Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

A Review by LC Fenn Logan

"Attack of the Clones" has got to be the most stupidest title for a movie in all of cinema history!

Now that we got that out of the way…

The second the opening scene hit the screen, my lower jaw hit the floor and stayed there for the entire two and a half hours of the movie!

It was an incredibly lush piece of work in terms of cinematography (even though was mostly CGI) and possibly the most immersive of all the Star Wars Movies. It has certainly been touted as the most entertaining of the series, if not the best. (Empire Strikes Back holds that title).

You got treated to the exotic locales of the Star Wars universe, presented in a kind of ‘this is the way it’s always been’ manner that makes the other movies in the series a mere shadow in comparison—and yes I include ‘Empire’ in that group as well. But in all honesty, I must chalk that up to an extremely well-handled use of CGI and special effects. Even the critters and exotic aliens (and yoda) came off ultra realistic, though you know they were CGI special effects. Yeah, okay, so I’m somewhat jaded. I still enjoyed the movie.

In terms of story… well, it was all the earmarks of a Star Wars epic where the actions of the individual characters determined the course of history, or in this case ‘many’ individual characters. I enjoyed the foreshadowing rife in the movie, like Obi Wan’s phrase to Anakin: Why do I feel you’re going to be the death of me some day?"

I enjoyed the character development as much as I enjoyed the action and it was a balanced mix between the two. But I’ll bet there are two things that you didn’t notice about "Clones" that doesn’t make it a traditional Star Wars movie…

There was not a single massive space battle. Only a very exciting chase between Jango Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi.
Most of the story was told like a straight mystery/Hard Boiled Detective story.

Yes, that’s right. There was an inordinate amount of actual investigation going on, from tracking down the origin of the poison dart that killed the Changeling to the extensive library search to locate a hidden world and uncover what was truly going on.

The conclusion leads to one of the most intensive ground battle actions I’ve yet to see since "Saving Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers" (though far less bloody—which was a bit of a downer, but hey, this is Star Wars we’re talking about).

My most favorite character: Padme Amadala. She turned out to be a gutsy, up close and personal, in your face scrapper who was almost completely fearless and had Mad Squabbles with blaster and chain. You get a hint of where Princess Lea got her spirit from.

Yeah, well, okay, I liked Jango Fett a lot even though he was a ruthless opportunistic bastard. J

Most Chilling Character: A young Boba Fett. This kid had no compunctions about killing and was extremely casual about trying to wipe out Obi Wan. The most chilling image has got to be him squatting there in the final scenes holding the head of his father against his forehead. From that moment on, he was Boba Fett, the most feared Bounty Hunter in all the galaxy.

Now I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on the lightsaber fight between Count Dooku and Yoda. Did you notice that Yoda was using a kid’s training lightsaber? Bet you didn’t. You got to see why he was known as a Jedi Master, wielding Force and Saber with equal skill.

Okay, so I won’t mention how Count Dooku walked all over both Obi Wan and Anakin in that fight.

Something else, you may not have noticed. The so-called ‘evil’ characters were never truly ‘evil’. In fact, they were demonstrating many qualities of the Rebel Alliance of the future, so there was lots of gray areas in terms of moral compass and methodology in the antagonists’ implementation of plans.

Now. The Jedi. Those of you who own the game "Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast" may have noticed the various lightsaber styles present in the movie. Like Mace Windu using the Strong Style and Yoda and Anakin the Fast Style. Obi Wan was more Medium Style while Count Dooku mixed the Styles.

"Attack of the Clones" establishes itself as a mix of Hard Boiled Detective and Military Science Fiction in a very pleasing blend that leaves an impression on you long after the final credits have rolled.

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best, "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" rates a 9.9. Yeah, I hadda take off a .1 for that hokey title.