Attack of the Clones
2002
*** (out of 4)
The last half hour of Attack of the Clones brings the energy and adrenaline that had been missing from the Star Wars prequels thus far. Finally the promise made to fans was fulfilled and once again the Force was with us. It must be noted that Attack of the Clones runs almost two and a half hours and getting to that last half hour is a bit of an uneven trudge.
It’s in this film that the main Achilles Heal of the prequels reveals itself and is not so easily solved as cutting down Jar Jar Bink’s screen time. Episodes 1-3 purport to tell the story of Anakin Skywalker’s temptation, fall to the dark side and the destruction of his soul that leads him to become Darth Vader. This is the stuff of high tragedy, but to make that work, at some point the audience needs to relate to and like Anakin.
Young Anakin of The Phantom Menace was likable enough, but simply too young a child to relate to as a full character. Hayden Christensen, taking over the role for Attack of the Clones, plays the teenage Anakin as moody, selfish and whiney. This all taking place before the influence of the dark side means he didn’t have too far to fall. In the original Star Wars, Luke Skywalker also began as whiny and immature, but his story arch turned him into a hero we could root for. For Anakin, what should have been tragic instead plays out as inevitable.
Attack of the Clones was marketed as the “love story” episode. The romance of Anakin and (formerly princess) Senator Padme Amidala, as played by Natalie Portman, is a key plot point, but here’s where the going gets rough. Not only do Christensen and Portman have zero chemistry, but they are provided with possibly the worst romantic dialogue I have ever heard. The language is so gooey sugary that one expects a punch-line. Unfortunately, there’s not a trace of irony in such saccharine moments as when Anakin favorably compares Padme to sand. Considering the spunky lines Lawrence Kasdan gave Han and Leia in Empire, Lucas should have known his own limitations and outsourced to a quality writer.
Things don’t improve much as our young lovers, cavorting in a Naboo field straight out of The Sound of Music, turn the conversation to politics. Anakin’s simple minded assertion that all would be well if he was simply in charged might have been a hint that he was not playing with a full deck. I buy that love is blind, but does it have to be dumb as well?
I initially thought the mistake was in casting Hayden Christensen, who I had not seen prior to this film. The kid can’t act, I figured. A few years later, seeing him in the newspaper drama, Shattered Glass, I was proven wrong by his steady lead as an ethically challenged newspaper reporter. Natalie Portman had long been one of the better young actresses around and would soon give one of the decade’s powerhouse performances in Mike Nichols’ sexual battlefield tale, Closer. Still, both actors are so wooden in Attack of the Clones, that it seems they were instructed to act badly.
Relief from all this comes with the expertly crafted action scenes that are the reason to see this film. A flying car chase through the crowded skyways of Coruscant and Obi-Wan’s rain drenched brawl with Jango Fett are pre-climax highlights. The later sequence being significant for cleverly introducing the clone army concept and providing a cameo for young Boba Fett, a character who, in the first trilogy, developed quite the cult following that has always escaped me.
In the original Star Wars, a much older Obi-Wan Kenobi made a passing reference to the Clone Wars. Considering all the mythology surrounding that first film, this unseen bit of history remained an intriguing piece of the puzzle that is finally brought to fruition in Attack of the Clones. Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme are all taken prisoner on the planet of Geonosis, populated by strange cockroach type creatures. The young couple are to be sacrificed in the galactic version of a gladiator arena to an even stranger selection of beasts.
Obi-Wan is interrogated by Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku, now revealed to be a Sith Lord. Bringing in Christopher Lee is a great bit of casting fun, since he co-starred, from the 50’s through the 70’s, in a long running series of horror film by the British Hammer studios. His nemesis in these films tended to be played by Peter Cushing who neared the end of his career as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars.
The momentum of the climax kicks into high gear as the Jedi Knights come to the rescue. This would be our first glimpse of Jedi in their prime (i.e. who are not being trained, incredibly old or half cyborg) in full blooded action. The resulting battle does not disappoint, but must take a back seat in coolness to an all digital, lightsaber wielding, badass Yoda who just steals the movie from everybody.
Here again, the mythology of the original trilogy is so strong that it carries on to a film made decades later. The depiction of Yoda as a master of the Force was so convincing in Empire that we just knew, despite his size (“size matters not”) that he could kick some major ass. In Attack of the Clones, we see him do it.
The film ends on a strong note with the clone army looking like prototype stormtroopers and our first glimpse of what will become Imperial Star Destroyers, all as “The Imperial March” ominously plays on the soundtrack. A cut to the (thankfully dialogueless) wedding of Anakin and Padme, with emphasis on the groom’s now artificial hand, indicates that the circle between the two trilogies are closing.
Despite the unevenness displayed throughout, the climax of Attack of the Clones showed that Lucas could still do some Star Wars when he sets his mind to it.
