Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones: Defying the Laws of Cinema

Rating: 10/10 (17 May 2002)

It is very rare in my experience that scenes in a movie will elicit goose bumps. It is also very rare, despite seeing movies that I have enjoyed immensely, that at some point I don't glance at my watch to see what time it is. Well, Attack of the Clones has now been the first movie to not only make me ignore time all together - and wish the movie would go on forever - but to draw out goose bumps on several occasions!
If anyone has come to this site to read reviews, you don't need background information on the plot, since it's posted everywhere across the universe. I won't bore you with meaningless details.
One thing that is universal for all movie go-ers, is that the act of watching a movie is a very personal experience. Your reactions to the characters, the plot, the dialogue - all of those aspects that come together to form a movie - comes from within. Granted, some reactions are the similar among different people, but none will ever be exactly the same. As a result, I ask every person who has read reviews, checked the star-ratings, and been discouraged to clear your mind of all preconceptions you may have about this movie. In my experience, critics - professional or amateur - are negative. It is human nature to try and tear down what we know others put on a pedestal. Star Wars, clearly, is no exception to this rule. Episode I, despite being probably the least-exciting of the series, is still, in my opinion, a fantastic film. I will even go so far to say that there are aspects of it that I enjoy even more than the gem I just saw in Episode II! However, critics refuse to allow for even a modicum of positive reactions to it, for reasons that quite frankly are beyond my comprehension. Jealousy? Who knows. The fact of the matter is, they are giving the masses something unexpected - a negative review of a movie empire that for some it is absolutely impossible to see as bad. The unexpected sells. Plain and simple.
Episode II critiques are no different, and I think this would be the perfect outlet to remark on the worst critiques I've read so far.

