Jedi and Sith and Clones, Oh My!
Written: Jun 04 '02 (Updated Oct 31 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Amazing special effects, wonderful scenery, many plot thickeners
Cons: Suspect dialog and acting
The Bottom Line: A major improvement over TPM, Attack of the Clones is an example of what Star Wars could be, if the acting improves.
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| martytdx's Full Review: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones |
It was with mixed anticipation that I waited for Attack of the Clones to arrive. The commercials and the information I had found all pointed to a good movie. However, the bruises left on my psyche by the failure of The Phantom Menace still showed occasionally, leaving me a little nervous about what Uncle George would pull off this time.
Then the reviews started coming in … and they were indeed a mixed bag. My anxiety fought with my eagerness as I went from review to review (yes, I AM a Star Wars geek), and I bought my tickets for Day 2 with the trepidation given to one who was disappointed by a favorite uncle on their ‘special day’. My future stepson and I were ready to step into that unknown void called Episode II and brave whatever the Star Wars world could throw at us, accompanied by none other than my skeptical fiancée (Darth Shari, as she became known).
3 hours later (including the time we went early to get a seat), I came out satisfied. Not overwhelmed, not disappointed – but very satisfied. The story was decent, the visual effects were simply amazing, the acting was … well, at least Don Knotts wasn’t added to the cast. Jar Jar was thankfully mostly absent, the Jedi were a force to be reckoned with and Yoda … well, more on the Jet Li of the Jedi later.
The Movie
For those of you who don’t live in a galaxy far, far away (I don’t know, perhaps one where all of the aliens look like humans with funny noses and foreheads), here is the BASIC plot of Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
After defeating the Trade Federation 10 years earlier, wee Anakin Skywalker has grown up to be a pesky, adolescent Jedi (“But Obi-Wan, I wanted to take the landspeeder out tonight.” “Obi-Wan? Do you have 50 credits I can borrow to go to the holovids. I promise I’ll take out the trash when I get home.” “Master – you just DON’T UNDERSTAND.”). During that time, the Republic has been in turmoil. Large chunks are threatening secession from the Republic over taxation, government, corruption, etc. Chancellor Palpatine has been trying to keep things together while nefarious forces are trying to tear them apart. Into the fold steps Senator Amidala, representing Naboo as she tries to keep the Republic together while avoiding creating a military they could use to quell the disturbances.
When she is attacked, the Jedi come to the fore to protect her, including the sappy Anakin and his master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The two Jedi are assigned to protect her from whomever tried to kill her, as well as finding out who created the plot in the first place. (Unfortunately for her, the list is longer than the number of NASCAR fans at the Country Buffet on race day).
Anakin has a thing for Amidala, who knows that this is not a good thing. Nevertheless, the two star-torn loves travel near and far to try to solve the puzzle of her attackers and handle a couple of other meddling things, like Anakin’s mom on Tatooine. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan is off getting into more trouble as he discovers a clone army, Jango Fett, Count Dooku (a bad Jedi) and the Geonosians – the latest in a series of bad guys in Star Wars films.
Eventually, the three title characters find themselves caught in a plot that seeks to end the Republic – one that brings about a huge battle of Jedi vs. secessionists. There, they are rescued by a Jedi/Republic task force - and thus the Clone Wars begin.
The Acting
Ewan McGregor is the best of the cast. His role actually has life and spirit behind it, and he is enjoyable to watch, even if his dialog is a bit cliched at times. He seems to enjoy the role much more this time around then he did in the past, and actually makes you believe that he could be the younger incarnation of Alec Guinness. He has some glib lines and even allows a little humor to be put into the mix. All in all, I enjoyed his role in the film. Natalie Portman is okay, although I think she is a victim of the screenplay and directing more than a reflection of her actual talents. At times, it seems like a real personality comes through, only be to hacked by dialog that is … well, childish. Hayden Christensen is the big loser in this respect. I think he might have had one good line, and perhaps his only scene where he was able to act unhindered is the scene with the Tusken Raiders. Beyond that, he seems to be straining against the bit to do more with the role, but is being held back.
Christopher Lee is impressive as Count Dooku, giving the same eerie performance he has done since the Dracula films. I like Lee, but will never mix him up with Anthony Hopkins in the acting department. Still, he is a good character actor, and shows his strengths here playing the bad guy who may or may not be that bad. And, of course, there is his nemesises (nemesi?) – Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda. Jackson also seems to be enjoying the part immensely, although his characters are usually the same bad-@$$ characters anyway (with Changing Lanes being a notable exception). And Yoda – well, you get to see a much more rounded character in this film – and you will finally know why he is THE Jedi Master.
Overall, there are no major performances that stand out as award-winning. McGregor is fun to watch, and could easily have worked in the original trilogy alongside Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams or Carrie Fisher. Portman shows flashes of what we want to see, but is held in by the directing. And therein may lie the problem.
Although Lucas got some help with the script this time from Jonathon Hales, the dialog is still rather weak. Much of it seems like what you would expect from the serials in the 30’s – 50’s, which Lucas loves and has often said he wants to emulate. Unfortunately, it gives these films an instant B-movie quality that detracts from the rest of his vision. There is too much yammering about the mythos surrounding the Star Wars movies, hackneyed and trite confessions of love and boring tirades about being a teenager. Much of it comes off as too scripted, leaving the actors with little of their own personality being infused in the characters. And THAT is the fault of the director – Mr. George Lucas.
