Has Lucas Turned to the dark side?

Rating: 6/10 (27 May 2002)

There are two ways of looking at `Attack of the Clones'. In correlation with the Star Wars saga then it is just about passable as a film that keeps the momentum of the precedent films going. However, as a film in itself it is a lame, laughable attempt at a summer blockbuster. It fits the codes and conventions of all big-budget Hollywood movies(this is not a compliment), the majority of the budget was clearly spent on the action sequences, which to be fair, are the best in any of the Star Wars films. However, the screenplay was so terrible that it would look out of place in an American daytime soap opera. There is one crucial thing that George Lucas must realise; George,YOU CANT WRITE SCRIPTS AND YOUR EAR FOR DIALOGUE IS NON-EXISTENT!!!(There, now I'm vented). Also I have to know what Lucas was smoking when he cast Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker.I thought Jar-Jar Binks was as bad as it got in Star Wars, I was tragically wrong. In another review of this film, it said that Christensen acted as if he had just come out of Dawson's Creek. I find that statement far too complimentary (and anyway, I like Dawson's Creek!).I found his performance more immature and childish than Jake Lloyd's in The Phantom Menace, he behaved like a spoilt kid who didn't get a Playstation 2 for Christmas. It fills me with trepidation that Christensen will be reprising the role in Episode III, I don't see how he can convince when he makes the transformation from Anakin to Darth Vader.
While the storyline itself moved along fairly well, there were solid performances from Ewan McGregor, Samuel.L.Jackson and even Natalie Portman, who had a thankless task in the romance sequence with Anakin. Lucas has never handled romance in his films before. On this evidence, I can see why:he obviously doesn't know how!
The main strength of this movie is the action. The light sabre battle between Yoda and Count Dooku must surely rank as one of the greatest fights in cinematic history. However, this doesn't hide that `Attack of the Clones' is nothing better than average.
On a broader scale, what is most worrying is that Lucas clearly sacrificed art for spectacle. His only focus seemed to be the action scenes, while plot development took a back seat. He has pandered to the demands of Hollywood while leaving movie fans hungry for him to reproduce his best work. For Lucas to end the Star Wars saga in the manner in which he started it, he must go back and look at the initial Star Wars films to remind him how it should be done, or better yet, Lord of the Rings.