Point 1: The dialogue. Everyone whines and complains about the dialogue, that it's wooden, without feeling, and just plain boring. (Show me a Star Wars film from the original trilogy that doesn't have the same aspects.) However, I think after seeing Episode II, there IS a method to that madness. And it becomes clear with the opening of each movie - `A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.' I would like any one person to point out a moment in history when someone went up to another individual of the same time period and said, `Yo, wassap?' History, if anything, shows that educated people were extremely formal and stiff! This stiffness entered every aspect of their lives, whether it be dialogue, the way they walk, or the way they conduct themselves anywhere! Star Wars is no different. We have a young woman brought up to be a Queen and then a State Senator, raised by people who are well versed in proper `etiquette and protocol.' Amidala, played by Natalie Portman, is a character that will be formal for all of her life. Granted, her stiffness isn't what it was in the first one, but it will never disappear completely. Notice in the dialogue the almost complete absence of contractions - won't, can't, don't, etc. This is not the effect of bad writing - but quite the opposite. This is the tightness of the script that George Lucas writes, effectively giving his characters lines that would seem to stem from their very nature. Lucas maintains unbelievable control over his characters, and the dialogue becomes only one aspect of this. Han Solo, a man with absolutely no formal training whatsoever, and Luke, are the very few people who have dialogue that sounds more modern and loose. Not until Return of the Jedi, after Luke has had much training, do we see his dialogue become formal like the rest of the Jedi. I think critics who complain about the dialogue need to be shot for stupidity. Their failure to recognize these facts detracts from everything or anything they might ever say. If what they call `problems' arise again and again, you would think at some point one might assume that it was intended to be such. I would hope that those people writing these reviews for newspapers would be educated enough to make these kinds of assumptions, but it appears that is not the case. 'Nuff said about that.
Point 2: Over-use of special effects. Please. Please. Please. All Star Wars movies utilize the technology of their times to the absolute limit and go beyond. Even looking at the original (A New Hope), which by today's standards has laughable special effects, George Lucas was unbelievable. The same is true of Episode II. I've read reviews that say there is too much and that it almost resembles a video game. Yeah, well, go watch Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Episode II creates scenarios with special effects that are necessary for the plot to progress. It is laughable that people criticize this movie for having too many special effects, or what I would say, too much of a good thing. Science Fiction is all about the use of imagination, of what we dream about but can never realize in reality - at least, not yet. This is George Lucas' vision. It is HIS story. This is how HE wants it to look. If you have a problem with that, don't go see the movie. Or, give George a call and tell him what you think. I'm sure all of your opinions will carry great weight in altering his intentions for Episode III.
Point 3: Hayden Christensen. I've read lots of complaints about him, and quite frankly, I'm shocked. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is perhaps one of the most complex and tragic characters ever to grace the screen. Granted, the abilities of Jake Lloyd in Episode I were, in my opinion at least, not up to par for the first screen appearance of such a legendary character. And he is legendary. Only 3 characters graces the screen in all 6 of the Star Wars movies (presumably): Anakin/Vader, C-3P0, and R2-D2. Hayden Christensen plays the part beautifully. This is a young man raised by educated, strict Jedi; he is very formal - I'm sorry, as the critics would say, he is very wooden and lifeless. What a load of crap. Anakin Skywalker is in constant contention with himself. His internal struggles between good and evil (light and dark) create this very formal, stiff, and tortured character. We see the beginning of his dark side in Episode II, and as Master Yoda says, `Once you travel the path of the dark side, forever will it dominate your destiny.' Christensen is brilliant as Anakin in this film. He, like most Jedi, is not permitted to show emotion. How can we call this bad acting when the very code of the Jedi says `A Jedi shall not know anger, nor hatred, nor love, nor fear.' These men are TRAINED to be robots - deadly robots. This is not the inability of an actor the play a part; it is the complete emersion of an actor IN to the part he is playing. And the death scene with his mother that is so criticized? I'm sorry, how passionate are you when you're 3 seconds away from dying? And what do you have to say to someone in front of you who is dying. These is so much to say, and so much that just can't be said. Anakin himself is even more restricted by his inability to cope with his emotions.
Point 4: Plot progression. Darn. We're not getting a no-brainer movie that any idiot can sit through without having to think. We actually might have to use our brains while viewing this film. Woe to the under-educated generation of American movie-goers that will be lost. The formation of the Star Wars universe took much more than the final 3 episodes (A New Hope - Return of the Jedi) let on. Hell, the final 3 have it EASY. It's just a war that is being fought. Politically, Palpatine has already gained total control. Now he just uses it. Episode I and II (possibly III) HAVE to focus somewhat on the political motivations behind the events that take place. I think it would be much worse to have someone explain it to me on screen than to see it happen. I don't want to be lectured. Frankly, Episode I and II have the most complex plots of any Star Wars film. And this aspect doesn't go over well with those people who are going only for special effects and fighting (and then, they proceed to whine about too much or not enough of one or the other).
Point 5: The Love Story. Well, I've already touched on, I think, why people are calling the love story fake and without emotion. It all goes back to the characters involved. A Jedi, trained never to love, and a Senator/Queen, raised to be formal and dutiful. These are two people who are experiencing these emotions for perhaps the very first time in their lives! And they are young! Anakin is only, what, 16-17 years old? And Amidala? I think she was supposed to be 14 in Phantom Menace, so that puts her at 24 now. These are two people conditioned to ignore their emotions, to feel nothing, to be compelled only by duty. Episode II remains true to this characterization about both of them. They are both on new ground here, awkward ground, and dangerous ground. I don't think you're ever going to see the passion that we see in other movies here, at least not in ways that people will expect. I think that much more will be revealed subtly rather than overtly. Any idiot can sit through a chick flick and realize that idiot A is in love with idiot B, and heck, they can even have REASONS that they CAN'T be. But, were they raised never to love? Never to give in to the human side of emotions? I think not. Christensen and Portman again stay true to the characters they are playing in these `unexciting and unimpassioned' love scenes. Again, must have gone RIGHT over the critics' heads, that little point there.
Well, I'm done addressing the critics. They get too much publicity anyway, as far as I'm concerned. They also get too much weight. Forget them. Go to the movie and make your own assumptions about it. Here are mine.
This is an extraordinarily beautiful film.
On a scale of 1 to 5 (for the 5 Star Wars movies thus far) this is definitely the best in my opinion - a 5. I've been a fan of Star Wars since birth. I've got all the action figures from the original movies, everything. I was obsessed with Darth Vader and the power he radiated, and I still am today - and I see it in Anakin Skywalker. The very way he carries himself, his arrogance, his complete lack of humility, everything Vader becomes is foreshadowed in Christensen's portrayal of the tragic, young Jedi. For me, all aspects of this movie shine. Combining the fabulous acting of Christensen, Portman, and Ewan McGregor - who is becoming more and more like the Alec Guinness Obi-Wan all the time, as well as supporting roles of Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, and Ian McDiarmid, the fantastic special effects, the breathtaking scenery, and blood-racing action, John Williams' brilliant score, and the legendary feeling associated with any Star Wars film, Lucas has created a masterpiece in Attack of the Clones.
The best parts of the movie: Yoda! I must concede to every other review I've read - Yoda is unbelievable. I must admit, I questioned his `prowess' as a Jedi Master since Empire Strikes Back, and never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined him with a lightsabre. Wow! The duel between Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Dooku is impressive to say the least (though I must admit, I enjoyed the Darth Maul/Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan battle much more). The cinematography is breathtaking, like in many of the Star Wars films. John Williams' score is excellent, though I missed songs like Duel of Fates that are just so incredible with the scene.
We are experiencing the imagination of a genius embodied in George Lucas. And you know, we're all better people because of it. By what standards could we hold truly magnificent films to if there were never any Star Wars?
I am more than thrilled with this installment, and I wish Episode III would come out next week! It saddens me that I have to wait until 2005 to see the conclusion of such an awesome (and I mean that in the literal sense: awe-some) cinematic experience. It's been maybe an hour since I left the theatre, and I think I'll go buy myself some tickets to a showing later tonight. Actually, I just did.
Bottom line - Star Wars is BACK!!! GO SEE THIS MOVIE! Ignore your preconceptions, and go and have a good time. Go and experience cinematic perfection at its best.