Release Date:
Thursday, May 16, 2002
Hear that? That humming noise is the collective sighing of millions of Star Wars fans. Since saying Attack of the Clones is better than Phantom Menace is about as effective a compliment as saying winning the lottery is better than being eaten alive by dingos, we’ll put it another way: Clones reminds us what we loved about Star Wars, and why we were waiting impatiently for these prequels.
Director-writer–geek diety George Lucas heard his fans and has made amends. Jar Jar Binks is reduced to a merciful cameo (Lucas even finds a clever way to stick it to him—we won’t spoil it, but let’s just say heesa fucksa upsa berry berry badly) and the action here actually seems to matter to the story. Where Episode 1 was all just an elaborate introduction scene with a pretty meaningless plot, Episode 2 finally gets the story rolling and connects much more directly to events in the original trilogy. Sure, the dialogue is as clunky as ever, with the wooing scenes between Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) especially cringe-worthy, but overall Clones is 10 times looser and much more fun than the first installment. (When all’s said and done and the critics have finished nit-picking the film to death, isn’t the fun factor what matters most?) Newcomer Christensen carries his weight, managing to make Anakin’s inner struggle click, even while wrestling with Lucas’ tongue-mangling verbosity. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the rest of the Jedi let their hair down (in some cases, literally) and are finally given room to show off their skills, while new baddies Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) help jolt the movie out of its occasional slow lapses. Oh, and we can’t help but mention that cute, doddering old Yoda finally proves why he’s head Jedi—his climactic scene will make fans stand up and cheer, something we haven’t done since Lando and Wedge put the kibosh on the second Death Star. Bring on part three, George—you’ve won us back.
Director-writer–geek diety George Lucas heard his fans and has made amends. Jar Jar Binks is reduced to a merciful cameo (Lucas even finds a clever way to stick it to him—we won’t spoil it, but let’s just say heesa fucksa upsa berry berry badly) and the action here actually seems to matter to the story. Where Episode 1 was all just an elaborate introduction scene with a pretty meaningless plot, Episode 2 finally gets the story rolling and connects much more directly to events in the original trilogy. Sure, the dialogue is as clunky as ever, with the wooing scenes between Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) especially cringe-worthy, but overall Clones is 10 times looser and much more fun than the first installment. (When all’s said and done and the critics have finished nit-picking the film to death, isn’t the fun factor what matters most?) Newcomer Christensen carries his weight, managing to make Anakin’s inner struggle click, even while wrestling with Lucas’ tongue-mangling verbosity. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the rest of the Jedi let their hair down (in some cases, literally) and are finally given room to show off their skills, while new baddies Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) help jolt the movie out of its occasional slow lapses. Oh, and we can’t help but mention that cute, doddering old Yoda finally proves why he’s head Jedi—his climactic scene will make fans stand up and cheer, something we haven’t done since Lando and Wedge put the kibosh on the second Death Star. Bring on part three, George—you’ve won us back.