Splendid Visuals and Entertaining Action Sequences Make This Movie Enjoyable

Rating: 5/10 (2 September 2002)

STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES is a decent movie. I have a great admiration for the original STAR WARS trilogy, so obviously I went to see this new installment. I left the theater happy, but a bit disappointed. Let me divide what I liked and what I disliked about the film:
1.- The Good Stuff: a) Decent Story. SPOILERS................... I liked the story. It's not bad at all, although it's not great. Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his padawan learner Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are given a mission to protect the senator of the planet Naboo, Amidala (Natalie Portman). There is an attempt on her life and now Ob Wan is sent to investigate the mistery of who is trying to kill her, which leads him to a discovery that someone is secretly creating an army of the republic, formed by...you guessed it, clones. Meanwhile, Anakin is sent to protect senator Amidala on her home planet of Naboo, where they both fall in love. Let me tell you...for a sci-fi movie, this plot is OK. But it's basically just a transition between Episode I and Episode III. It's a bit overlong at a certain point. However, the plot is not important in this film. It is just a setup for well-made action sequences and to show impressive visual effects.
b) SOME of the acting: Ewan McGregor is quite good as the Jedi-knight Obi Wan Kenobi. He knows what he's doing and has some fun with his character (if somewhat underdeveloped character). He is witty, funny and has fun on the screen. Christopher Lee is also good as the evil Count Dooku. Hayden Christensen, has a few good scenes in which he gives a good performance, but I will get to that later. Oh, and Natalie Portman looks just terrific, wearing different costumes in every single scene.
c) Great Visuals. The movie deserves an Academy Award for it's amazing visual effects. The movie looks gorgeous. This is the best-looking film of all of the STAR WARS films. My eyes were couldn't believe what they were seeing. It is just a great film to look at.
d) Great Action Sequences. Yes, there are many and entertaining action sequences. One involves a chase sequence through the streets of Coruscant. Another involves a massive fight at a Coliseum, that is just impressive to look at, and it is filled with excitment. There are more effective action sequences. And a final lightsaber duel between Yoda and Count Dooku that it's just great fun.
The Bad Stuff: a) The Dialogue. The first hour of the film consists of too much dialogue in my opinion, which is very flat and laughably bad in some scenes, especially in the scenes between Anakin and Amidala. George Lucas should get someone else to write the dialogue in Episode III.
b) SOME Wooden Acting. Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman are sometimes flat in the film. Their words feel like they are not having fun in the film. They look bored, and unhappy. Probably because it is difficult to act in a film with blue screens around you, trying to act as if you were in a real place. They're not terrible, they're pretty good in some scenes, but in others they look somewhat flat.
And that's about it. Yes, Episode II does have some bad things: dialogue and wooden acting. But the excellent visuals and the terrific action sequences make it enjoyable, and that's all what I wanted. To enjoy the film. And I did.
* * * out of * * * *