George Lucas finds the Force...

Rating: Null/10 (17 May 2002)

George Lucas, after a dreadful attempt with The Phantom Menace, is back in original form with Attack of the Clones. Clones is simply the best of the Star Wars saga since The Empire Strikes Back.
Lucas uses Clones to focus on some of the characters we've grown to love. Obi-Wan is starting to look a lot like Alec Guinness. Amidala is more grown up herself, even rivaling Princess Leia for females who kick some ass. Chancellor Palpatine is even more sinister than in the first one, and you can see just how he plans to take the Republic for himself.
There are two characters that stand out in this movie. Anakin Skywalker is played by the wonderful Hayden Christiansen. He reminded me a lot of Mark Hamill playing Luke Skywalker. Unfortunately, Anakin seems to have the same whiney qualities of his son. However, Christiansen does a wonderful job portraying the emotional schism that Anakin goes through during his journey down the dark path.
Master Yoda, however, is a different story. Though Lucas was required to stray from the puppet, which is replaced by a computer image, Yoda's character gets much more love in this movie. Much like in Empire Strikes Back, Yoda is often the focus of the movie, and he seems to hold it all together. And in his much larger role, he gets to do what every Star Wars fan was curious about. We finally get to find out why he is the Master of all Jedi in his showdown with Count Dooku. Three words - Yoda kicks ass!!
What makes this movie though was the lessened role of the infamous Jar Jar Binks and an incredible fight scene on the planet Geonosis. Two words - Mace Windu. Of course viewers will have to endure some sappy love scenes between Amidala and Anakin, but we had to expect it. Lucas found his directing touch once again. The computer effects don't take too much from the movie. The foreshadowing of future events is astounding in how it prepares us for the climax that will occur in Episode III. The humor and one-liners from almost every character bring us back to the charm of Han Solo and the antics of C-3PO and R2-D2. Star Wars fans all over will not be disappointed, but left in agony knowing a 3 year wait is in store until Episode III.