Simply Stunning!

Rating: Null/10 (20 May 2002)

When you read the other reviewers of AOTC saying that George Lucas has redeemed himself after the much slated Phantom Menace, they are absolutely right. I was never one to negatovely criticise Episode 1 but I have to admit that it had lacked the essential Star Wars feel of the later episodes. This, I thought was down to the fact that I have aged 25 years since the original Star Wars and even though I attempted to view it with some of that childhood wonder, I felt perhaps that something was lacking. Any preconcpetions I may have had prior to seeing AOTC quickly disppeared though and I add my vote to the many who say that George Lucas has definitely returned to form. Attack of the Clones is, quite simply, stunning. Mainly due to the incredible effects but also due to the fact that Lucas seems to have returned to his grass roots. Perhaps, he tried too hard with Phantom, attempting to create something that would satisfy the fans' 25 year old hunger. An impossible task but here, he has settled back down into what he does best: simple storytelling. For a start, AOTC "feels" like proper Star Wars. In episodes 4,5 and 6, there were a number of story threads throughout each film which met to a conclusion at the end. Phantom Menace didn't seem to pull this off and followed the same characters from the film's start to its finish. In AOTC, there a number of different stories going on: Obi Wan's quest for the truth behind Senator Amidala's attempted assassination, the conspiracies happening behind the scenes in the Galactic Republic, the love story between Anakin and Padme, and Anakin's struggle with his own feelings and his role as a Jedi. This made it a much easier film to digest as each story was broken down into small pieces and alternated throughout before meeting for the conclusion. Hayden Christensen did a surprisingly good job of the maturing Anakin and although it took him a good while to achieve empathy to his character, once comfortable with his his role one could really get into the head of soon-to-be Darth Vadar. His feelings for his mother, he's uncontrollable love for Padme and his rebelliousness in the Jedi Order. One of the most frightening scenes had him slaughtering Sandpeople, his rage uncontrolled and vicious. If Lucas maintains the passion of this character then we are in for one hell of an Episode 3 as we find out his fate. Ewen McGregor seems completely comfortable with his role as Obi Wan and looks and acts more like Alec Guinness with each passing scene. I also loved the many references to the later films, especially meeting a young Owen Lars and his girlfriend Beru. What a joy to see Luke Skywalker's future home, with Anakin sat in the refectory where we met a disillusioned Luke many years ago! And what about the young Boba Fett? Now we finally find out why he hates the Jedi so much. The young lad who plays him carries off the look of revenge so well as he realises his life-long vendetta. Watch out too towards the end of the film, a hologram of the Separatists' new weapon off-camera ... the Death Star. And did you ever want to see what Yoda really could do? Oh my god! His fight scene with Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) was a genius piece of work. The audience roared with laughter too when after putting his light sabre away, he hobbled away as normal on his walking stick! The effects are quite simply stunning. Lucas, comfortable with his art has created a universe of unparalelled beauty. We get to see more of Coruscant (watch out for the deliberate reference to Blade Runner), Naboo, Tattooine and new worlds such as Kamino and Geonosis. One of the most stunning scenes is the quite simply amazing chase sequence through the asteroids of Geonosis. Remember how impressed you were with Han Solo guiding the Millennium Falcon through asteroids after its flight from Hoth? You ain't seen nothing yet! And I was overjoyed to see one of my favourite Star Wars vehicles, The Slave I, doing its stuff. The final battle sequence too, with a million Clone Troopers fighting battle droids is perhaps one of the greatest sequences ever filmed. Attack of the Clones from my perspective as a Star Wars fan, more than excceeded my expectations and I know that I need to see it at least twice more. This is REAL Star Wars, overdosed on steriods and the best two and half hours I have spent this year. If you're a fellow fan, you'll love it and I would even say that to those who claim Empire is the best of the lot ... there's a new guy in town. Keep up the good work George and bring us an Episode 3 that you have set up so well with this installment. 10/10