Okay, first things first: I liked The Phantom Menace. I know that's not a popular
opinion, but it's from the heart. I still rank it far behind A New Hope and
Empire Strikes Back in the saga, but I found it a very entertaining film and
a worthy setup for the episodes to follow. I also hoped at the time that many
of the film's flaws would be cleared up when Episode II came out.
To get to the point, Attack of the Clones is remarkable for two reasons. First,
it shows why TPM was essential in establishing the plot and characters that
pay off in a big way in Episode II. Second and most importantly, AOTC blows
away TPM on every conceivable level. What we got in 1999 was just a teaser of
a Star Wars movie by a director who'd been out of practise for at least sixteen
years. What we have this time is the real deal.
To give you a bit of backstory (you can safely skip over the next few paragraphs
if you just want to hear my review), I ordered my tickets for the first midnight
show several weeks in advance. I tried my best to avoid spoilers but gave in
slightly to the dark side shortly before the release. I knew the basic story
pretty well, but not the exact details. What I did know sounded great, and the
trailers were awesome. I listened to the soundtrack and loved it. But then the
reviews started to come out. Even though nearly all critics were saying it was
a better film than TPM, there were a lot of negative reviews too. Could Lucas
lose even more fans with this film?
To make matters worse, at the same time I was dealing with the death of a close
friend and Star Wars fan - my pet cat Shelly. How do I know she was a fan? Well,
whenever I was sitting in front of the computer browsing a Star Wars site she
would come in and jump on my lap. So I needed AOTC to be a great film to restore
some joy to my life. I couldn't handle a major disappointment.
I arrived at the Odeon Leicester Square in London at about eleven p.m. on May
15th with my brother. There was a long line to get in, but luckily we had reserved
seating, down the middle and centre. There was a large percentage of Star Wars
geeks in the crowd, but the excitement wasn't quite as palpable as when I saw
TPM at the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood on opening day. We quickly
took our seats and sat through the usual twenty minutes or so of boring adverts
and trailers. Then the curtains closed and the lights dimmed. But it was still
ten minutes to midnight, so the film couldn't be starting already. Instead we
were treated to Anthony Daniels (that's C-3PO, to you philistines) appearing
on stage to introduce the film. I'd heard rumours about this, but it was still
a surprise to see him. The audience cheered and rose to their feet. Daniels
had a few hecklers shouting out at him ("Get on with it, goldenrod!"
"You're not the droid I'm looking for", etc.) but he dealt with them
superbly. I guess it pays to do conventions for twenty years. Daniels also brought
on producer Rick McCallum, who came up with a typically foul-mouthed description
of the night - "Fucking awesome!"
Anyway, they finally left the stage and the film began. The audience cheered in the usual places - the opening logos; a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and the title exploding on the screen. I have to say the film grabbed me from the opening scrawl. A Separatist movement threatening the Republic and the Jedi being outmatched sounds so much more exciting than a trade dispute. The opening starfield shot panned up, which was a nice change. This film literally starts with a bang, unlike the slower-paced Episode I. The assassination attempt on Padme Amidala was a good shock moment, and Natalie Portman managed to display more emotion during her scene with the dying decoy than she did in any part of TPM. The plot kept moving as we see Chancellor Palpatine advising the Jedi Council (oh the irony) on what to do about the Separatist threat. I had been sceptical about the digital Yoda before I saw the film, but the first shot of him took my breath away. I loved how the characters from TPM meet up again, and the fact that it's orchestrated by Palpy under the guise of not wanting to lose Padme is brilliant. Anakin and Obi-Wan are introduced with a fun scene that goes a long way to establishing their relationship over the last ten years. Anakin's reference to rescuing Obi-Wan from a "nest of gundarks" is a nice touch. I'm no lover of Jar Jar, but it was actually good to see him again and his excited reaction to the Jedi. I was surprised the audience didn't boo or hiss him, though. I also liked the smitten Anakin insisting that they would find Padme's assassin, even though that wasn't part of their mission. Padme's brush off of Anakin as still being that little boy she knew on Tatooine was an amusing way to start their new relationship. I enjoyed the banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin outside Padme's apartment and Zam Wesell releasing the poisonous bugs into the room was a creepy moment. The whole chase sequence that follows is easily one of the most exciting scenes in the saga, rivalling the podrace. I loved the little touches like Obi-Wan catching Anakin's saber in mid-air and the cameo by one of Sebulba's species. The nightclub was a surprisingly sexy location for a Star Wars film and featured the most hilarious Jedi mindtrick ever, courtesy of Obi-Wan and the "deathsticks" dealer. The tension was nicely maintained as the assassin approached one of the Jedi and Obi-Wan does his stuff at the last second. Loved Anakin's line, "Jedi business, go back to your drinks". This breathless sequence comes to an end with Jango Fett rocketting away, leading us into the mystery part of the story.
