Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Released 2002
Stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Temeura Morrison, Pernilla August, Frank Oz, Ahmed Best, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels
Directed by George Lucas

Attack of the Clones opens approximately ten years after the events of The Phantom Menace. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), having spent a decade under the tutelage of his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), is anxious to take the tests that will mark him as a full-fledged Jedi, although Obi-Wan advises patience. Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman), formerly the Queen of Naboo, has arrived on the planet of Coruscant, the Republic's capital, to let her voice be heard on the key issue of what to do with seceding systems. When an attempt is made on her life, Jedi Master Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) assigns Obi-Wan and Anakin to protect her. This mission leads them in different directions - Obi-Wan pursues the assassin, a bounty hunter named Jango Fett (Temeura Morrison) to a hidden planet known for developing clones, while Anakin accompanies Amidala to Naboo. While there, the would-be Jedi and the Senator fall in love. Soon after, Anakin and Amidala leave Naboo for Tatooine to discover what has become of Anakin's mother. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan begins to unravel a sinister plot that leads to the mysterious Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and the Sith Lord Dark Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), who is manipulating everything from behind the scenes.

Summary by James Berardinelli

Boy, was I disappointed with this chapter in the saga. I actually went to the theater to see it, which is unusual for me these days. I took my five year-old son with me, and we were prepared for another thrilling episode of Star Wars. Then we sat through an hour of dialogue--George Lucas dialogue no less. I had heard the dialogue was horrible, but it wasn't that bad. It just lacked subtlety and nuance (as usual), and because of this, I was bored through the first half of the movie. Once we get to the coliseum in the second half, however, things get pretty exciting.

"Attack of the Clones" is much darker than The Phantom Menace, which is fine but Lucas forgot to have fun. With the exception of Ewan McGregor, the performances are flat, and everyone else treats the material reverently. Someone needs to tell them it's not Shakespearean tragedy. Ewan seems to be the only one who watched the first trilogy, because he's the only one who understands the movie is supposed to be fun! Where's the joy and the sense of adventure? It's a space opera, it's not Titus. The first half also suffers from the rushed love story. I felt no chemistry between Padme and Anakin, and I couldn't see any reason why she would be remotely interested in him. She was a queen and then a senator, which should make her a worldly woman, but all her character could do was have teenage conversations with a boy ten years younger than her. It was completely forced, and I never bought it.

My biggest disappointment with the movie was the visuals. I suppose it was probably due to me not being able to see it projected digitally, but it looked bad. I praised "The Phantom Menace" for looking so flawless, and then Episode II looked fuzzy. The clarity was gone, and several scenes showed they were obviously matte shots or CGI. I'm hoping the DVD will look the way Lucas intended his film to look, because I'm planning on renting it when it comes out. I want to give it another chance, and I hope I'll like it better the next time.  --Bill Alward, May 30, 2002

I watched the movie again on DVD, and I really liked it this time. I expected all of the negatives this time around and was able to concentrate on the plotting this time, which is its strong point. It also looked much better on DVD than it did through the analog projector. All in all, pretty good stuff. --Bill Alward, April 25, 2005