Star Wars Month #5: Its Actually Better Than People Think, Despite the Dialog

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2014)

After fans were driven bonkers by The Phantom Menace, they were hoping upon hope that Attack of the Clones would be better. Again, Lucas seemed to misstep with a lot of them. I laugh at this movie often, but you know, it's a much better movie than people remember. It has a tinge of darkness to it much like Empire Strikes Back does. There are many things in this film that I feel have to be addressed. So here we go.
Ten years or so after the events of Phantom Menace, Queen Padme is now Senator Padme, who immediately starts the movie off with her nearly being assassinated. Talk about starting off with a bang! She suspects former Jedi master Count Dooku (played by the excellent Christopher Lee) of the deed, but the council is skeptical. Now grown up Anakin Skywalker (played by Hayden Christensen) is assigned to protect Padme while his master Obi Wan is dispatched to solve the mystery of the assassin bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Fett has be used as the host for a secret Republic Clone Army (the ancestors of the Stormtroopers) While hiding Padme on Naboo, both begin to feel an attraction for one another, even though its forbidden for Anakin to love another as a Jedi.
The story actually has a lot going on here. Lucas introduces threads that will be long lasting throughout the present Saga of films. We see where the Stormtroopers come from, we learn what the Clone Wars are, we see Luke and Leia's mother, there is just a lot here. But instead of focusing on that, Lucas puts his energy into two main stories. Story A, it seems, is the love story between Anakin and Padme. Story B is Obi Wan figuring out what goes on when Jedi don't look at invisible planets. Both stories are actually very well developed and take time for them to unfold. The love story works well considering the dialog.
We all knew this was coming. The dialog during the love scenes isn't as good as the way it develops. Some lines are truly hokey or wooden in delivery. I feel this mostly comes from Hayden Christensen. In this movie he doesn't seem to be acting as he is sleepwalking through the movie, never really changing his tone unless he is screaming. Portman does her best to at least to seem interested, but if her co-star is sleepwalking, then she can't do much. Some of the lines are actually good, so we can't say every word is awful.
The characterizations in this film are where I have a couple of issues. Obi Wan seems mean and condescending to Anakin in this film, but compared to the first film, his humor is far more funny and his timing is superb. Padme is a very sweet person and dedicated to her job and morals, and she does actually see some good things in Anakin that she loves, but she doesn't become sappy. Yoda and Mace Windu (played by veterans Frank Oz and Samuel L. Jackson in all their grandeur) are spectacular, nothing more to talk about. Count Dooku is a great villain, but it seems like the role was meant for Darth maul had he survived in the first film, but it's Christopher Lee playing him, so hes really good. But the one that I don't like is Anakin. In this film, he is played like a whiny teenager who wants to be master even though he is clearly not ready. One could make the argument that at this age, teenagers are like this, and perhaps that is what George Lucas was going for. But to me, it makes him slightly unlikeable.
For some reason or another, the action scene is this movie seem like a "been there, done that feeling." Except for one scene, they all feel a little done and way too necessary. The other films scenes were as well, but there was some kind of spark that made seem more spectacular and special then they really are. The exception(s) is the lightsaber battles. Wow! These are really good in pacing and the beauty of their choreography, but what makes it special is that we see YODA FIGHT! That alone should make this movie really memorable!
The element of this movie that I think will forever stand the test of time in cinema is the score written by John Williams. Here we have one of the most beautiful themes ever in the history of recorded sound, the love theme known as "Across the Stars." It's such a truly beautiful work of art that completely blends with George Lucas' vision of this world he has created. It's also Williams' best love theme since Superman, which itself is a truly beautiful composition. The action is music is also great, punctuating each movement and tick and making the action seem much more important then how they play out in the logic of the story.
Final Verdict: Its better than I remember, but it is still kind of hokey and funny. It has a well developed story, four interesting characters, and some fantastic music. But the rest is tired, slow, and really bad dialog. So it's better than Phantom Menace, but nowhere close to the next one.