The plot as a whole was fulfilling for a first-time viewer, but any one who, like my self, fell in love with the Star Wars universe through the original trilogy may find it lacking. Its� position as the middle of a trilogy gives it the privilege to have some openness in the plot, but I felt it abused this privilege. Personally I don�t feel that it is as solid as say The Empire Strikes Back. I also feel that they were trying to appeal more to a younger audience then to an older one through flashy special effects and big explosions. Despite this there were moments when Attack of the Clones tied in well with the original trilogy. My favorite of these was the scene with Yoda teaching the youngling. It was a tribute to his teaching of Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back.
Over all the action in this film wasn't bad, but there were two moments when I found my self wondering: how realistic is that? The first one is when Obi-Wan jumped out of Padme�s bedroom window and the second is when Anikan jumped out of the speeder during a high speed chase through the air-space of Corascant. I was also disappointed in the lightsaber dual between Anakin and Dooku. It felt as if they had shot the entire dual in slow motion. Perhaps this was due to it being sandwiched between a high-speed chase across the desert and Yoda's lightsaber dual with Dooku, both which were great action scenes. In the end, I felt as if this scene created a lull in the flow of the action that sticks out like a sore thumb.
I can truly say I found no faults in this film's humor. As an action film Attack of the Clones does not require humor but it is used effectively. It is used to lighten up grave scenes but doesn't compromise the point of the scene. An example of this is Anakin�s line �Jedi business. Go back to you drinks,� after Obi-Wan has cut off someone�s arm in a public place. This may be funny to fans of the original trilogy because we have seen Obi-Wan do a similar thing in the Mos Eisley cantina during Star Wars. Another example is seen in the banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin in the battle arena before the beasts are released. Obi-Wan's sarcastic reply to a serious comment by Anakin helps to lighten an otherwise serious scene.
My major disappointment in the movie was found in the romance. I felt there was no chemistry between Portman and Christensen. This left the supposedly budding romance between Padme and Anakin feeling unrealistic. It also felt somewhat unfulfilling. One moment Padme was confessing she loved Anakin and the next thing you know they are getting married. What happened in between? Why did they take this course of action? Personally I think the audience has the right to know these things. I was by far more impressed by the relationship between Han and Leia in the original trilogy.
This film was riddled with good, bad, and mediocre performances. Of the good ones, the most note worthy was McGregor�s portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Over all, he does a good job of transitioning Obi-Wan from the young padawan learner we meet in The Phantom Menace into the old hermit we meet in Star Wars. I also found the scenes he did with the Kaminoian characters impressive. These specific characters were computer generated, so during shooting he was probably talking to just air most of the time
When I think of bad performances in this movie, the most prominent one is Christensen�s Anakin Skywalker. Christensen's performance was at times childish and immature. An example of this is seen when Anakin complains to Padme about Obi-Wan's teaching style. It felt as if I was listening to a whiney ten year-old. Another moment that made me grimace was during his conversation with Padme after he brought home his mother�s body. In ways it was reminiscent of a spoiled child who is angry over not getting what they wanted. Whether this was intentional or unintentional, it created an inconsistency between Attack of the Clones and The Phantom Menace, were Jake Lloyd portrayed a rather mature Anakin. Despite all this, his interactions with McGregor were priceless. These interactions, such as the scene in the elevator at the start of the movie, truly gave backing to his line "You�re the closest thing to a father that I have" and realistically portray the close family-like bond that is between the two men.
Portman�s Padme was mediocre. I felt this performance paled in comparison to her Phantom Menace performance. Her character just doesn�t have the same feel that she had in episode one. She felt shallow, when most fans know from Episode I that she is anything but this. I also felt that this performance didn't live up to what I have come to expect from her based on her performances in other films such as Where the Heart Is.
I also felt this movie felt newer than it should. It comes before such films as Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, but feels as if it could come after them chronologically. A part of this is due to the changes that have been made in how special effects are created. In filming the original trilogy they relied a lot on puppets and miniature models for aliens and space battles, while in this film those have been replaced by computer animation. They also have more freedom as to where they can set a scene due to the invention of the green-screen.
I felt as a whole that the special effects were too flashy. There were battle scenes where I felt like I was watching a strobe light. I also feel as though they relied on the computer generated special effects too much. With the original Star Wars trilogy they did not always have the option to use the computer for stunts and visual effects. This is seen mainly with the character of Yoda, who in the original trilogy was a puppet, but in this movie was more computer-generated. There were times when this leads me to see the character as unrealistic. The most prominent example of this is seen in Yoda�s lightsaber dual with Count Dooku. I know he�s younger than he was in The Empire Strikes Back, but I don�t think he�s quite young enough to be jumping around the way he was.
Attack of the Clones has at least twenty-five different settings. Some, such as the Lars� home on Tatooine, were filmed on location. Others, such as the water world of Kamino, were obviously computer generated. What I like about this is that in most cases, such as the Lake Country of Naboo, you can�t tell weather the setting is real or not. This seamlessness shows great talent on the part of the animators.
It is my opinion that no movie is complete with out, its soundtrack. Fortunately this one is completed in a good way. John William�s score is everything one would expect from a Star Wars soundtrack and only enhances the overall feel of the movie. The music its self leans more towards the grander side then its original trilogy counterparts, but so does the movie as a whole. I also enjoyed how the music is used to foreshadow. An example of this is during the last scene when the "The Imperial March" is used to background Palpatine overlooking Corascant with triangular-shaped ships flying overhead. To me this foreshadows the formation of the Empire even though it hasn�t come to be.
Over all Attack of the Clones is a good movie that will attract many young viewers. Unfortunately it is riddled with inconsistencies that may lead older fans of the Star Wars universe to feel disappointed. It may be with something as trivial as the flasher special effect and newer feel, or with something larger, such as the unfifilling love story.