After that the story slows down a little and splits into two strands. This manages to give the movie more of an Empire feel than a Phantom feel, which is a good thing. Anakin takes Padme to Naboo and the romance begins in earnest. Some of the dialogue is every bit as corny as I feared, and Anakin often comes across as a bit too obsessive, if not quite the "Anakin Skystalker" some people claim. The dialogue scenes between the two are generally better when they're talking about things other than romance, such as when Anakin reveals his ideal political system would be a benevolent dictatorship - not a far stretch from Vader's quest to bring order to the galaxy. Even when the dialogue does become too cheesy (such as Anakin complaining about how he hates sand and prefers Naboo where everything is "soft and smooth") the actors and scenery are so easy on the eye that it's not really a chore to sit through these scenes. John William's beautiful love theme also adds a lot of emotion where the script is lacking. The much maligned fireplace scene, while uncomfortable on first viewing, is actually a brave attempt by Lucas and co-writer Jonathan Hales to emulate the sort of tortured romance in such Kevin Smith films as Chasing Amy. While not entirely successful, it makes a change from the fluffy romance in most action blockbusters.
Luckily, the romance scenes are paced out in small chunks, so we're never far from cutting back to the real meat of the story - Obi-Wan's pursuit of Fett. First, Obi-Wan meets an old friend, Dexter Jester, at an Earth-style diner (a homage to American Graffiti?) McGregor plays this scene very well, and I really believed there was an old friendship between him and what is essentially a collection of pixels. Following a nice scene with Yoda, who helps him find a planet that has been mysteriously deleted from the records ("Lost a planet has Master Obi-Wan? How embarrassing."), Obi-Wan's investigations lead him to the watery planet of Kamino. There he meets race of graceful, long-necked aliens who have secretly created an army of clones based on Jango Fett's DNA. The Kaminoans are probably the most eerie CGI aliens yet seen in a film, and the stark white production design of their home recalls Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Obi-Wan bluffing his way through his first meeting with them is another humorous touch. After seeing the army of Clonetroopers, Obi-Wan meets Jango and his unaltered clone son Boba. At first it's rather amusing to hear the Fetts talking in Kiwi accents, but Temuera Morrison and Daniel Logan really own their roles and have a good father/son chemistry. The first scene between Jango and Obi-Wan is also cleverly written and acted with both characters keeping their cards close to their chest without outright lying (Jango finishes the conversation with the ironic "Always a pleasure to meet a Jedi"). Obi-Wan contacts the Jedi Council with this news and is told to arrest Jango for questioning. There follows a stunning fight scene between Jango and Obi-Wan (even minus the headbutt - thank you very much British censors) where Jango gets to use all the toys we never saw Boba play with. Jango escapes but Obi-Wan pursues him to the planet Geonosis in his Jedi starfighter. Here we are treated to an asteroid chase that, visually at least, puts even the one in Empire to shame.
Meanwhile, back on Naboo, Anakin and Padme decide to cut short their romance
rather than keep it a secret. Anakin suffers a nightmare about his mother (which
raised a laugh at the screening I attended when the audience mistakenly believed
Anakin was pleasuring himself) and decides to disobey orders and go back to
Tatooine. Padme accompanies him and here the film really kicks into high gear
as Anakin's rescue mission leads to tragedy and a massacre. Anakin's confession
to Padme about killing all the Tusken Raiders (even the women and the children)
is a chilling moment. We also meet the future Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru during
this segment and, of course, C-3PO is reintroduced with coverings this time.
Watto the flying junk dealer also makes a brief but welcome return.
At the same time, Obi-Wan is captured and finally meets the mysterious Count
Dooku, played to sinister perfection by Christopher Lee. When Anakin and Padme
learn of this, she finally takes some initiative and convinces Anakin to come
with her to Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan, taking R2-D2 and 3PO along for the ride.
