As the release date for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith got closer, I got more anxious to see it. While waiting to see that movie, I’ve gone on a Star Wars binge, watching the Star Wars Trilogy, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

I’ll be mentioning some things in this review that could be spoilers for all of the previously released Star Wars movies.

Ten years have passed since the battle on Naboo. Padme Amidala finished her term as Queen and then became a Senator. The Senate was trying to deal with the fact that many systems, lead by Count Dooku, were planing to leave the Republic. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was determined to keep the Republic together. When Padme arrived at Coruscant to vote against creating an army for the Republic, an attempt on her life was made. Palpatine decided that Padme should be protected by the Jedi. Obi-Won Kenobi and his padawan Anakin were sent to protect the Senator. Anakin was nervous about seeing her again. He felt that he and Obi-Won should be doing more to find out who wanted Padme dead. Anakin was clashing with his master constantly. Darth Sidious had a new apprentice and new plans.

Another attempt was made on Padme’s life. It was discovered that a bounty hunter was somehow connected. Obi-Won was trying to find the bounty hunter while Anakin traveled with Padme back to Naboo to protect her. The two grew very close and started a forbidden relationship. Anakin had been having nightmares about his mother. He and Padme went to Tatoonie where Anakin learned that Shimi had gotten married and he had a step brother, Owen. Anakin also learned something that was very upsetting which caused him to give into his hate. Obi-Won’s search led him to Kamino, a planet where a clone army was being constructed. He also talked to Jango Fett there, a bounty hunter that was involved in the clone process. Obi-Won ended up on another planet, Genosis, where he, Anakin, Padme, and the Jedi ended up involved in the first battle of the Clone Wars.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones covered a time when the dark side of the force was getting stronger and gaining power. Darth Sidious had put plans into motion ten years before that put him in a position of power. He manipulated things again in the Senate to get the army of the Republic started. I thought that the clone army really looked liked the storm troopers from the original series. The helmets they wore looked different from the ones the storm troopers had. At the time the clone army was first used, they were helpful to the Jedi. I expect that to change in the new movie. Yoda could tell that the dark side of the force was getting stronger, but he couldn’t tell anything specific about who was involved. He couldn’t tell who Darth Sidious was either. It wasn’t a good time for the Republic or the Jedi. Anakin was showing signs of giving into the dark side. I did feel like the plot moved the story forward more than was done in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Things were shown that do tie into events from the original trilogy. Plans for the Death Star were briefly shown near the end of the movie.

After seeing the first movie in the prequel trilogy, I was left wondering some things, like where Luke’s uncle Owen came from. Owen and his girlfriend Beru were introduced in this movie when Anakin went to Tatoonie looking for his mother. Shimi had married Owen’s father Cliegg Lars, so the two men were step brothers. Anakin went to the moisture farm where Luke would eventually be raised. I’ve always wondered why Luke was raised by his uncle and with the last name of Skywalker if the few remaining Jedi wanted to keep him hidden from Darth Vader and the Emperor. After seeing that Anakin knew exactly where the moisture farm was, it made even less sense to me for Luke to be taken to there to be raised. Anakin didn’t like Tatoonie, especially after certain events in this movie, but it still didn’t seem like the safest place for Luke. Owen was the only other adult relative Luke had, which may have played into the decision, though Leia was taken to someone else to be raised. To me it seems like it would have been better for Luke’s safety if his last name had been Lars and if he thought that Owen was his father. Maybe those decisions will make more sense to me after I’m able to see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

I felt that some things that happened in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones contradicted things from the original trilogy. The main thing for me was connected to the two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2. When Shimi married Cliegg, she took C-3PO with her to the moisture farm. When Anakin and Padme arrived at the farm, R2-D2 was with them. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the droids ended up on Tatoonie after they took an escape pod on the ship they had been on with Princess Leia. C-3PO said things that made it clear he didn’t know where he was. When they eventually ended up at the moisture farm, Owen didn’t recognize either droid and C-3PO didn’t say anything about having known Owen before. With the attitude C-3PO had he would have said something, especially when seeing a former owner again. This wasn’t a big thing, but it did bug me. Maybe Owen just hid the fact that he remembered the droids. Maybe C-3PO’s memory of his connection to Anakin and Owen had been erased. I do hope that there is some more explanation in the next movie just to settle those things for myself. There were a few other little things that didn’t seem to fit in right, but the issues with the droids bothered me the most.

More of Coruscant, the capital of the galaxy, was shown in this movie. There was a very impressive chase through the skies of Coruscant involving speeders early in the movie. Obi-Won and Anakin were chasing someone connected to the attempt on Padme’s life. The speeders raced around showing several different areas of Coruscant. The many levels of flying crafts did remind me of how the futuristic New York City was depicted in The Fifth Element. Later, other areas of Naboo were shown. Padme and Anakin stayed in a more remote area that was beautiful. Naboo seemed to more peaceful than most of the other planets shown. The two new planets of Kamino and Genosis both had harsh environments, though they were different from each other. Kamino was a water planet where a storm raged the entire time Obi-Won was there. Genosis seemed to be some sort of desert planet where droids were constructed. The aliens from the planet looked like giant flying bugs.

