Star Wars, épisode II : L'Attaque des clones

I just watched this on DVD last night, having seen it in the theatre. I was very disappointed when I watched the scenes that had been cut, as they fleshed out the story a lot more than the final cut. You learned more about the wasp creatures near the end of the film and why Dooku enlisted their help. Padme's character was a lot more established as well in visits to her parents house and in a confrontation with Dooku.

Many people have commented on the wooden acting of the two leads, which I somewhat agree with, but Christensen is not that bad an actor, and neither is Portman.

The problem with both this film and Phantom Menace is Lucas' dialogue. He writes lines which no actor, even in a fantasy movie, can say without sounding like they're reading them off of cue cards. This can be excused when the line is SF technobabble, but when it's supposed to be intimate romance it comes off as clumsy, forced, and utterly unbelievable. Considering that we KNOW the ultimate fate of each of these characters, these make scenes where they are put in peril uninteresting, since you already know they'll survive. Lucas really blew the chance at creating highly developed, memorable characters in my opinion.

In addition, both this and Phantom Menace sorely miss a solid supporting cast to the two cardboard character leads. Where is the Han Solo/Chewbacca/Lando of these movies? Watching the original trilogy, the chemistry between Han and Chewie gives the movies a much broader appeal than the soap opera Skywalker saga. Imagine the original trilogy with only Luke and Leia as the two main characters -- it'd be far less interesting!!!

Ewan McGregor is given a lot more to do in this film as Obi-Wan, and he acquits himself very well, although I think the scenes on the clone world would have been much better if he had been accompanied by Mace Windu. We almost always see Jedis travel in pairs, until Kenobi's solo visit. Christopher Lee does well in the limited screen time he's given. Samuel L. Jackson gives a one note performance as Mace Windu ... we're never convinced that he's as powerful a warrior as he's said to be. And when a CGI Yoda is the most expressive character in the film, you know something's just not right.

Lucas has really painted himself into a corner to deliver the goods in Episode III. In my opinion, to tie up all the loose ends he's created between Phantom Menace and this film, Episode III might have to be 4 hours long.

In summary, this is a decent film for fans of the Star Wars saga, and certainly better than Phantom Menace, but it still doesn't break much new ground. Compared to the colorful entertaining space opera of the first trilogy it's rather dull and predictable. Hopefully Episode III will give Star Wars fans a movie that can be held up to the high standards of the originals.

First off the movie had some good aspects about it. For one the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin was phenomenal. They were emotional and comedic at the same time. The second thing is the action. This movie was very action packed and the choreography in the fights were very good. The conflict was nice as well I just wish they didn't have as many sub-plots. I didn't like how unnecessarily long this movie was, it felt like 3 hours. Some scenes didn't need to be included and I didn't like how they made it seem as if Anakin was obsessed over Padme but other than that their romance was believable and cute. The acting was strong although sometimes it came off as bland. The beginning tried to be serious but ended up looking like a joke. The movie was pretty good overall but could've done better.

After what many perceived to be a weak entry in the prequel trilogy of the star wars movies with regards to TPM. Lucas still 'did his own thing' and produced one of the most breathtaking, exhilarating and fantastic star wars films to date. In this film we have already established characters thrust upon the cinema screen once again. The opening scroll is simpler than in TPM, it doesn't require us to think, it just puts us into the right frame of mind to pick up the story. As soon as we see a ship gliding through the foggy clouds we see straight away that something is amiss in the republic. The bright and breezy republic in the previous film seems to be bathed in fog. Difficult to see the dark side is. Lucas said these are silent movies and the visuals tell their own story and it happens a lot in this film, like the Darth Vader silhouette that had no digital tinkering whatsoever . The footage of Anakin with his robes on was basically a mirror image of darth vader but without the helmet. The footage of Padme next to him was strikingly reminiscent of Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi. Absolutely everything in this movie is intriguing, Obi-Wan Kenobi investigates a clone facility on the planet of Kamino. A mysterious Sifo Dyas placed an order for the Clone army based on a template of a Bounty Hunter called Jango Fett. Jango Fett states he was employed by a man called Darth Tryannus. We find a former Jedi, Count Dooku knows all about the corruption in the senate, even if the Jedi arnt yet aware and plans to do something about it. Secretly creating a new order with the goal to build an army powerful enough to fight the Republics army. A republic army which was mysteriously started at the Clone facility even though the Jedi Council were not aware! Confused? No…intrigued? Most definitely. Anakin Skywalker also gets given a sole mission on his own. Its here that the much vaunted love story begins. To be honest, it's a bit choppy and seems rushed. Its not a smooth romance like in The Empire Strikes Back, instead it's a romance which reeks of desperation, as if the characters themselves know about their impending doom and they just want to be as one before the inevitable happens. The deleted scenes on the DVD really should have been implemented within the film. They are gold, with regards to character motivations and shows little glimpses of their affection to each other. Would have made the final, declaration of love scene less jarring. In fact, would have been completely smooth and believable. The final showpiece in this film is the Clone Wars, they begin on a planet called Geonosis and this is where the film gives us a scene so wonderful it just keeps on piling the cherry's on top of the cake. A superb full scale war better than anything in any star wars movie happens, its absolute mayhem and its absolutely brilliant. But it doesent end there, we have not one lightsaber fight, not two, but three. With the third being one of the most memorable of all time. Also, a plot point that culminated in A New Hope makes its entrance here and it left me absolutely gob smacked Basically, this film is everything you would want in a star wars movie. Is it the best star wars film out there? Quite possible, difficult to call. Had George Lucas just gone with the flow and put in the Padme/Anakin deleted scenes plus toned down the over bearing nature of Anakin in the fireplace scene (after reading an earlier draft there's some vocal foreplay at the beginning that would have been great to have in the final movie) then this would have been the best Star Wars film without a doubt. We see intrigue, we see action and we see the galaxy begin to rot away in a very obvious way. The beginning of the end.

Four Stars out of Five.

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.

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.