine romance, great music, beautiful new worlds, a great mystery story, and high adventure. But most of all, it did something Star Wars has never made me do before: it made me cry. No Episode Two didn’t make me cry; however, it does make me actually care about Anakin Skywalker. I recently rewatched Movies 4 thru 6, and Darth Vader’s dying speech at then end of Return of the Jedi made me sob uncontrollably. I get teary eyed just thinking about it. This movie truly does start on the path to the dark days that are going to come, and it makes me look forward to the day in 2005 when I can sit in a theater and watch the story complete itself.

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