Star Wars: Attack of the Clonesby Wolfen MoonsgetReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 6 Senator Amidala's life is in danger, and it's up to a now-grown-up Anakin to protect her while Obi-wan looks for the man who has a contract out on her. Meanwhile, Count Dooku plots with the Sepratists to destroy the Republic, and the Jedi council works to keep the Republic intact.I was so disappointed in this one. Part of it, I know, is because I can't stop comparing it to Spider-Man and the previous Star Wars films. On its own, it's not a bad film. But it's just not a fantastic film, and that's something I see as synonymous with this franchise! First, the ugly (because I always want to try to end on a positive note!). I know that corny dialogue is to be expected from Lucas, but this time out it was actually painfully so. There's nothing I'll be quoting later, except maybe from Yoda. And not only was the dialogue dull and awkward, but the story was too. The plot was almost buried by the special effects, to the point where I pretty much couldn't even keep it in mind. I felt like I was just a random observer, rather than right there in the front seat, like I always felt with Luke. I know that Anakin is supposed to go bad, so it's appropriate for him to not exactly be likable, but he's the main character! If you can't like the main character, how can you like the story? I can't even like him as a bad guy! And Christiansen just didn't fit with the vibe of Star Wars — I felt like I was watching some boy-band music video or a teen angst film whenever he was on screen. Hamill had managed to pull off the young upstart without that happening ... Portman wasn't shining too bright this time either. I know she can act better than that, but she was terrible this time out. Padme falling in love with Anakin was completely unbelievable, and from Anakin's side it just seemed like a crush, not destiny, not "true love". The chase scene in this one, just as the pod race in the last one, was way too long and dull. It seemed like nothing more than a poor imitation of the chase in The Fifth Element. It illustrated Anakin's hot-headedness, sure, but does it help the story to turn me off from his character from the very beginning?? I kept losing my focus on the film. It didn't pick up for me until abut three-quarters of the way through. And frankly, while I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped, either, I felt Phantom Menace was a better film all around (of course, I'm one of the only three people I know who liked Jar-Jar. That alone could be the reason why I seem to be the only person so far who liked PM better than Clones). Okay, criticism aside, I did think the special effects were great, and I loved Amidala's costumes. The aliens that were making the clones were cool-looking, as was the tiger-rat-fizgig thing that goes after Padme. McGregor was good as Obi-Wan. The bits with Threepio were cute. And best of all — perhaps best in any of the films — was Yoda fighting. Everyone in the theatre cheered over that — I myself felt like giving a standing ovation! It was worth sitting through the rest for that! So it wasn't exaclty a bad movie — it just wasn't a good Star Wars film. Written: May 20, 2002
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