Back on Coruscant the Jedi Council send 200 Jedi to Geonosis while Palpatine
convinces the Senate to grant him emergency powers so he can use the clone army.
He does this by getting Jar Jar to vote for him in the Senate, finally proving
the Gungan's importance in the story to all the doubters out there.
Anakin and friends arrive on Geonosis and we are treated to a chase through
the droid factory that, while not being totally essential to the plot, is a
lot of fun. 3PO is also involved in a very embarrassing predicament where his
head is attached to the body of a Battle Droid and vice versa (which is actually
funnier than it seems). Padme finally admits her love for Anakin before the
two of them are chained up in an arena for the amusement of the insect-like
Geonosians. Obi-Wan is amused and baffled to see them, prompting the following
classic exchange - Anakin: "We decided to come and rescue you." Obi-Wan:
"Good job."
Here follows the most exciting half hour of the movie (in fact, possibly the most exciting final half hour of a movie ever). First, out heroes have to defend themselves against a trio of cool Harryhausen style monsters. Padme finally gets to demonstrate her no-nonsense woman of action persona by unchaining herself and whipping the nearest monster with the same chain (nicely ripping her clothing in the process). Obi-Wan and Anakin also free themselves and put up a brave fight, but are soon surrounded by Destroyer Droids. Then, in time-honored Saturday Matinee Serial fashion, Mace Windu and the other Jedi arrive to save the day. Sam Jackson gets the film's coolest line: (in response to Dooku's suggestion that they are hopelessly outmatched) "I don't think so". After that we get to see hundreds of Jedi charging into battle just like the fans have always dreamed of seeing. Although the four intercut battles at the end of TPM were fun, Lucas manages to create more tension this time by focussing on one huge battle and adding new elements to it as it progresses. Mace beheading Jango is a real crowd-pleasing moment and 3PO also gets to utter the immortal line "Die, Jedi dogs!" However, the Jedi are rapidly dispatched until only a handful is left, awaiting execution. Of course it's then that Yoda arrives with a battalion of clonetroopers. His speech reaches new levels of backwardsness as he instructs the clones "Around the survivors, a perimeter create!" Surprisingly they seem to actually understand his commands. It then turns into the biggest intergalactic smackdown in Star Wars history (so far) with thousands of clones taking on equally numerous battle droids, both on the ground and in the air. The fact that the future stormtroopers are fighting for the good guys (or at least appear to be) is a brilliant subversive touch. Count Dooku decides to escape (carrying the plans for a certain weapon of ultimate destruction that is all too familiar). Anakin and Obi-Wan pursue him, but thanks to Anakin's impulsive attack, they are both defeated by Dooku, who reveals he is a Sith (surprise, surprise). Then Yoda arrives to save the day. Suffice it to say the sight of the little green fella whipping out his saber and going all spinning ninja on Dooku produced the most ecstatic reaction I've ever seen in a cinema. Many people were laughing, but not because the scene looked as ridiculous as you'd expect. It was just so freaking cool! Dooku escapes and the heroes realise the clone wars have begun. Palpatine looks over his new army of the fledgling Empire in a spectacular and ominous scene. The final scene is the bittersweet wedding of Anakin and Padme, which leaves me dying to see the next part even more than TPM did back in 99.Curse the three year wait!
So, on the surface, the plot is far more dynamic than TPM's, with Obi-Wan's detective work bringing a level of intrigue not seen in the saga before. As with TPM, there is also a lot more going on under the surface, with Palpatine orchestrating the war perfectly from behind the scenes. It makes his line in ROTJ "Everything is proceeding as I have forseen" even more powerful. Jonathan Hales' input also seems to have improved the dialogue. There are still a few groaners, particularly in the romantic scenes, but the film has a lot more funny one-liners akin to the original trilogy, which is what TPM lacked.I honestly can't find any major faults with this film, or at least none that weren't also present in the original trilogy.
