(May 2002, U.S.)
Okay, it was three years later and it was time for all STAR WARS fans who were left with a sour taste from THE PHANTOM MENACE (not me) to see if things had now improved in the galaxy. But more important than that, it was eight months since the horrific events of September 11, 2001, and more than ever, we needed the magic, the fun, and the escape of George Lucas. We needed STAR WARS!
The story of ATTACK OF THE CLONES is set ten years after the events of the EPISODE I and the Republic is on the brink of civil war. Led by former Jedi knight Count Dooku (played by the late Christopher Lee), thousands of planetary systems threaten to separate from the Republic. After Padmé Amidala (no longer queen, but now a senator) survives an assassination attempt, Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker (played by Hayden Christensen) assigned to protect her, while his master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor again) investigates the attempt, while throughout the galaxy, the plot thickens that will brings the onset of the Clone Wars we've previously heard so much about. While Obi-Wan Kenobi plays detective to find out just what the hell is going on, we're learning of the pieces of the elaborate puzzle that is building the grand army of stormtroopers whose initial purpose is to defend and protect the Republic against the Separatists. We're also learning that it's Jango Fett (the father of bounty hunter Boba Fett), who's the clone host to the hundreds of stormtroopers who have been designed and programmed to obey any order without question.
Meanwhile, Anakin and Padmé are busy falling in love against all the codes of the Jedi order. As a love couple, I don't think I've ever seen a young man and woman so mismatched on the screen - like watching Alley Sheedy and Steve Gutenberg in SHORT CIRCUIT (1986)! Their lovestruck romp and roll around through the lush fields on Naboo would be tragic if it wasn't so damn stupid to begin with. Wonder what Julie Andrews would say if she agreed with my opinion that it (badly) replicates her dancing through the hills alive with music at the opening of THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)? Anakin's heartfelt confession of his love to her by the fireplace might almost be beautiful (almost) if it wasn't such a heap of wooden dialogue and if it also wasn't being told to the likes of Natalie Portman (the girl can't act!). Still, like it or not, their secret love (and secret marriage at the end of the film) is necessary if we're ever going to see Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia live and breathe.
Like THE PHANTOM MENACE, let's be fair with ATTACK OF THE CLONES, as well. There are many improvements over its predecessor, including a serious reduction in Jar Jar Binks time. Like any STAR WARS film, the thrills and action of battle (both in space and on the ground) and lightsabers never falls short. After twenty-two years since first meeting Yoda, we finally get to see him in action with a lightsaber, too, and it should come as no surprise to us that the little green guy has got some serious moves on him. Despite its enormous fun, there's a darker, more serious tone in this film as we watch Anakin slowly progress into the darker nature of himself as he grieves over the death of his mother and struggles with his forbidden love toward Padmé. Because we're witnessing events that we know very well will lead us to the galaxy far, far away of the '70s and 80's, it's important information, even if we don't quite understand all of it. And yet, there are still some surprises here and there. Never in our wildest imagination would we have guessed that it's ultimately Jar Jar Binks who's responsible for the rise of the Empire when he makes the decision as Padmé's representative in the Senate that Senator Palpatine should be given emergency powers to combat the threat of the Separatists. Well, congratulations Jar Jar PUTZ! You just gave away the perfect reason for the Emperor to not only begin design on what will become the Death Star someday (we get a quick glimpse with a hologram), but to also take power and control over the whole galaxy!
Like many other critics and fans, I too, find the dialogue and acting in this film wooden, stiff and quite cliché, though not nearly as bad as RETURN OF THE JEDI. I do, however, give the proper credit to actor Ian McDiarmid, whom I believe is doing the best he can with what he's been given beyond the character he's brought to life since 1983. He knows how to be the Emperor, it's that he has to do it while surrounded by many actors who are, at best, going through the motions. Even an intense actor like Samuel L. Jackson is reduced to really nothing more than a player in a grand video game (though I love the badass look on his face when he ultimately beheads Jango Fett during the arena battle on Geonosis. Perhaps by EPISODE II in our beloved saga, we should all be practically used to the idea of quantity of quality (seems a shame, though).
I must confess that until ATTACK OF THE CLONES, it never, ever occurred to me that the Empire actually rose out of the Republic. No kidding. I'd always presumed that the evil had taken on a separate birth and life of its own. I never imagined that the good that was once the Republic would eventually turn on itself and become the very power they were previously trying to fight and prevent. Is it me, or does that sound a lot like the current state of the United States under Donald Trump?? Is it any wonder images like this are all over the web...
Does this mean we need to dread our own Clone Wars?? Or I should I not overthink it so much? It is, after all, just a STAR WARS movie.
Favorite line or dialogue:
Anakin Skywalker: "You call this a diplomatic solution?"
Padmé Amidala: "No, I call it aggressive negotiations."
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