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In Retrospect... Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Initial Release Date: 5/16/02
Retrospective Written: 6/17/02

Star Wars. With the utterance of those words comes feelings unbidden: love, anticipation, hope, and only recently, frustration. It is with the release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace that frustration really began to take hold. Surely, Return of the Jedi is no masterpiece, but it was because of the twenty years of buildup that made Phantom Menace pale in comparison like it did. In actuality, The Phantom Menace is slightly better than Jedi, but we're not here to discuss the merits of the Star Wars franchise, we're here to discuss, post-release, the true merits of the latest film, Attack of the Clones.

While I feel that most of what I said in my review is still correct, I freely admit that some of was over-the-top ("...results that are oh-so-close to greatness that you can virtually taste it," might have been a little too much praise). There is a lot of room for improvement. And, like I said in my initial review, most of it lies in the writing. The dialogue is often so weak that it's common to hear laughter from the theater audience. Sure, some moments of direction are clearly much too whimsically fancy than need be (rolling around together in the grass fields just screams "cliche!"), but that kind of thing should never have been in the script in the first place. One particularly atrocious scene is when Anakin finally confesses his feelings for Padme, and he proposes to keep their love a secret: "We'd be living a lie!" Puh-leaze... Of other notable dialogue failures is when they're about to enter the arena and she finally caves in to his charms: "I love you. I've been dying every day since you came back into my life." Yawn... And let's not forget about another commonly quoted favorite: "I don't like the sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything's soft... and smooth," This, of course, is said while he's caressing her skin. God help us...

But, even though much is lost in the dialogue, some points are to gained in that category. Perhaps my favorite line in the whole movie is spoken by Obi-Wan: "Why do I get the feeling that you are going to be the death of me?" And, aided by masterful delivery by Ewan McGregor is this short conversation while they're being bound in chains: (Anakin) "We decided to come and rescue you." (Obi-Wan) "Good job." And let's not forget Mace Windu's (Samuel L. Jackson) famous line: "This party's over," which is spoken with so much I-am-a-bad-ass quality that you can't help but smile. And let's not forget the inclusion of the line that has been in every Star Wars film thus far: "I have a bad feelings about this."

But as much as the dialogue hurts and sometimes helps the films, it is still the technical sophistication that makes the Star Wars universe compelling. I still believe the special effects are the best ever and should be universally recognized as such. There might be a little too much of them but when they're as amazing as they are it's hard to find fault.

To keep things reasonably lengthed I'll just list some other items worth mentioning:

The death of Jango Fett is treated admirably. Mace Windu's graceful attack near the conclusion is a perfect balletic piece of swordplay.
One of my favorite shots in the film is of the young Boba Fett holding his father's helmet up to his face. Thus, Boba Fett, one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars universe, is born.
In the space battle between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett the asteroid exploding is perhaps the single greatest visual effect in the entire film. But, of even more note is the sound that the sonic charges make when they explode. I was amazed when I first heard that sound, and now I can't get it out of my head. Truly first-rate sound effects work, creating one of the most memorable and coolest sounds I've ever heard in a film.
I found it painfully funny when Anakin and Padme are kissing each other on that balcony at her home on Naboo and the music is soaring... and then Padme suddenly pulls away, the kiss stops, and the music stutters to a standstill. John Williams' work is still pitch-perfect. Also excellent is the look on Anakin's face after this trying encounter.
The Yoda fight is still, to quote my initial review, "the single most exciting moment in any of the Star Wars films." Yes, I really believe that. But the shots leading up to it (his shadow slowing lengthening as he approaches the battle area, the look on his face as he pushes aside his coat and his lightsaber quickly floats to his hand, and the way he gets into a karate-like fighting posture) are also partially responsible for the biggest crowd-pleasing moment that anybody will see in cinemas this calendar year.
Both Jango Fett and Count Dooku are both righteously mean villians. They don't take prisoners. When Count Dooku orders his troops to continue the outright slaughter of the Jedi, he does so while barely thinking twice. Fett, on the other hand, is perfectly willing to use nasty weapons to assassinate the senator and willingly attacks the Jedi for intruding on his turf.

There are so many questions that beg to be answered now that we've seen the middle chapter of the prequel trilogy. And the one question that propels my thinking more than any other: what could possibly happen to Yoda, a character who is obviously incredibly wise, strong-willed, and action-oriented, to seek seclusion on the far away, dark planet of Dagobah? It clearly has to be something cataclysmic because the Yoda we see in Episode II is much different than the pondering Yoda we see in Episode V.

I still really like Episode II. I've seen it several times now, and yes, the middle of the film does drag on for quite a while. But once our Jedi gang lands on Geonisis and the ball starts rolling, it doesn't let up for more than a few seconds. The film's inconsistency is frustrating but is almost acceptable because of the slam dunk of a finale. I sense something great for Episode III.

If I were to re-rate the film I would give it a 7 out of a possible 10.