The movie culminated in a huge battle on Genosis involving the Jedi, droids, and the clone army. That battle was the beginning of the Clone Wars. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Obi-Won did mention fighting with Anakin in the Clone Wars when he was talking to Luke. Many special effects were used for the battle. The scenes of the battle were amazing. The special effects were very well done, which I’ve come to expect from a Star Wars movie. Jar Jar was back as a CGI character, though he had much less to do in this movie. I think that the flying aliens of Genosis were also created with CGI. For this movie, even Yoda was done with CGI. It did seem strange for him to be CGI instead of a puppet, but the character did look right. Yoda was able to take part in a light saber fight with Count Dooku late in the movie thanks to the CGI. The first time I saw that scene, my jaw literally dropped. He moved really well for being more than 800 years old. There was violence in many scenes of the movie, including one early in the movie when Obi-Won used his light saber on a bounty hunter, much like he did to someone in the bar on Tatoonie in the original trilogy. Later in the movie another character lost an arm. That happens quite often in the Star Wars movies.

Several scenes were devoted to moving the relationship between Anakin and Padme forward. It was known that Padme would be Luke and Leia’s mother, so most people did expect the development of their relationship in this movie. They hadn’t seen each other for ten years. Anakin said more than once how he had thought about her every day since they had last seen each other. To become a Jedi, most started the basic training as a child, going to live at the Jedi temple. They had no more contact with their family. As an adult, they weren’t allowed to get married or have children. I hadn’t known those things before seeing this movie. Anakin and Padme were both aware that a romantic relationship was forbidden, but that ultimately didn’t stop them. The romance between them did seem to be forced. There was no chemistry between Padme and Anakin, so it was hard to believe that they were so in love that they would be willing to break Jedi law. The scenes when they were spending time together on Naboo slowed the pace way down. The dialogue for those scenes was really bad and even painful to hear. Less time was devoted to the growing relationship between Leia and Han in the original trilogy, but I felt that it worked better.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is the second movie in the prequel trilogy for the Star Wars saga. So far, I have seen five of the six movies and I plan to see the newest movie as soon as I can. Each movie has its own main focus, though they all contain elements of an overall story. The Star Wars Trilogy actually told the second half of the story even though those movies were made first. I do think that the movies in each trilogy should be watched in order so the elements that continue through each make the most sense. I first saw the movies in the original trilogy when I was a child, and now when I watch the Star Wars movies, I still watch those first. For me, I prefer to watch the movies in the order they were made. Other people may enjoy watching them in order from Episode I to VI. I do think that there would be more surprises if the original trilogy is watched before the prequel trilogy.

Many of the characters that were in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace returned for this movie. Obi-Won had a larger, more important role. When he first met Anakin, he hadn’t agreed with Qui-Gon about Anakin. In his last moments, Qui-Gon made Obi-Won promise to train Anakin. Obi-Won was more cautious than his master had been, and tended to follow the rules and teachings of the Jedi closer. He tried to impart those things with Anakin, but it didn’t always work. Obi-Won was concerned about some of his padawan’s actions. The two disagreed more than once when Anakin wanted to charge ahead on a different course of action. Ewan McGregor was good in the part. He was reserved at times, but Obi-Won was a reserved character so I felt that it fit. Padme became a Senator. She was devoted to doing what she thought was best for the people of Naboo. She showed off her sexier side later in the movie in a very tight white outfit. She handled herself well in the battle she found herself in. The character didn’t seem as stiff as she did in the first movie. Natalie Portman did well with the role. Senator Bail Organa, the man who would raise Leia, was in a few scenes. He was part of the group against the formation of an army of the Republic. Mace Windu, one of the members of the Jedi council, had a larger part and got to show off his light saber abilities as well. His light saber was purple instead of blue or green. Samuel L. Jackson was good in the part.

Thanks to his subtle manipulations, Senator Palpatine managed to become Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. He showed interest in Anakin’s progress as a Jedi, giving him praise for his abilities. Palpatine managed to get a few little digs in about how long it took for Anakin to get a mission of his own. Palpatine was still manipulating others to get what he wanted. Padme had been against forming an army of the Republic. When she returned to Naboo, Jar Jar, who was a representative, took her place. Palpatine managed to twist things around so that Jar Jar did something that he believed Padme would have done herself. Palpatine’s true nature remained hidden from most people. Ian McDiarmid was very good in the part. Jar Jar’s role in the movie was much smaller and less annoying. C-3PO was around slightly more than he was in the first movie. He seemed too only be around for comic relief, even more so than he’s been in the other movies. Most of what happened to him in this movie was just silly. August Pernilla was barely in the movie as Shimi.

