*SPOILER WARNING*
*Directed by George Lucas
*Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Christopher Lee, Samuel L Jackson, Frank Oz, Temuera Morrison, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, Kenny Baker, Daniel Logan, Jimmy Smits, Rose Byrne, Jay Laga'aia, Ahmed Best, Jack Thompson, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Leeana Walsman, Pernilla August
The Plot: With a plot in motion to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala, Obi Wan Kenobi sets out to find her assassin who is none other then a bounty hunter named, Jango Fett, whose genetics were used to develop an army of clone soldiers, or Clone Troopers. While the clones are being established in the Old Republic's need of an army and tension with Jango ensues, Anakin Skywalker is also sent on a mission to protect Padmé, which leads to the two falling in love. In the midst of all this a Sith known as Count Dooku is forming an alliance of other systems willing to create more droid armies, which later on brings the Jedi to settle the conflict on top of the clone armies joining forces, thus, starting the Clone Wars.
(Spoiler alert: Blame it on the Sith.)
From what I understand fans either thought the prequels got better after The Phantom Menace or that it got progressively worse with a film like Attack of the Clones. I will say there are certainly elements of this movie that improve over Phantom with one being that the story actually felt more like a Star Wars story and that there was none of that political nonsense that I personally couldn't stand in Episode I. There was also more focus on the main characters this time around considering Episode I didn't really have a main character if you really thought about it. They were just one dimensional characters to move along the story, but with this movie you had Obi Wan and Anakin with objectives to fulfill and you eventually saw how all that resolved, which was in a big CGI battle.
The Battle of Geonosis was a little fun for me to watch with all the crazy visuals and to see all the Jedi in action was pretty darn cool. I also thought there were a few decent performances that were able to pull through despite screenplay issues, which I'll get into. Ewan McGregor was able to really give Obi Wan solid presence as did Christopher Lee as Count Dooku, who was a very entertaining villain to see. Ian McDiarmid was also solid in the scenes he was in and, even though he had very little screen time, I think an unsung hero was Jack Thompson as Cliegg Lars, who handled the drama in certain scenes very well. Also, you can't forget Frank Oz as Yoda and Anthony Daniels who's always perfect as C3PO and another great physical performance by the late Kenny Baker as R2D2. Also, the story that was in place was actually not that bad and I felt there was potential there, but the way the film orchestrates its story...oh boy.
Now, I'm not gonna lie that while I was watching this movie, there were times where I was appreciating what Lucas was going for and where he wanted to take the character of Anakin. I see that this was the genesis of the story he wanted to tell and that there were hints sprinkled in about how Anakin would soon end up being Vader. Yet, the big issue with the movie is that due to poorly written dialogue and pretty laughable acting, it couldn't come off as convincing as it should've been. Also, I know he's the most talked about actor in Star Wars history, but it bears repeating that Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker wasn't the wisest casting decision for this character.
You just don't get that intimidating factor and that he comes off more as this whiny and arrogant teenager that just doesn't get what he wants. You might think that for this movie alone, he's not that bad, but this is a prequel and he's supposed to become one of the most menacing and frightening characters in the history of pop culture. He's supposed to be the Darth Vader we know and fear and if this movie has this sort of representation of this character, then that's just depressing. I'm sorry, but that has be said. It really drags this movie down because he's the heart and soul of this trilogy to set up the Original Trilogy. It should've been done way better than this.
Also, the romance that they force into this movie feels so awkward and uncomfortable that it calls for so much dialogue editing, or heck editing out those scenes period. Not only is Hayden Christensen subpar, but Natalie Portman, who I think is a very talented actress, does not have great direction behind her at all. Her performance was terrible and I just didn't feel the chemistry between these characters because of such wooden acting and very awkwardly written dialogue.
I just mentioned awful dialogue in the Anakin and Padmé scenes, right? Yeah I can pretty much say the same for this entire movie. The direction to go along with that didn't have much tension involved, which could've given the movie this sense of urgency. There was a hint of that as soon as the film opened when Padmé's decoy gets hit by Jango's bomb and Padmé's response being "I shouldn't have come back." There should've more scenes like that, so that events in this movie could've felt a lot more important than they already were. Once again, like The Phantom Menace, you have a story that moves along in a very dull fashion that doesn't give you the excitement that it deserves. So definitely no improvements there.
I did mention in my Phantom Menace review that I appreciated more of the practicality, right? Well, I can't say the same thing for Attack of the Clones because this was where green screen effects were utilized to the brim. There were a lot of obvious green screen shots from beginning to end and to go along with that the CG in this movie has not aged well at all. Seeing a real life actor standing next to a completely computer generated character looks really horrendous and this came out the same year as The Two Towers, where the effects in that film still look mind blowing. The special effects here completely took me out of the experience and nothing looked convincing in the least bit.