2002
*** (out of 4)
The last half hour of Attack of the Clones brings the energy and adrenaline that had been missing from the Star Wars prequels thus far. Finally the promise made to fans was fulfilled and once again the Force was with us. It must be noted that Attack of the Clones runs almost two and a half hours and getting to that last half hour is a bit of an uneven trudge.
It’s in this film that the main Achilles Heal of the prequels reveals itself and is not so easily solved as cutting down Jar Jar Bink’s screen time. Episodes 1-3 purport to tell the story of Anakin Skywalker’s temptation, fall to the dark side and the destruction of his soul that leads him to become Darth Vader. This is the stuff of high tragedy, but to make that work, at some point the audience needs to relate to and like Anakin.
Young Anakin of The Phantom Menace was likable enough, but simply too young a child to relate to as a full character. Hayden Christensen, taking over the role for Attack of the Clones, plays the teenage Anakin as moody, selfish and whiney. This all taking place before the influence of the dark side means he didn’t have too far to fall. In the original Star Wars, Luke Skywalker also began as whiny and immature, but his story arch turned him into a hero we could root for. For Anakin, what should have been tragic instead plays out as inevitable.
Attack of the Clones was marketed as the “love story” episode. The romance of Anakin and (formerly princess) Senator Padme Amidala, as played by Natalie Portman, is a key plot point, but here’s where the going gets rough. Not only do Christensen and Portman have zero chemistry, but they are provided with possibly the worst romantic dialogue I have ever heard. The language is so gooey sugary that one expects a punch-line. Unfortunately, there’s not a trace of irony in such saccharine moments as when Anakin favorably compares Padme to sand. Considering the spunky lines Lawrence Kasdan gave Han and Leia in Empire, Lucas should have known his own limitations and outsourced to a quality writer.
Things don’t improve much as our young lovers, cavorting in a Naboo field straight out of The Sound of Music, turn the conversation to politics. Anakin’s simple minded assertion that all would be well if he was simply in charged might have been a hint that he was not playing with a full deck. I buy that love is blind, but does it have to be dumb as well?
I initially thought the mistake was in casting Hayden Christensen, who I had not seen prior to this film. The kid can’t act, I figured. A few years later, seeing him in the newspaper drama, Shattered Glass, I was proven wrong by his steady lead as an ethically challenged newspaper reporter. Natalie Portman had long been one of the better young actresses around and would soon give one of the decade’s powerhouse performances in Mike Nichols’ sexual battlefield tale, Closer. Still, both actors are so wooden in Attack of the Clones, that it seems they were instructed to act badly.
Relief from all this comes with the expertly crafted action scenes that are the reason to see this film. A flying car chase through the crowded skyways of Coruscant and Obi-Wan’s rain drenched brawl with Jango Fett are pre-climax highlights. The later sequence being significant for cleverly introducing the clone army concept and providing a cameo for young Boba Fett, a character who, in the first trilogy, developed quite the cult following that has always escaped me.
In the original Star Wars, a much older Obi-Wan Kenobi made a passing reference to the Clone Wars. Considering all the mythology surrounding that first film, this unseen bit of history remained an intriguing piece of the puzzle that is finally brought to fruition in Attack of the Clones. Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme are all taken prisoner on the planet of Geonosis, populated by strange cockroach type creatures. The young couple are to be sacrificed in the galactic version of a gladiator arena to an even stranger selection of beasts.
Obi-Wan is interrogated by Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku, now revealed to be a Sith Lord. Bringing in Christopher Lee is a great bit of casting fun, since he co-starred, from the 50’s through the 70’s, in a long running series of horror film by the British Hammer studios. His nemesis in these films tended to be played by Peter Cushing who neared the end of his career as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars.
The momentum of the climax kicks into high gear as the Jedi Knights come to the rescue. This would be our first glimpse of Jedi in their prime (i.e. who are not being trained, incredibly old or half cyborg) in full blooded action. The resulting battle does not disappoint, but must take a back seat in coolness to an all digital, lightsaber wielding, badass Yoda who just steals the movie from everybody.
Here again, the mythology of the original trilogy is so strong that it carries on to a film made decades later. The depiction of Yoda as a master of the Force was so convincing in Empire that we just knew, despite his size (“size matters not”) that he could kick some major ass. In Attack of the Clones, we see him do it.
The film ends on a strong note with the clone army looking like prototype stormtroopers and our first glimpse of what will become Imperial Star Destroyers, all as “The Imperial March” ominously plays on the soundtrack. A cut to the (thankfully dialogueless) wedding of Anakin and Padme, with emphasis on the groom’s now artificial hand, indicates that the circle between the two trilogies are closing.
Despite the unevenness displayed throughout, the climax of Attack of the Clones showed that Lucas could still do some Star Wars when he sets his mind to it.
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