Internet Articles

Star Wars Episode II: Redemption for Lucas?

I had limited expectations for the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. After the Phantom Menace, my belief is that Lucas' vision of Star Wars is far behind what Star Wars has grown into these last 20 years.

I was considerably restrained when watching Clones. The action begins with an assassination attempt on Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), the former Queen of Naboo, who is now the Senator for Naboo. Fearing for Padme's life, the Jedi Council appoints Obi-wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his padawan, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). Of course, this is the first time Anakin has seen Amidala in ten years and he is still madly in love with her. I'm not going to go too deep into the movie since you should go and watch it because it is a part of pop culture. The movie continues with Obi-Wan hunting a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Fett's DNA is used to create a clone army for which the purposes are unknown. Fett is also involved with the ex-Jedi Count Dooku and the separatists, a group of systems wanting to leave the Republic. The story continues with the Jedi Order confronting the separatists and all parties end up getting involved.

To be somewhat brief. The story sucks, the acting isn't that great and the eye-candy is too much. Okay, so let's start with the story.

I know a little about official Star Wars lore and Lucas really screwed the pooch when he decided to make everything conveniently fit together. Before, Obi-wan was Owen Lar's brother, now he's Anakin's half-brother. It is now known that Boba Fett's father was really Boba Fett (the clone thing y'know). The script is horrid. The lines given to the actors are dry and acted out with no real sense of emotion. Not once did I really feel the anguish or pain that was conflicting Anakin and Amidala on the subject of their forbidden love. There was also no sense of urgency anywhere through the movie, save the last 15 minutes where the Jedi are fighting the forces of the separatists. I had no remorse for the personal loss that Anakin suffers. His slow crossing to the Dark Side is actually too choppy and too quick. In not so polite terms, Anakin is portrayed as an idiot who follows his dick more than his noggin. I like Natalie Portman a lot (since La Professional), but her role in this movie as the ultimate prize for Anakin is a waste of her considerable talents as an actress. Her character does not possess the onscreen rapture that Carrie Fisher had in the original movies.

Although the script was horrible and most of the acting forced, there were some bright points to the story. A bright spot in the story was the development of Obi-Wan and his importance in the story. Ewan is brilliant in his role as mentor and detective. I can see this version of Obi-Wan growing up to become Sir Alec Guinness' version. The most exciting part was perhaps the fight scene with Yoda. Yoda finally has some screen time kicking ass with a lightsaber. I thought this particular part was a good treat for the audience. The other notable storyline is actually at the very end when Darth Sidious reveals that everything is according the plan. The chilling reminder that the future Emperor has been pulling the strings behind everything shows the power that The Dark Lord of the Sith possesses.

Now let's get to the digital graphics. When Star Wars first came out, the techniques used by Lucas were revolutionary. I still prefer the more realistic model kit fight scenes although it is a time-consuming and expensive process to produce model-based scenes. Lucas wanted to create a universe that was beyond our imaginations. He has managed to capture this with the help of Industrial Light & Magic. However, digital graphics should be used only when necessary to enhance the overall feel of the movie. I believe that the story has been fit to enhance the digital graphics of the movie. There was definitely too much eye-candy in the movie. The chase scene in the beginning was too long and boring. The asteroid scene with Obi-wan and Jango Fett seemed to be included only to prove that ILM can still do particle animation. Perhaps it was to parallel Episode VI's asteroid scene (which was, and still is, much better). If you take a movie like Spider-man, where there were lots of computer graphics, you would see that they help enhance the movie, showing feats that normally can't be done with stunts. In Star Wars, everything has to be CGI. It just isn't necessary to do this and the final cost is the attention to the actual story.

Despite the over-zealousness in the CGI department, I must say I was still impressed with ILM. These guys have proven why they are still the best in the industry. Though Lord of the Rings comes a very close second. The scenes are breathtaking and the animation smooth most of the time. Yoda's fight scene is particularly memorable as well as the battle with the Jedi. It was also nice to see the prototypes of the Imperial war machine in the movie. From the clonetroopers uniforms to the small pre-Star Destroyer starships, I chuckle when I think about what they will eventually become.

So did I enjoy the movie? Yes. Did I think it was a good movie? Not really. The movie has, in many ways, improved over the Phantom Menace. However, Lucas is way out of his league. His scripts are horrible and he doesn't realize that Star Wars is way bigger than he is now. Leave the directing and writing to someone who can actually tell a story that engrosses the audience. I do not want to see the third movie if it is yet another advertisement for Industrial Light & Magic. I originally saw the movie on VCD and a few of my friends said that this type of movie should be seen at the theatres. I will go to the theatres to watch Clones, however, I wanted to get all the disappointment out of the way first so I can concentrate on the little things. My final comments are that Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is better than Episode I, but a long way from the original trilogy. Nice try Lucas, better luck next time.

A Still Somewhat Disgruntled and Disappointed Star Wars Junkie