The movie had its moments with its action like the Geonosis battle I mentioned earlier, but everything else felt like it was made on a soundstage and just doesn't look convincing in this day and age. Not to mention that the final lightsaber battle in this film is the least memorable and too choreographed. Although the battle between Obi-Wan, Qui Gonn and Maul looked pretty choreographed as well, it was still very entertaining to watch blended with an incredible earth shattering score.
This time around it just felt too quick and when the strong finish happens with Yoda fighting Dooku, it didn't have as much gravitas. Also, for the record, I really don't like how they handled Yoda fighting with a saber in this movie and not because it was inconsistent with his character. The way he was flipping around and such looked incredibly goofy and really took me out of the scene. What proceeded with him using the Force spoke enough volumes.
So, like I said before I did see potential of where they could've taken Anakin's character and of how he realized that after he lost his mother it started to send him on this strange path. What I think could've been done was to take elements of Episode I and Episode II and make it into one film and you start the Clone Wars then the second chapter we see his turn to the dark side, so essentially Revenge of the Sith, and then the third film in the trilogy would be his missions as Vader completely. I'd pitch this idea in my Revenge of the Sith review, but what I saw in Clones really triggered my mind to think about what could've been done better in this trilogy.
Anyway, bringing it back, Attack of the Clones is my least favorite film in the entire saga and although there is potential as we see in the story of Anakin's dark path and the genesis of the Clone Wars, there could've been better direction and writing involved to really make this feel like a crucial chapter in the entire series period. Sadly, the result was very mediocre and even though I liked it less than Episode I I'll still give it the same grade.
Verdict: C-
*Directed by George Lucas
*Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Christopher Lee, Samuel L Jackson, Frank Oz, Temuera Morrison, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, Kenny Baker, Daniel Logan, Jimmy Smits, Rose Byrne, Jay Laga'aia, Ahmed Best, Jack Thompson, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Leeana Walsman, Pernilla August
The Plot: With a plot in motion to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala, Obi Wan Kenobi sets out to find her assassin who is none other then a bounty hunter named, Jango Fett, whose genetics were used to develop an army of clone soldiers, or Clone Troopers. While the clones are being established in the Old Republic's need of an army and tension with Jango ensues, Anakin Skywalker is also sent on a mission to protect Padmé, which leads to the two falling in love. In the midst of all this a Sith known as Count Dooku is forming an alliance of other systems willing to create more droid armies, which later on brings the Jedi to settle the conflict on top of the clone armies joining forces, thus, starting the Clone Wars.
(Spoiler alert: Blame it on the Sith.)
From what I understand fans either thought the prequels got better after The Phantom Menace or that it got progressively worse with a film like Attack of the Clones. I will say there are certainly elements of this movie that improve over Phantom with one being that the story actually felt more like a Star Wars story and that there was none of that political nonsense that I personally couldn't stand in Episode I. There was also more focus on the main characters this time around considering Episode I didn't really have a main character if you really thought about it. They were just one dimensional characters to move along the story, but with this movie you had Obi Wan and Anakin with objectives to fulfill and you eventually saw how all that resolved, which was in a big CGI battle.
The Battle of Geonosis was a little fun for me to watch with all the crazy visuals and to see all the Jedi in action was pretty darn cool. I also thought there were a few decent performances that were able to pull through despite screenplay issues, which I'll get into. Ewan McGregor was able to really give Obi Wan solid presence as did Christopher Lee as Count Dooku, who was a very entertaining villain to see. Ian McDiarmid was also solid in the scenes he was in and, even though he had very little screen time, I think an unsung hero was Jack Thompson as Cliegg Lars, who handled the drama in certain scenes very well. Also, you can't forget Frank Oz as Yoda and Anthony Daniels who's always perfect as C3PO and another great physical performance by the late Kenny Baker as R2D2. Also, the story that was in place was actually not that bad and I felt there was potential there, but the way the film orchestrates its story...oh boy.
Now, I'm not gonna lie that while I was watching this movie, there were times where I was appreciating what Lucas was going for and where he wanted to take the character of Anakin. I see that this was the genesis of the story he wanted to tell and that there were hints sprinkled in about how Anakin would soon end up being Vader. Yet, the big issue with the movie is that due to poorly written dialogue and pretty laughable acting, it couldn't come off as convincing as it should've been. Also, I know he's the most talked about actor in Star Wars history, but it bears repeating that Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker wasn't the wisest casting decision for this character.
