Episode II: Accomplishment of the Clones

Rating: 10/10 (17 May 2002)

Never has a film delivered so fully upon my expectations. Grand, grand filmmaking, brilliantly executed, imminently watchable, full of thought, full of the spirit of the enterprise. This coming from a person who is very anti-computer generated effects, a person who believes the magic of the first movies relied on the winning formula of fantastic ideas added to real situations, resulting in a perfect movie. With the cg effects, I felt the film would feel too cartoonish, too distant, and harder to relate to. I still much prefer real costumes to computer imagery, but Lucas is a visionary, and he has created a brilliant film. What is most appealing to me is the love story, despite what is being reported it is exceptionally well-done, and the dialogue is superb as well. Some critics do not realize that Anakin and Padme are from two stern backgrounds, and their feelings of love are forbidden, so to have that kind of connection between them they respond with their hearts and their glances. The whole series from the beginning left the largest elements in simplicity, like the force, the light and the dark, and in simplicity it is easier to relate to. The same with their love, it is something everyone has felt, it is both a gift and a curse for them because of their situation, and we relate by how well they portray it in their dialogue and behavior. Hayden Christensen does an exceptional job of portraying Anakin, in fact he IS Anakin. He portrays the arrogance that leads to the dark side, and the love and compassion that make him such a tormented being, the one who eventually let's Luke know that Luke `was right' in knowing that he still had good in him. Natalie Portman is not only beautiful, but a marvelous character in the film, who plays the stern side of politics along with the side of love and compassion exceptionally well, fitting Hayden's emotions of love and anger perfectly. No wonder Hayden was chosen for the part, they have real chemistry on screen. The scene where Anakin first shows some signs of his power and anger is incredible, a scene that really puts the point across, and helps us identify with his character and the grandness of Lucas' story. Ewan McGregor is a captivating lead, one who carries the film with considerable ease, much like his predecessor the great Alec Guinness. He is wise and powerful, yet burdened and somewhat overshadowed by his brave young Jedi apprentice. Lucas' pacing is exceptional, the transitions, the light to dark, the dark to light, the screen fades, the handling of his material: grand enough to encompass the whole galaxy, minute enough to trace the details of love between the two leads, and the disdain of a wise leader, seeing the arrogance in his young apprentice turning to something more horrible than he can possibly imagine.