As good as it gets

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2002)

Being a huge Star Wars fan I've been looking forward to Attack of the Clones. And I've got to say, I wasn't disappointed.
In a lot of ways this movie is a throwback to episodes four, five and six. The plot is interesting and flows along nicely, and it has a much darker and more complex feel that The Phantom Menace. In addition, it has very few appearances by Jar Jar Binks, and it brings back that great comedy double act of R2D2 and C3PO.
Overall the acting is very good. Hayden Christensen does a really good job, especially considering the character baggage he has to adopt. Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor both put in great performances, as do Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee and Ian McDiarmid. The script is a bit weak in places, but that is a known problem with George Lucas movies. It is certainly no worse that The Phantom Menace in that department.
The special effects and action sequences are awesome. The light sabre fights, the hover car chase, the land battle scenes, the space fighting scenes. There are so many of them that the movie generally keeps moving very well. There are a few slow spots (mainly involving Anakin and Padme's romance), but they are minimal and are necessary to the overall plot development. The storyline has obviously been very carefully thought out and really sets the scene for the later films.
I really enjoyed The Phantom Menace, but it wasn't quite up there. In my opinion this movie is right up there with episodes four, five and six. While it doesn't have the character chemistry that episodes four five and six had (courtesy of Hamill, Ford, and Fisher), it has its own good qualities and virtues. It is set in a different era and as such it shouldn't have to be a carbon copy of the other three.
And for all you Star Wars purists who keep slamming the prequels, why don't you do yourself (and the rest of us) a favour and avoid seeing them. If you are convinced that Lucas has ruined the trilogy I can guarantee you won't like this movie. Why? because it's not exactly like four, five and six, and when you leave the theatre you won't have physically turned back into a kid/teenager. But the truth is no matter how he could have done it you people wouldn't have liked it, so you may as well just save your money and your time.
For the rest of us, I strongly recommend this movie.