Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones

May 18, 2005

Rated: PG Runtime: 132 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Starts off with a whimper, ends with a hell of a bang.

George Lucas took a lot of heat for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, from its name to the goofy Jar Jar Binks. Some would say that George sold out to the Dark Side… the dark side of marketing, making characters solely for the purpose of selling toys. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, but in any case it looks like he’s heard the criticism and took it to heart when crafting Attack of the Clones. Well, maybe he didn’t pay attention to the part about names.

Clones has no furry characters to sell at Toys R Us, it has no fast food tie-ins to assist in marketing, and while Jar Jar is still in the movie, he has a very small part. What it does have is Jedi, lots of Jedi with lots of light sabers. It also has HUGE battle scenes, massive firepower, an extremely impressive asteroid belt and tons of action. Unfortunately to get to all this good stuff you have to put up with a plodding plotline for the first hour or so.

The acting is so-so as usual with dialogue that seems as stiff as the actors. It’s hard to imaging that the actors are having much fun making the film, and perhaps with the extensive use of blue screens this isn’t far from the truth. In any case, there just isn’t much life in the characters. Even the jovial and silly Jar Jar has trouble having fun this time around. Sure, the Republic is falling and someone is trying to kill Padme, but lighten up a little!

There isn’t much I can say about the storyline without risking a spoiler, which is definitely not allowed around here. The movie picks up 10 years after Phantom Menace with Obi-Wan Kenobi training Anakin Skywalker to be a Jedi. Queen Amidala has finished her term as ruler of Naboo and has been selected to serve as a Senator in the Republic. There’s a vote coming up in the Senate regarding the formation of a Republic Army and someone doesn’t want her to make it, so they put a contract out on her life. After a failed assassination attempt (not a spoiler, if they had succeeded it would be a very short movie and there would be a few problems with the storyline in episodes 3-6) Obi-Wan and Anakin are assigned to protect her.

We all know Anakin has a thing for Padme, and there’s a wee bit too much romance in the movie. However, it has to be done, so just grin and bear it. There’s also the investigation into who is trying to kill Padme, which leads to some serious action scenes later in the movie.

But what fans and non-fans alike will take with them from the movie is the last half hour, which is truly one some of the best movie action ever produced. George listened to the fans, and we are very pleased. All I can say is, bring on Episode III!

Posted by John | Filed Under 4 Stars, Action, Christopher Lee, DVD, Ewan McGregor, Frank Oz, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, PG, SciFi