This is the Star Wars we remember!

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2002)

May be some spoilers:
When you are as excited to see a film as I was to see STAR WARS EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES, the result almost certainly never lives up to the hype. Nothing could be further from the truth in this fifth installment of the beloved saga. Episode II not only lives up to the hype, it far surpasses it. I wasn't really in my theater going years in 1977, but this is what it must have been like to experience Star Wars for the first time. There is enough intrigue, action, betrayal, ostentatious whispers, lightsabre duals, romance, Yoda, Jedi's and Darth-bad guys all rolled into one pallette of synthetic brilliance to please anyone. When I tell you that this film is the film that we have all been waiting for, you have no idea what you are in for until you actually see it for yourself. You may have read every advance article, seen every interview and downloaded every still off the net that you could and still, nothing can prepare you for the experience you will witness when you see AOTC. Take all that was innocent about the first, add all that was dark about Empire, mix in all that was summed in Jedi and multiply all that was beautifully choreographed in Menace and you will still not understand the scope of a film that Clones is and will be after the ninth or tenth time you see it. I may change my mind upon further viewings of the film but as it stands right now, this is the best Star Wars film that is out there. I am having trouble putting into words what I am feeling and what I have just witnessed. Clones did something to me that very few films have managed to do....it made me cheer and holler and applaud the film at it's conclusion. Attack of the Clones is the personification of entertainment. This is how movies were meant to be seen. As much as I liked Spiderman, Clones will toy with it the way Count Dooku toyed with Anakin in this film.
There is some even better news and that is that the film is not nearly as hokey and poorly acted as most sanctimonious critics will have you believe. What you have to understand is that this romance that develops between Anakin and Amidala is a romance that is blossoming between two teens. They are going through many of the same growing pains that we all went through and just because one is a politician and the other a Jedi, does not mean that they are supposed to be wise in the ways of love. I thought Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman were perfect in the film as forbidden lovers. They are in a perpetual quandary and no matter what they do, they seem to be displeasing someone. But they eventually can't resist their feelings for one another and ultimately their relationship bonds. It was important to give plenty of credence and attention to this plot point because this is what ultimately drives Anakin to the dark side. The first half of the film wisely lets the two young ones discover their love for one another. There are people that will say that these scenes are slow and tedious but they set up the rest of the film and Episode III. The first half also introduces us to some of the events that will create the cataclysms in the years to come. Here we get to meet Jango Fett, father of Boba. We also get to see the nascency of the Storm Trooper. We are also prone to the Senator who talks with both sides of his mouth. All of the wheels are set in motion for the last hour of the film which is what everyone is going to be talking about. And what that last hour taught all of us in the theater is one thing.
DON'T MESS WITH YODA!
Yoda shows us all why he is the definitive Jedi master who takes umbrage with anyone who dare challenge his abilities.
I'm sure by now most of you have heard of Yoda and Dooku's epic battle but to see it will do things to you that no movie can. Yoda proves to Dooku that he is just as pedantic in the ways of the force as he is and he goes on to show him that no one messes with the Jedi master. This is a lightsabre duel that will stay with you long after you have left the theater. To watch him strike a ninja pose and then draw his lightsabre and battle Dooku tooth and nail was like no adrenaline rush I have been privy to without the aid of drugs. I am that serious. My seritonin levels sky-rocketed and the natural high I received from watching the final battle was just too good to be true. Yoda is the baddest Jedi of them all and there is only one battle that is left to be fought in the Star Wars saga and that is the battle between Darth Sidous and Yoda. Episode III is going to be amazing and I can guarantee you many fans will be counting down the days with great anticipation.
Attack of the Clones has in some ways left me speechless. It has many similarities to Empire Strikes Back right down to the final shot of four of our heroes standing with their backs to us looking out a window pondering what will happen in the next segment of their lives. I think Lucas is a genius and every nuance he created in the previous film was done so because it had a bearing on the present one. Episode II is not just a movie, it is an experience. This is the film to see this summer.
10 out of 10.....I wish I could say more but I feel like I would be going around in circles. This is just a film that must be experienced.

I love this movie!!