Uncle George brought us a wonderful story in the first three films. He created a universe which is unrivaled in its influence on our culture, and has in many ways changed film-making from the beginning. However, time has passed and Lucas has lost his edge, in my opinion. One need only look at his last three directed films (Attack of the Clones (AOTC), The Phantom Menace (TPM), and Howard the Duck) to see that while he has a great vision and the marvels of his VISUAL directing are fantastic, he should turn the reigns of writing and directing over to a newer, more capable person. Stevey Spielberg, how would you like to have a shot at THIS set of E.T.’s?
The Effects
This is where the film shines. From the opening sequence of Coruscant to the battle scenes on Geonosis, the movie is a marvel of eye candy. There is no way to take it all in during a single viewing. If you want to get the full effect, you’ll have to go see it at least twice, not to mention on the DVD when it arrives. For whatever Lucas misses in directing and dialog, he perfects in visual scenery and effects. Once again, he and ILM have produced one of the most stunning worlds that can be imagined.
The battle scenes and effects make you think that you are seeing footage of something that could have actually taken place instead of models, CGI and animation. The blue-screen work is nearly seemless (only the dinner scene between Anakin & Amidala has a notable mistake – where the bite of fruit suddenly disappears), and the sound and technical portions of the effects are amazing. Although I still prefer the pod race in TPM to the Coruscant chase, the latter is still a thrill to watch.
And when you see what they are able to do with Yoda vs. Dooku – man, that was good stuff. Darth Shari thought this scene silly, but the rest of the audience was enthralled in a mixture of laughter and awe at the diminutive Jedi’s ability to move and fight with the best of them. This scene is one of the best of the movie – Lucas deserves kudos for making what could have been hokey into as realistic an event as we could hope for.
The Reviews
Okay, many of the reviews for AOTC were mediocre. However, many of those reviewers brought up something that has irked me – the fact that the “acting and dialog don’t match up with the previous trilogy”. Okay, I agree that the acting is a bit wooden overall, and that the dialog was a bit rough to listen to at times, but come on – does anyone remember how bad Mark Hamill was in the originals? Call it skewed recall, but Star Wars was never known for Oscar-caliber performances or writing. It was what it was because it was a new idea, one that was produced and directed well and caught our fancy as a nation, a culture and a world. But don’t start comparing the acting now to then as a drop-off. Even the great names of the original trilogy (Ford, Fisher, Peter Cushing and Guinness) couldn’t completely pull of what were many times just plain bad lines. Granted – there were no “yippees” in Star Wars, but to act like the originals were Shakespearean epics is a big ludicrous.
**Begin Diatribe**
Another gripe comes from an article in the Detroit News. In it, they accuse Lucas of continued racism in AOTC. I thought that the charge was bogus for TPM – although some of the accents WERE ridiculous in and of themselves – but this charge goes even further. For those of you who HAVEN’T heard – a panel of ‘experts’ from the paper decry everything from Jar Jar’s Jamaican patois to the fact that – and I’m not kidding here: Lucas’ using of a Latino character being cloned to create an army “reminds (a reviewer) a little bit of ‘those Reagan ads in the 1980 campaign, that suggested if Nicaragua went communist, you'd have wild-eyed Mexicans with guns running across the California border.'"* Never mind that Temuera Morrison is a New Zealander of Maori descent.
Star Wars has always had a mission – to make people head to a land of Good vs. Evil, and of FANTASY, i.e. it’s a movie folks. It’s not necessarily a PC movie but it is far from being a bigoted film that some would like to make it out to be. Yes, Jimmy Smits and Jackson could have had bigger roles, but just because they didn’t doesn’t have anything to do with skin color, gender or species. And, in response to concerns in The Phantom Menace, they did seem to make some better decisions. But, to those who have WAY too much time on their hands – Star Wars is not racist, and if Lucas made some bad choices, so have most other movies of the last 20 years. Stop looking for things that don’t exist.
**End Diatribe**
Final Thoughts
As a whole, I enjoyed this movie. It gave me a new Star Wars fix, with new worlds, new battles, and a bit more of the back-story of the legend that is Star Wars. Jango Fett was great, the droid-clone battle was perhaps one of the most brilliant battle scenes ever created on film (and is supposedly even better when seen on a digital projector). I came out satisfied, and actually wanting to go back and see it again.
I hadn't mentioned it, but once again composer John Williams has worked magic with the score for this film. He created some excellent stand-along pieces, but has also managed to blend in some foresight into the later marches and music of the original trilogy, such as the Imperial March. He has proved why he is the MASTER of movie scoring.
Although I had hoped that the acting and dialog would be better, they were significantly better than TPM, and that gives me hope for Episode III. We can only plead with George: Please take a look at your strengths and realize that there are others that can take the reigns of this dream and mold it to something that meets both your vision and the fans’ expectations for the (unfortunately) final chapter in the Star Wars story.
Holocron
Just a few things to take a look for when you are watching:
-- At the love scene in the field with the waterfall, take a look by Amidala’s feet. There is a Coke can there.
-- When Amidala and Anakin land at Naboo, look to the left-hand portion of the screen. There are three Corellian transports there – the same type of ship as the Millenium Falcon.
-- If you are quick during the asteroid battle, you can see one of the cow-like creatures from the waterfall scene in the asteroids. Look for the rock with feet.
-- For more fun stuff, check out http://us.imdb.com/Trivia?0121765
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*You can read this article here: http://detnews.com/2002/entertainment/0205/18/d01-492788.htm
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Recommended:
Yes
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martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
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Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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