You just don't get that intimidating factor and that he comes off more as this whiny and arrogant teenager that just doesn't get what he wants. You might think that for this movie alone, he's not that bad, but this is a prequel and he's supposed to become one of the most menacing and frightening characters in the history of pop culture. He's supposed to be the Darth Vader we know and fear and if this movie has this sort of representation of this character, then that's just depressing. I'm sorry, but that has be said. It really drags this movie down because he's the heart and soul of this trilogy to set up the Original Trilogy. It should've been done way better than this.
Also, the romance that they force into this movie feels so awkward and uncomfortable that it calls for so much dialogue editing, or heck editing out those scenes period. Not only is Hayden Christensen subpar, but Natalie Portman, who I think is a very talented actress, does not have great direction behind her at all. Her performance was terrible and I just didn't feel the chemistry between these characters because of such wooden acting and very awkwardly written dialogue.
I just mentioned awful dialogue in the Anakin and Padmé scenes, right? Yeah I can pretty much say the same for this entire movie. The direction to go along with that didn't have much tension involved, which could've given the movie this sense of urgency. There was a hint of that as soon as the film opened when Padmé's decoy gets hit by Jango's bomb and Padmé's response being "I shouldn't have come back." There should've more scenes like that, so that events in this movie could've felt a lot more important than they already were. Once again, like The Phantom Menace, you have a story that moves along in a very dull fashion that doesn't give you the excitement that it deserves. So definitely no improvements there.
I did mention in my Phantom Menace review that I appreciated more of the practicality, right? Well, I can't say the same thing for Attack of the Clones because this was where green screen effects were utilized to the brim. There were a lot of obvious green screen shots from beginning to end and to go along with that the CG in this movie has not aged well at all. Seeing a real life actor standing next to a completely computer generated character looks really horrendous and this came out the same year as The Two Towers, where the effects in that film still look mind blowing. The special effects here completely took me out of the experience and nothing looked convincing in the least bit.
The movie had its moments with its action like the Geonosis battle I mentioned earlier, but everything else felt like it was made on a soundstage and just doesn't look convincing in this day and age. Not to mention that the final lightsaber battle in this film is the least memorable and too choreographed. Although the battle between Obi-Wan, Qui Gonn and Maul looked pretty choreographed as well, it was still very entertaining to watch blended with an incredible earth shattering score.
This time around it just felt too quick and when the strong finish happens with Yoda fighting Dooku, it didn't have as much gravitas. Also, for the record, I really don't like how they handled Yoda fighting with a saber in this movie and not because it was inconsistent with his character. The way he was flipping around and such looked incredibly goofy and really took me out of the scene. What proceeded with him using the Force spoke enough volumes.
So, like I said before I did see potential of where they could've taken Anakin's character and of how he realized that after he lost his mother it started to send him on this strange path. What I think could've been done was to take elements of Episode I and Episode II and make it into one film and you start the Clone Wars then the second chapter we see his turn to the dark side, so essentially Revenge of the Sith, and then the third film in the trilogy would be his missions as Vader completely. I'd pitch this idea in my Revenge of the Sith review, but what I saw in Clones really triggered my mind to think about what could've been done better in this trilogy.
Anyway, bringing it back, Attack of the Clones is my least favorite film in the entire saga and although there is potential as we see in the story of Anakin's dark path and the genesis of the Clone Wars, there could've been better direction and writing involved to really make this feel like a crucial chapter in the entire series period. Sadly, the result was very mediocre and even though I liked it less than Episode I I'll still give it the same grade.
Verdict: C-
Not one of the worst films ever made, but it's still somewhat watchable yet like Phantom I don't really see myself watching it again in my Star Wars marathon. I'll be watching this with a commentary as well (specifically with Rifftrax (sorry George)).
Stay tuned next week because while Revenge of the Sith is on the radar, I'll actually be talking about The Clone Wars TV series. Not the entire series, mind you, but I'll be discussing 5 of my favorite episode arcs as well as thoughts on the original early 2000s micro-series by Genndy Tartakovsky. Be on the lookout for that real soon.
Also, with Stranger Things Season 2 upon us I would like to give you all a review of Season 1 because it is one of my favorite shows right now and I'm very excited for Season 2, so stay tuned for that as well.
Be sure to follow me in the social media links below and a thumbnail link to my review for The Phantom Menace:
Twitter and Instagram: @alexjcorey
Thank you all so much for reading! As always, see some movies and all that good stuff. Take care and May the Force be with you. Always. :-)
Comments