Obi Wonderful but not great

Rating: 7/10 (25 March 2020)

The big buzz when this film came out was that we finally got to see Yoda wield a light saber. However the story of Attack of the Clone leads the viewer toward the collapse of the Galactic Empire still misses the mark in a few places. It's not that it's not good. It is. It's just not great.
As in PM, Clones offers strong performances from Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and the legendary Christopher Lee. However, they can't lift up the bland and often deadpan performance of Hayden Christiansen. I know he is welcome at conventions and such but that is fans being polite for slamming his performance throughout the years. He really is not good in this. He's better and more believable in ROTS but pretty bland here. He's a brilliant yet blindly conflicted Jedi. I just don't feel it from this performance. Also, Vader has a certain speech pattern. We don't get that from Anakin.
And there are some yeah right moments. Obi Wan seems blasé at his protégés expressed desires for Senator Padme. A big no no in the Jedi order. But Kenobi slaps him on the hand. Then there's the fight scene with Jango Fett. When falling, Obi Wan pulls out a cable and manages to secure it. As his momentum stops, he swings to safety. In reality, and I hate to be that guy, his hands would have been severed off.
Some parts are pretty cool. The battles are epic. The aforementioned saber dual (which Yoda loses to save Obi Wan and Anakin's lives), the Imperial March after Anakin slaughters the Tuskins and the Death Star plans.
Again it's fun, pointed and adventurous. Just not great.