Chris Kavan's Movie Review of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Episode II - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/19/09

Again, full-fledged Star Wars fanboy here, with my take on Episode II, Attack of the Clones.

I don't think this is a step up from The Phantom Menace (which had its share of problems and many detractors). This isn't aimed at the kids anymore, but it still has its problems. First off, and the most vocal criticism, is the casting of Hayden Christensen (taking a line from Clerks II - "Mannequin Skywalker). This was not a good choice. He has no chemistry with Natalie Portman (important for a forbidden love story) and he doesn't work much better with McGregor. There is a master/apprentice thing going, but I though Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon was a much better pairing.

Luckily, if you can get past this casting mistake (and the wooden love story) the rest of Clones is actually a good story. You have the introduction of another great villain - Christopher Lee as a more cerebral Sith (but not afraid to thrown the curved saber down when needed). While he doesn't look as cool as Maul, he's far more dangerous. You also get fan favorite Fett - ah, this time Jango - and a clone army that looks and sounds just like him.

The clone army is the MacGuffin here - part of a larger plot by Darth Sidious that was put into motion behind the scenes during Episode I - meant to keep the Jedi busy while the real plotting takes place. As stated, the Jedi are losing their connection to the force as darkness builds and clouds their vision.

On the other hand, we get a growing sense of evil in a still young Anakin. Even though it sound whiny rather than angry, the scene of him rescuing his mother and slaughtering sand people is a pretty big step in the direction of Darth Vader.

The action is bigger this time around. The arena scene is a wonder (with new monsters galore) and there are great space scenes and ground battles. Many people will disagree, but I think changing Yoda to CGI was a good change. Besides being able to get a better sense of emotion, we finally get to see the green bugger in action. That lightsaber fight at the end is epic.

The story flows much smoother this time around - not as much talking about boring politics - and Natalie Portman finally gets to show some emotion (easy to see where Leia gets her spirit from). The genuine impact is better, but there's too many rough spots to call this an improvement. Still, it's another piece of the puzzle and another crucial part of the saga.