Better Than Phantom Menace But Not By Much

Rating: Null/10 (17 May 2002)

While Attack of the Clones was not the unmitigated disaster that Phantom Menace was, it is a far cry from Star Wars or Empire Strikes Back.
What was good in the film: The final battle scene. Fabulous CG and an intelligent design. Ewan McGregor was better than in Phantom Menace, maybe he's warming to the part or they wrote it better. The sequences related to the cloning process and other manufacturing were great too. Both Jango and Boba Fett shone in small roles.
What was bad in the film: Hayden Christenson might be the worst actor I have ever seen. This character as 'portrayed' by Christenson has more in common with Scooby-Doo than with Darth Vader. I guess slack-jawed androgynous pretty-boys are all the rage since Leonardo DiCaprio was inflicted on us by Hollywood. Natalie Portman's outfits and hair. What does Lucas have against female hair. First, Princess Leia and now Natalie Portman. In one scene, she has hair that makes her look like Mickey Mouse in another she looks like she's wearing a snail on her head. The outfits she wears are ridiculous. In one she's got a bare midriff like some mallrat. In another, her nipples show through her formal dress. If she's going to be a princess and a senator at least let her dress like she has a little dignity. The CG where people and CG creations were on screen together were pretty bad. They looked close to some 1950s Ray Harryhausen Grade B monster movie.
Ethnic stereotyping: I never really understood why people got upset with Jar-Jar Binks. He was annoying but I really believed he was so in a non-discriminatory fashion. However, and columnist John Leo did mention this too, the character of Waddo is right out of anti-semitic stereotyping. Anyone who has ever been to a European art museum can recognize the saucer-shaped metal hat that Waddo wears as a hat that had to be worn by Jews in medieval Germany. When you combine that with his large nose, his small body and large abdomen, his funny accent and the fact that he is a cheating junk dealer, it is clear where Lucas got the idea for the character. Lucas prides himself on his knowledge of mythology and art.
All this being said, I guess I'm looking forward to the next movie.