Star Wars. Episodio II: El ataque de los clones

Set against the background of political conflict, Obi Wan investigates the source of an assassination attempt whilst Anakin and watches over Padme.

The film starts off interesting with some scenes of mystery and intrigue that hook the attention. Unfortunately it slows down in the middle with some unnecessary sequences and others with too much static dialogue. When spectacle does occur it is mostly good but nothing interesting links them together other than characters blandly talking. However, It finishes strongly with a sequence of exciting moments and big nod to what is to come.

Overall the plot is somewhat better than Episode I, but the mistakes made in the previous film hurt Episode II. Count Dooku is introduced as a new villain, but as good as Christopher Lee is you can't help but lament over the Darth Maul's absence, a missed opportunity to give his character more contribution to the overall story. Lee's presence always feels like a reaction to fill a void, particularly as his character was never referenced in Episode I.

That said, the climactic lightsaber spectacle is noted for being the one that shows Yoda in action for the first time in the franchise. It's spine-tingling as you see him limp to centre stage and then explode into action. Unfortunately (and I hate to be a killjoy again) the timing is off. It would have been better to have waited till Episode III to make his duel with the chief villain that much more special.

A big positive is the sequence of events shown on Tatooine with Anakin, his mother and the Sand People. This is a pivotal moment in his character arc and is done exceptionally well. The dialogue between he and Padme in the subsequent scene where he confesses his actions could have been better but it is thankfully lifted by another masterful John Williams composition.

The films of George Lucas have been widely criticised for bad dialogue and not without merit. The romantic scenes in Attack of the Clones are now infamous for their lack of chemistry and poor dialogue. It probably didn't help that Episode I showed Anakin as a child and Padme as a young woman. If they'd shown us a distinctly more mature and emotionally strong Anakin, perhaps we could believe there is an attraction, but he behaves like a creepy, spoilt teenager, lustfully gawping at the first girl he's ever seen. Soon they find themselves in a sequence of tranquil locations where nothing else actually happens other than bland dialogue over picturesque backdrops. This also hurts the pacing of the film as everything slows down for these scenes to play out. What Lucas should have shown was Anakin and Padme going through something interesting together, then let their love develop out of that. Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman are good actors but unfortunately have poor material to work with.

Other performances are good, particularly Christopher Lee, Frank Oz, Samuel L Jackson, Anthony Daniels and Iain McDiarmid.

The special effects as you can imagine are epic and all you would have wanted the Clone Wars to be. The scenes on Coruscant are a welcome change from the type of backdrops seen in the previous four movies.

Much like The Phantom Menace there are some inspired moments, but Attack of the Clones was another wasted opportunity.

If you listen to some fans of the original Star Wars trilogy, the new one is crap. This is, I've found out, true only with the Phantom Menace, which was very poorly directed and edited piece of film.

Attack of the Clones in the other hand is in comparison a superior achievement from PM. But it does contain couple of unnecessary segments, which drag the speed of the film down. And some of the acting is, even in the standard of the Star Wars, pretty horrible. But happily all those under achievers are not in any important roles and seasoned actors like Christopher Lee (Count Dooku) do deliver what you expect of them. others deserving nomination here are Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu and Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine.

So, the plot. Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are told to watch over senator Padame (Natalie Portman) because of assassination attempts towards her life. This soon leads in Obi in discovery of secretly manufactured clone army. Who is behind all this? Will Padame and Anakin fall in love? When does Anakin fall in to the dark side? Will he become a Jedi before all this? Some of these questions are partly answered in AOTC, but some are left waiting for the third installment of the new trilogy.

But as said, this is much better film than Phantom Menace. It's not best film in the Star Wars saga, but in my opinion it does deliver. It's mostly fun to watch, action sequences are good, special effects are even better and despise some bad acting and some pretty horrible dialogs, it wasn't pain in the back side to watch.

So, my advise: don't listen to roaring Star Wars fans who claim this movie to be one of the worst things ever and don't listen to those, who claim this one to be best thing since sliced bread.

Attack of the Clones is above average, but not the greatest thing ever either.

The truth is the first time I had watched the movie I wasn't impressed. After rewatches over the years I realised this movie gets so much hate that it didn't deserve. Especially if you compare it to the new movies (episodes 7, 8,9) it is far better in script, character development and battles. Anakin is awesome in this movie and makes you feel totally familiar with yourself the way he acts following your heart instead of cold rules.

Right this is my first review, so don't slam down on me to hard! anyway... I've read a lot of comments about petty-problems with this film, but couldn't help thing'what the hell!,' this is a fun movie.

First, a plot summery, Padme Amidarla is mow a senator for Naboo who deeply believes in democracy, and i travelling to couresant to vote 'no' for a Republic army. After a failed assassination attempt, Obi and Anakin are assigned to protect her. Anakin takes her back to Naboo for safety, while Obi tries to find out who's trying to kill her.

Next, the special effects are great, all of it looks real and the detail to attention in superb. The Clone war is amazing, explosions and shooting. And the digital characters don't look fake at all.

The plot is good too,it all revolves around the beginning of the clone wars and thats all I'm going to say.

The acting is on the whole good, McGreggor, Portman and Lee are all great. Jackson's good. Christen leaves a lot to be desired but i can forgive him just this once.

Finally, ignore the haters, this movie's great!

Episode II of the Star Wars saga, "Attack of the Clones" had the misfortune of following the poorly received first instalment. The good news is that it corrected most of the problems that plagued the first movie. While still not in the same league as the original trilogy, it was nevertheless a step in the right direction.

Several cast members from the first movie returned and, thankfully, stars Ewan McGregor & Natalie Portman fared much better this time around. Additionally, Christopher Lee provided a strong villainous presence that was sorely lacking from the first movie. Hayden Christensen stepped into the role of Anakin Skywalker and he at least did better than Jake Lloyd, though that's a case of damning with faint praise. Admittedly, though, his character wasn't written especially well, so it wasn't all his fault.

Speaking of writing, this time around George Lucas had the good sense to work with someone else on the screenplay. While the dialogue is still a bit stilted at times, the improvement is noticeable. Lucas also occupied the director's chair once again, with satisfactory results.

From a technical standpoint, the movie is highly accomplished, even though some of the profuse CGI is overly ambitious. In any case, the visual effects ended up being the source of the film's sole Oscar nomination. As usual, John Williams's score was also a highlight.

However, perhaps the most important difference this time around is that story is much more engaging as it really begins to set the stage for Anakin's inevitable transformation into Darth Vader. The movie's romantic elements may be awkward at times but, overall, the script does a pretty good job of balancing action and laying the foundation for the events to come.

Ultimately, I think that "Attack of the Clones" is underrated. It does have some problems but it managed to set the trilogy back on the right track. Thankfully, the concluding chapter would continue this upward trend.