Better than Episode 1 but so is getting kicked in the n*ts

Rating: Null/10 (27 May 2002)

An attempt on the life of Senator Padmé leads to Jedi knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker being assigned to protect her. Further information on the assassin leads Obi-Wan to travel to a distant constellation while Anakin and Padmé go undercover to travel to her home planet for safety. While Anakin and Padmé begin to fall for each other, Obi-Wan discovers a factory planet producing a clone army for the Republic. With events appearing to be being controlled by powerful external sources the Jedi's find themselves faced with a battle against a further force within the Trade Federation.
Basically think of all the areas where the Phantom Menace failed and write them all down  too dry plot-wise, too childish, no comedy or fun, poor characters, no drive, Jar Jar Binks! Now just imagine that Lucas had had a ham-fisted attempt at improving on them and actually did an OK job of it. Where the original Star Wars films got darker with the second instalment so to does Attack of the Clones. This dark element comes through in many ways. Mainly we have Anakin's shift towards the dark side as he begins to wander from the code of the Jedi by displaying anger, arrogance, impatience, lust. His descent into violence due to personal circumstances marks a dark moment in the film. Also we have the Jedi beginning to lose power while the dark side continue to grow in influence. This makes the whole political sub-plot much better than Phantom Menace where it was dull and going nowhere but doing it very slowly. Here you can see the strands come together as Darth Sidious continues to influence events with the help of Darth Tyranus. The fact that all the pieces are being to fall into place makes this even better  we can see actions begin that cause the situation in Star Wars 4, and we have the beginnings to things that will see the downfall of the Jedi in episode 3; this at least makes the narrative more interesting and, because it implies bigger things, more engaging.
However this dark edge is tempered by a new concept to those only familiar with episode 1  occasional fun. The romance subplot is a bit clunky and unconvincing but it doesn't slow it down as much as the trailers suggested it may. Although the romance turns dark it makes for a nice contrast with Obi-Wan's more action story that occurs at the same time. The film is funnier for two main reasons  firstly Obi-Wan is allowed to be more relaxed and adventurous, and two  the droid versions of Laurel & Hardy return in the shape of the ever great C3-P0 and R2-D2. The effects and battles are better here too but still suffer from Lucas loving his computer more than he does his characters; however as a summer blockbuster to pack multiplexes, the action works well. There are some bigger downsides yes it all looks good but some of it is a little silly. For example the 'car' chase near the start sees our Jedi heroes falling through the sky for 30 odd seconds just to land on another vehicle with perfect timingI know they have the force but that's pushing it isn't it? Likewise other bits just step over the limit of what is acceptable as 'real' even in sci-fi.
The performances and the characters have improved but generally they are still delivering lines as if they were quoting God. MacGregor is better because he is allowed to have a character instead of a totally dry cut-out like episode 1, but it is still a bit of an impression. Likewise Anakin is much better here (could he have been worse?) and Christensen tries hard  at first simmering with arrogance but later letting rage and frustration become his master for the first time; he is still a bit too wooden and a bland actor for me but at least he is better than Lloyd. Lee and McDiarmid make very good puppet-masters, while Jackson clearly enjoys having more to do than in episode 1. Yoda is good (despite looking silly in his battle) and given the part he deserves while Smits is really underused. To continue the 'cool bad guy' strand Morrison makes a cool Jango Fett  as well as allowing the film to carry through the themes of parenthood and family ties through his son Boba. Unfortunately Jar Jar Binks is back in this but at least the film shows some irony in the fact that it Binks that basically opens the door for the creation of the Empire and the fall of the Republic.
Personally the main improvement is the linkage are not only being made with the events of part 4 but that they are now heavily up on screen. Although it is all a bit basic and simplistic (no time for complex thematic changes with all that CGI to create!) it still has moments - the most powerful for me is near the end where massive events unfold before the watching Jedi council and the music smoothly moves into the dark Empire theme tune from part 4  showing clearly that this is one of the major leaps towards the breakdown of the Republic and the creation of the Empire. It may feed off nostalgia as much as be a genuine moment, but it did work. Overall an improvement on Episode 1 but still a bit weak in many areas. It all depends now on the final episode (as it always did) to raise the level again and actually make a strong film that really lets the series go out on a bang rather than just making these new films one big bad idea.