Star
Wars: Episode II-
The Lucas Empire Strikes Back!
Star
Wars: Episode II-
I am going to start my review of Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones by writing about what I am NOT going to do. I'm not going to waste the first three paragraphs going over what I liked and didn't like about Episode I--The Phantom Menace. I'm not going to waste two or three more paragraphs relating to you the major impact the original trilogy had on my life. And I'm certainly not gonna burn off another paragraph listing all of the ways that Jar Jar Binks can be put to a slow death.
I'm also not going to use bad puns throughout my review like "send in the clones" or "attack of the groans." I'm not going to endlessly compare Episode II to Lord of the Rings or The Matrix. And I'm definitely not going to snivel about how Lucas' innovation of the digital video camera is an affront to celluloid lovers.
I'll let other reviewers do that.
And, lastly ... hmm, what was that other thing I swore I wouldn't do? Oh, yeah!
I'm not gonna give Episode II a bad review! Star Wars is back, everyone! This movie absolutely, positively, 100-percent ROCKS! This is the one that will have audiences leaving the theaters whistling John Williams' great theme music again!
Alright, one more thing before I dive into the film. I am not going to give away any major plot spoilers in this review. On Friday, May 24, I am actually going to write a second review of Episode II in which I list in detail the many excellent, great, and good things that I liked about the film, and discuss a few of the things I wish had been better. It will be a very detailed look at the prequel-sequel, so look for it.
Now, on with the regular review.
Episode II takes place 10 years after the events of Episode I. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is now a teenage Jedi-in-training and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is his stern mentor. The film opens with the galaxy in great turmoil. Planets and star systems are starting to leave the Republic in droves as part of a separatist movement led by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), a former Jedi Knight turned rebellion leader. His chief adversary in the Galactic Senate is Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), the former Queen of Naboo who we (and, more importantly, the hormonally challenged Anakin) met in the previous film.
Lucas takes several risks with this latest installment, and the one that pays off the biggest is structuring much of the first two-thirds of his film as a classic mystery. We think we know all of the answers because we have seen the last three episodes of his six-part space saga. But we only know the end results. Half the fun of Episode II is figuring out who is who, what their relationship to each other is, what their motives are, and what part will each play in bringing about the downfall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. Is Count Dooku one of the early leaders of the Rebel Alliance we came to know and love in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi? Or, is he in cahoots with the shadowy Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) in trying to seize ultimate power and instigate an all-out galactic war?
It's up to Anakin, Obi-Wan, Jedi Master Yoda (Frank Oz), and Jedi Master Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson, in a much larger role this time out) to sift through the smoke and haze. While Obi-Wan is dispatched to a distant water planet to get to the bottom of things, Anakin is assigned to protect Senator Amidala even as his own impetuous Dark Side starts to rear its ugly head. The film's climax brings all of these characters together beautifully in a gigantic, eye-popping battle royale on the remote, Mars-like planet of Geonosis.
Lucas has come much closer to hitting the bullseye with this one, folks. While he still hasn't mastered the whole snappy repartee thing yet, he has made up for it by giving us a more grown-up and intense Star Wars film that will please purists and newbies alike. And for those who feel the dialogue in these prequels is more stilted than in the originals, I think it's intentional. Think about who the main characters in Episode I and II are--Jedi knights, royalty, politicians. In the original trilogy, farmboys, pirates, fighter pilots, and soldiers drove the action. In Episode II, we do see the galaxy becoming a grittier place. In addition to the more formal characters, we now get bounty hunters, rogue Jedi, and even an alien diner owner thrown into the mix. More action takes place on the street level of Coruscant this time. And at one point, Anakin and Amidala even stow away aboard a refugee ship.
I think the thing that will surprise many people about Attack of the Clones, take them off-guard a bit, is how serious the film is. It's darn near sobering in spots. At one point, Yoda laments, "The Dark Side clouds everything." And he's right. The Republic is starting to crumble, and the enemy is hard to spot in this movie. The classic films were all about the fight between good versus evil. It was easy to tell who was who, and what was what. In Episode II, evil seems to be everywhere ... and yet nowhere all at once.
Lucas knows he has to start filling in a lot of blanks this time out, yet he doesn't skimp on giving us exactly what we want in a Star Wars flick. Simply put, Attack of the Clones has the best action of any of the five Star Wars movies. In this movie, we find out what a true Jedi Master is when ... drum roll .. Yoda whips out HIS lightsaber and lays down some serious smack!
From now on, I shall refer to him as His Green Badness.
Seriously, for anyone who is a Yoda fan (he was my second favorite character from the original trilogy behind Han Solo), this is your movie! Industrial Light and Magic did something I didn't think they could do. When I heard that Lucas wanted to make Yoda a completely CGI creation in Episode II so he could walk, talk and, yes, fight side-by-side with the other characters, I was scared out of my wits. But guess what? They pulled it off! Those crazy computer nerds that Lucas keeps locked in his Marin County basement labs until all hours of the night, they freakin' pulled it off! In Episode II, Yoda walks, Yoda talks, and Yoda KICKS ASS! He has my two favorite scenes in the film--one is gentle (a touching scene where we see him as a teacher of young padawans) and the other fierce (you'll know it when you see it).
OK, I can hear some of you now. "Teddy, you have written many times how you are a devout 'Star Wars' fan. How can we trust that this is your unbiased opinion?" Yes, I am a big Star Wars fan. But I also am a movie reviewer and a movie lover. As both, I know when a movie doesn't work. Episode II works. It works as both a great popcorn sci-fi movie, and it works as a grand piece of popular entertainment. Most importantly, it works splendidly as the second part of a six-part story. It sets up why and how Anakin Skywalker will turn to the evil Darth Vader in the next film. It furthers the rise of the Sith into controlling the galaxy. And it finally gives us a taste of what the Clone Wars will all be about.
HOWEVER, here is the one area where the movie is lacking. First, let me say that I think Hayden Christensen as Anakin and Natalie Portman as Padme are well-cast. It is clear that these characters are physically attracted to one another, and that their misadventures throughout the film bring them closer together in a mostly believable and interesting way. But not even Gable and Lombard could have pulled off some of the dialogue they have to say to each other in this film. There is no reason why some of the romantic dialogue had to be this corny. Ask for help, George! Real help, like Lawrence Kasdan! Some scenes are fine, such as the Naboo picnic where the couple's politics very tellingly clash or the meal scene where Anakin delights Padme by levitating food in her direction. But others, particularly one in front of a fireplace, sound like imitation Shakespeare and had me wincing.
The Han Solo and Princess Leia romance in Empire was no less hokey (Leia: "You scruffy-looking nerf herder!" Han: "Who's scruffy-looking?"), but that film always kept the couple on the run from Darth Vader and his forces. And there was that great poster that had Han and Leia in the Rhett/Scarlet pose from Gone With the Wind. That poster alone makes their romance larger in our pop-culture memory than it really was.
Fortunately for fans, the Anakin/Amidala coupling does eventually start to click, particularly after Anakin is forced to deal with a personal tragedy and takes a big step on his road to becoming Vader. Look, only the harshest cynic or the most bitter Star Wars hater would let a few corny love scenes stand in the way of their overall enjoyment of this movie. For the rest of the world, go and enjoy the privilege of seeing this movie on the big screen.
The Force is indeed back, ladies and gentlemen! Long live the Force!
Attack of the Clones is rated PG for sci-fi violence and
intensity. It's a Star Wars" flick, parents, so you have to expect
a few severed limbs and some potentially scary monsters. And while you're
at it, warn your kids about the dangers of running with lightsabers in
the house. Thank me later.
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