Review: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

'Begun the Clone War has.'

★★★

After the mixed reception of The Phantom Menace, everyone thought it was a fluke and Lucas would have learned from his mistakes. Reluctantly, I hate to say that it's not much of an improvement. In my opinion, The Phantom Menace is a much better film.

The film opens with a failed assassination attempt against the former Queen of Naboo, now Senator of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, played by Natalie Portman, who demands answers. Our two main leads, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, the all-grown-up Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), are sent to protect her. The film features both an A and a B plot. The A plot revolves around Anakin and Padmé's love story, while the B plot follows Obi-Wan as he plays detective. These plots eventually converge in an exciting third act. Which is the start of The Clone Wars. A name we've first heard back in 1977 with "A New Hope."

This was the first Star Wars film to be filmed with digital cameras, and that's an outstanding achievement in filmmaking, and half of the film is CGI. This can seem a little rough by today's standards, but it's still a great stepping stone into modern filmmaking. Lucas' Star Wars films are the benchmarks when it comes to filmmaking. With each film, there is always something new, in terms of the technical aspect.

Due to his constant micromanagement, George Lucas was unable to dedicate enough time to write the screenplay. Thus, he called upon Young Indiana Jones writer, Jonathan Hales for assistance. It should be noted that George Lucas disliked writing dialogue and knew he had made a mistake in The Phantom Menace. Lucas tasked Hales with creating the story, the screenplay, and the plan. But most importantly, Lucas tasked Hales with two priorities: first, Anakin's character development, arc, and overall story. And Clone Wars.

Unfortunately, the film suffers in several areas. The dialogue is somehow worse than in the last movie. I can't solely blame Jonathan Hales or George Lucas; Rick McCallum deserves most of the blame for rushing everything. The acting doesn't quite work in the romance story; both Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen needed better performances and more effort when sharing scenes. Surprisingly, whenever they're not on screen together, they give good performances.

While this may be considered the weakest of the six Star Wars films created by George Lucas, it's not necessarily a terrible film. Many elements are at play here, both in a technical standpoint and in terms of fan engagement.