Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002, DVD)

I borrowed a VHS tape of Epidsode II, Attack of the Clones from a neighbor. I had been overseas when it came out last year and missed it entirely. When the tape first began, there was a special "documentary" about all that happened over the course of the story told by C3PO and R2D2. Since I had yet to see the movie, this was a strange place to insert this. I suspect it was made for the DVD version. It would have made much more sense at the end of the film along with the deleted scenes. At the beginning, it simply gave away details of a movie I had not yet viewed. Dumb! Finally, I got to the movie. That was dumb, too.

In the second (fifth) installment of the Star Wars series, Episode II, Attack of the Clones, ten years have gone by since the story in Phantom Menace and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) has hit puberty. He is a padawan (apprentice) to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). Like all teenagers I know, Anakin thinks he knows more than his teachers, and thinks that everyone is out to hold him back. Also, like most teenage boys, Anakin is preoccupied with girls....well, with one girl in particular. The girl is the former Queen of Naboo, now a senator, Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman).

A militant group of political activists are trying to kill Padme Amidala. She is leading a movement to keep the republic, and several star systems want to leave it. The separatists have sent assassins to get rid of her. When she first flies back to the senate from Naboo, an explosion kills a decoy pretending to be Padme. To protect her from further assassination attemps, Anakin and Obi-Wan are assigned to protect her. The group of separatists is led by the evil Count Dooku (Christopher Lee).

Eventually all these events lead to the beginning of the Clone Wars and to the beginning of the end of the Republic. The senate, however, is not ready to give up just yet. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine authorizes the creation of a Great Army of the Republic to assist the overwhelmed Jedi.

While the story of the Republic is central, the real focus here is still on Anakin. As if puberty, feelings of superiority, and assassination attempts on the women he loves did not provide enough problems, Anakin faces other challenges, too. First, Jedi knights are not permitted to fall in love. Since he's in training to be a Jedi, this presents a problem. In addition to the hormonal challenges, Anakin begins to show his attraction to the dark side of the force. Of course, anyone who knows the Star Wars story knows where that leads. (If you don't know, I won't spoil it for you.)

The story brings back some characters from Episode I including Jar Jar Binks. Happily, his dialogue is kept to a minimum and we don't have cringe too much in listening to him. The droids R2D2 and C3PO have returned. Making their first appearance in this episode are Anakin's half-brother Owen and his soon to be wife Beru. These will be important characters when Luke Skywalker comes on the scene later in Episode IV (the original Star Wars). We get to meet more Jedi knights this time, and they play a far more vivid role than they have in the past. In other movies of the Star Wars series, we see individual Jedi. In Phantom Menace, we first meet the council of Jedi, but don't see them doing much. This time, we see the Jedis working and fighting together. In fact, in one of the climactic scenes of the movie, we see numerous Jedi taking on an army of droids.

The story has lots of good elements - coming of age, choosing one's path, forbidden love, threat to one's way of life. It includes small scale combat and large battle scenes. It includes new monsters and great spaceships. The sets are all gorgeous. The new planets we visit are detailed and interesting. This movie has a lot going for it.

Unfortunately, the acting is for the most part wooden, and the dialogue full of unmemorable moments. Lucas may be capable of creating great special effects and an smorgasbord of alien distinct alien planets and life forms. However, he clearly has lost his talent for writing.

Attack of the Clones does add to the Star Wars saga by tracing the growing political unrest in the galaxy, and adding to the series political complexity. In other words, it provides exposition. However, when the first Star Wars came out, there wasn't a need for exposition. Oh, there may have been some speculation about what the clone wars were, but for the most part, the story stood well without the additional baggage. That's what Attack of the Clones is, unnecessary baggage - expansion of an idea that people never really felt a need to see expanded.

The nicest thing I can say about Attack of the Clones is that it is better than Phantom Menace. I will see the third/sixth installment when it comes out. After all, I've seen the rest. However, if I hadn't seen the fourth, fifth and sixth episodes already, I wouldn't bother. If someone were to ask me, I'd recommend seeing just the originals and skip the prequels.