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

'Obi-Wan, you must have faith he'll choose the right path.'

★★★½

Despite the 3.5 star rating, this novelization is not on my list of favorite Star Wars novels. However, I find this novelization to be one of the best out of the six that were released pre-Disney. In no way is this as good as the Revenge of the Sith novelization, but it's still a very good read. I believe R.A. Salvatore did a good job of understanding George Lucas' vision for this story and making the novel a very entertaining read.

The novel fixes many of the film's problems. Better dialogue and better character interactions. And most importantly, the love story between Anakin and Padmé was more believable in this book than in the film. I find those scenes to be my favorite parts of the novel. In no way am I disrespecting George Lucas, but the guy really needed someone else to direct this film, especially the scenes with Anakin and Padmé. But I cannot put the full blame on him because Rick McCallum had rushed Jonathan Hales. Had Rick McCallum given Jonathan Hales more time to write the screenplay, those scenes would've been more fleshed out. Despite all that, George Lucas wrote a good story and it shows in this novelization.

I also enjoyed the inclusion of the deleted scenes in the novelization, including Mace Windu telling Obi-Wan, "Obi-Wan, you must have faith he'll choose the right path." That scene shows a different side of Mace Windu. He never actually hated Anakin Skywalker, he just didn't really agree all that much with him. That quote is even the quote selected on the back of the novel. It just goes to show how important that scene was that was cut out for some reason.

I did find adding context to Shmi Skywalker and giving some context to what actually happened to her as well as giving more development to the Lars family interesting as well. Early scenes in the book show the deep love between Shmi, Cliegg, Owen, and Beru. They are a loving family and it makes it all the more heart-wrenching when she is lost. The book makes it more clear that Cliegg and Owen did everything in their power to save her, too. Meanwhile, Jango Fett and Boba are shown doing a lot more father/son bonding. It makes the death of Jango a little more meaningful than being merely a cool move by Mace Windu in the arena. I understand the film had to cut them down because it's a movie, but since Salvatore was following the final shooting script, Lucas and Hales at one point thought of developing their characters more.

Overall, a great novelization, but lacking in some things. The novelizations always have an advantage over the films because they allow more characterization and backstory. This one is no different. Did I enjoy this more than the film? Yes and no. I enjoyed reading the romance scenes between Anakin and Padmé, and the included deleted scenes, but everything else felt pretty much the same as the movie, just a little more fleshed out.