Christopher Lee joined the cast as Count Dooku, the former Jedi involved with the separatist planets that were planning to leave the republic. He was also Darth Sidious’s new apprentice. Count Dooku did seem to be a bit of a let down as a Sith to me. He wasn’t as menacing as Darth Maul had been. I was very surprised when Darth Maul didn’t survive the first movie. There wasn’t anything wrong with the character of Count Dooku or Lee’s performance. Darth Maul just seemed to be a better evil character to me. His double light saber was cooler too. Jango Fett and his son Boba were also introduced. Jango was a bounty hunter that was involved with the making of the clone army. Boba Fett was in the original trilogy and ended up being a favorite of many fans. I never did figure out why that character was so well liked. He did end up witnessing something disturbing.

I still didn’t like Anakin, though he was more annoying to me in this movie than he had been as a nine-year-old. I just can’t see this character as likeable. He started his Jedi training much later than anyone else ever had. He’s heard that he is very talented and will be a great Jedi. He seemed to buy into everything positive anyone ever told him and thought he was ready to be a Jedi knight. He seemed to forget what he was told about anger, hate, and the dark side. He ignored things that Obi-Won tried to teach him and argued with his master all the time. He was very arrogant. He spent a lot of time whining to whoever would listen that he was being held back with his training. All of his whining got on my nerves. This is supposed to be the man that ends up becoming Darth Vader, the most feared man in the galaxy, and he spent most of his time acting like a spoiled whining child. I don’t know how he made it as far in Jedi training as he did with his attitude. It was hard for me to believe that he would become such an evil character. He had talents, but he didn’t see that he still needed more training to be a Jedi knight. When he was on Tatoonie, he did do something that tapped into his hatred and showed how evil he could be. He even told Padme that he should be all powerful after he told her what he did. She didn’t seem upset at all by what he did, which really made me wonder about her.

I have read some things where people were wondering what would set Anakin down the path to the dark side in the third movie. I believe that he was already on the path in this movie. I did read about a few events that happened earlier in his Jedi training in Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Characters. I think those events really started his journey to the dark side. In this movie, he was doing things that Jedi didn’t do like disregarding the instructions of his master and even starting a forbidden relationship. The seeds were there, and I think what he did on Tatoonie pushed him the rest of the way over the edge. It would just take a few more years for him to fully change. The character did seem very wooden in places. I’m not sure if that was because of Hayden Christensen’s acting, the way the part was written, or maybe a combination of both. I wasn’t impressed with Christensen.

CAST

Pernilla August - Shimi Skywalker-Lars
Kenny Baker - R2-D2
Ahmed Best - Jar Jar Binks
Hayden Christensen - Anakin Skywalker
Anthony Daniels - C-3PO
Joel Edgerton - Owen Lars
Samuel L. Jackson - Mace Windu
Christopher Lee - Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus
Daniel Logan - Boba Fett
Ian McDiarmid - Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
Ewan McGregor - Obi-Won Kenobi
Temuera Morrison - Jango Fett
Frank Oz - Yoda
Bonnie Maree Piesse - Beru
Natalie Portman - Senator Padme Amidala
Jimmy Smits - Senator Bail Organa
Jack Thompson - Cliegg Lars

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones was written and directed by George Lucas. The movie was released in 2002 and is now available on VHS and DVD. The movie was 143 minutes long and rated PG. The movie probably is a little too violent for younger children, but it should be all right for older children to see. The score for the movie was created by John Williams, the man who has done the music for all of the Star Wars movies. There were times when the music sounded like some pieces from the other movies.

DVD EXTRAS

The DVD contains two discs. The movie along with a commentary with George Lucas and some of the crew is on the first disc. The picture and audio quality is amazing. The extras are on the second DVD. They include deleted scenes, a documentary on the process of creating the digital version of Yoda, a documentary on the creation of the sound effects, featurettes that focus on the general story of the movie, action, and the love story, the Across the Stars music video, trailers, a web documentary, production photo gallery, and links to exclusive DVD content. There was a cute little fake documentary about R2-D2.

Anakin bugged me even more than he did in the first movie, but I did still enjoy Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The overall plot of the movie was better than the first movie, though the love story part could have been handled better. The movie does cover some important events so Star Wars fans should see it at least once.

Related Reviews
Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Characters ~ Star Wars Trilogy ~ Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ~ Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith ~ King Arthur ~ S.W.A.T. ~ Amos & Andrew ~ Twisted ~ No Good Deed ~ The Incredibles ~ The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ~ The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ~ Sleepy Hollow ~ Moulin Rouge ~ Moulin Rouge Soundtrack ~ Robots ~ Cold Mountain ~


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8