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The saga continues. And as with its predecessors, the latest
Star Wars movie has its fair share of bad acting, crap dialogue,
and plot holes. But it does have Jedi knights and lightsabres
and that's enough for most fans. Add into the mix Natalie Portman,
Christopher Lee, some Kiwis in key roles, and some updated special
effects and you have a cinematic effort the delivers exactly
what it sets out to do.
This story is set 10 years after the events in Episode One:
The Phantom Menace. Amidala (Portman) has completed her reign
as Queen of Naboo and has continued her political career by
taking up a position as that planet's representative in the
Senate. Anakin (Hayden Christensen) has been developing his
Jedi skills under the ongoing tutelage of his master Obi-Wan
Kenobi (Ewan Macgregor) but is still (much to his frustration)
a Padawan learner. As in the Phantom Menace, the events in Attack
of the Clones are triggered by disruptions in the political
structure of the Galaxy. This time, it is growing group of systems
who are seeking to break away from the control of the Senate.
When Amidala (who has been lobbying for stricter control of
the rebellious factions) becomes the target of an assassination
attempt, the Jedi Council - prompted by Chancellor Palpatine
(Ian McDiarmid) - assign Obi-wan and Anakin to be her protectors.
What follows from this are romantic sparks between Amidala and
Anakin, the discovery of an army of clones, and a confrontation
with the mysterious Count Dooku (Christopher Lee).
For many of fans, the main reason to see this film is to find
out a bit more about what happened before the original Star
Wars and to find the answers to some questions that have been
unanswered for so long. We are not disappointed as we learn,
amongst other things, a bit more about what the Jedis were like
when they were a force to be reckoned with, where the Emperor's
first stormtroopers orginally came from, who first came up with
idea of the Death Star, how Boba Fett got started in the bounty
hunter business, and (in a real highlight) why crusty old Yoda
has always been considered to be the most powerful (but least
grammatically correct) Jedi of all time.
Of course, there's plenty of other stuff going on as well and
it's no surprise that there are plenty of great action scenes
(that will of course make wonderful computer games) including
a flying car chase through the 'streets' of Coruscant, a 'Gladiator'
style arena battle, a new twist on the old 'hero trapped on
a conveyer belt' drama, and plenty of climactic light sabre
fights. All of this set to an amazingly detailed backdrop which
is almost impossible to take in at first viewing and it may
take a DVD player with a pause button in order to truly appreciate.
Where 'Attack of the Clones' shows its flaws are when the action
stops and it has to rely on dialogue to carry things. This movie
will never win any Oscars for its screenplay and the 'romantic'
scenes with Amidala and Anakin are particularly cheesy. I also
wonder whether viewers who are unfamiliar with the rest of the
series (yes, there are plenty of them out there) would really
be able to understand all of what takes place.
For all the questions that it answers, this film also raises
plenty of its own (something which is at times both frustrating
AND dramatic). For example, how does Anakin finally turn to
the Dark Side?, why can't any of these powerful Jedi see what
Palpatine is up to?, how will Obi-wan manage to conceal Luke
and Leia from their father? why does every planet in this galaxy
only have one geographical feature (Coruscant is all city, Hoth
is all ice, Endor is all forest, Tatooine is all desert, and
Camino is all water)? and most maddingly of all, if R2D2 can
FLY, why doesn't he do it more often?! I guess I can only wait
patiently for Episode III to try and get some of the answers.
All in all, I can understand why there will be plenty of people
who won't like this film. However, luckily for George Lucas
there are plenty of fans like me who will be more than happy
with Attack of the Clones. Roll on Episode III!
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