That's my overview of the story, but what about the other areas? The acting is still far from Oscar-worthy, but it's nowhere near as bad as the critics claim. All of the returning actors from TPM seem more comfortable in their roles, and there's far more opportunity for witty banter and displays of emotion. Of the heroes, Ewan McGregor makes the biggest impact. Obi-Wan has a much more central role in this film, and McGregor invests him with as much wisdom and humanity as Alec Guiness did, especially with small touches such as checking the pulse of a fallen Jedi in the final battle. He also has a nice line in dry wit that rivals James Bond. Natalie Portman drops most of her monotone voice and plays Senator Amidala as a much warmer person. She's totally believable as the object of Anakin's obsession and really fulfils her action babe potential at the end. Her gallery of revealing clothing also threatens to give Leia's slave costume a run for its money. Hayden Christensen tries his best as Anakin. He's better than Jake Lloyd, but then he does get to play the character at a more interesting period of his life. His strongest moments are the flashes of the dark side he reveals, especially in his rage following his mother's death. He does struggle with some of his lines during the romantic scenes, and often comes across as even more whiny than Luke was in A New Hope, but on the whole Lucas made a good choice in casting him. Samuel L. Jackson finally gets to step outside the Jedi Temple and show why Mace Windu is such a badass. The Yoda puppet is replaced by a (much more expressive) CG version, but Frank Oz still provides the distinctive voice and does some of his best work of the saga. Even Jar Jar is much more tolerable this time. As for the villains, while none of them quite have the cool menace of Darth Maul, they are much more layered this time. Christopher Lee is a commanding presence and his mysterious power is felt even when he is not onscreen. Making him Qui-Gon's former master is a cool link to TPM. Unmasking the Fetts also gives the story extra resonance while still preserving some of the bounty hunter's mystery. Jango does pretty much everything Boba never got to do in the original trilogy, like actually kick ass. But he also has a tender side in the relationship with his clone son.
Everyone else behind the scenes seems to have improved their game for this Episode, too. The digitally-projected version I saw was amazing and everything was much more clear than in the regular film print (which I viewed later on). Aside from a few very fake-looking CG stunt people (which have yet to fully convince in any film) the special effects are near flawless and the creatures, robots, spaceships and planets are even more impressive than those in TPM, although the Oscar voters will probably give ILM the shaft again. The sound effects are also amazing - Jango releasing seismic charges in an effort to throw off pursuit is possibly the coolest sound effect ever heard. The film is also shot and edited more creatively than TPM. It's clear Lucas is still evolving into interesting new areas as a director. During the final battle, the shaky camerawork and fast zooms on the gunships
almost give it a Vietnam movie feel.
John William's excels again with the score. The most memorable new piece is
Across the Stars - a beautiful love theme that brings tears to my eyes when
I hear it. The reuse of classic themes such as the Imperial March is also much
welcome. My only complaint with the music is the editing, but more on that later.
The costume and sets are wonderful, and Padme's tummy-revealing outfits are
worth the price of admission alone. She does have a few too many costume changes,
though, and the scene where she tells Anakin their relationship can't work,
while wearing a revealing leather corset of some kind, must be a classic example
of mixed messages. Don't worry ladies, you also get to see Hayden's chest in
the aforementioned "nightmare" scene.
So is there anything I didn't like about the film? Well, yes, but no more than
any of the other films in the saga. After all, acting and dialogue have always come a poor second to
plot twists and spectacle in Star Wars films. The romantic scenes really needed
a script polish (though I still believed in the chemistry between Portman and
Christensen) and some of Obi-Wan's "my very young padawan" lines come
across as too patronising. 3PO also tries a bit too hard to bring levity to
the final battle with his dialogue. The world-wide release date also seems to
have slightly hurt the quality of the film. Some of ILM's effects look like
they could have used a bit more render time, and William's score has really
been butchered in parts, with whole chunks of it replaced with music from TPM.
Let's hope some of these problems are fixed for the eventual Special Edition.
There are also some plot strands that go undeveloped (why did Zam Wesell have
to be a changeling? She never uses that power to aid her escape) and certain
characters that are sketched too thinly for comfort. Bail Organa (played by
Jimmy Smits) is obviously an emerging character because he has virtually no
impact on this film.
But all this is really nitpicking because, to put it simply, AOTC is the most
entertaining, dark and gripping Star Wars film I've seen since 1980. It is the
perfect setup for Episode III, when hopefully everything will come together
for Lucas to create his masterpiece. Ignore the cynics, Lucas has made this
film for the fans. And this fan loved every minute.
