Nothing on the originals, but still a good film

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2005)

I am a life-long Star Wars fan, but there's no denying that the long awaited prequel, The Phantom Menace, wasn't exactly a great movie. Lucas went wrong with that film because rather than retaining the style of the original trilogy, he was too keen to make the movie friendly to new audiences, and more specifically; a young audience, which made the film lacking in many older Star Wars fans eyes. Thankfully, by the time of the second sequel, Lucas seems to have learnt his lesson and the film has a much more adult slant to it, plus it has that lovely 'Star Wars' feel, so it comes across as being much more linked to the original trilogy of films. The story this time round makes for an exciting ride, and it sees the first real steps towards the original trilogy of films. We catch up with our lead characters sometime after The Phantom Menace, in the midst of a galactic war. Separatist leaders have gathered their collective armies and now, under the command of the mysterious Count Dooku, are posing a serious threat to the Republic, and when you add this to an assassination plot and a love story between Luke and Leia's parents, Anakin and Padmé, we've got a film on our hands!
In spite of being a hell of a lot better than the first prequel, this film doesn't even come within spitting distance of what Lucas has already shown he can do. The original trilogy of films is better than this one in every respect, but at least Lucas' talent is allowed to shine through. The way that he created his Star Wars world shows his genius, and this film expands on that world in a much bigger way than The Phantom Menace did. The new worlds on display are nothing short of amazing, with the water planet of the cloners sticking out in particular. Lucas has also given the Star Wars fans something to think about with the inclusion of Jango Fett and his cloned son, whom fans will know as the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett. The CGI effects hinder the film more than help it, however, and although the effects in the original films weren't all that brilliant; at least they were true to the 'B' movie feel of the films. Computer generated effects just don't look right, and not only that but they give the film a very lazy feel. At least with proper effects, you know that someone put some effort in.
One thing I like about George is his respect towards British actors; the casting of Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing in the original show that, and I personally was pleased to see Cushing's Hammer Horror regular co-star Christopher Lee make an appearance as the villain of the piece. While Lee isn't given enough screen time to aptly show his talent, it's nice to see him in the movie and his screen presence alone ensures that he's believable as the baddie. Casting Anakin Skywalker was always going to be difficult as it's such a central role, and all that audiences know of him from the original trilogy was a man in a suit, so Lucas wouldn't have all that much to go on; but Hayden Christensen really wasn't the best choice for the lead. He has the right look for the role, but his acting talents leave a lot to be desired. Lucas' script can be blamed somewhat for Christensen's poor performance, but for such a central role; an actor with more talent should have been selected. Speaking of the script for this movie...it's definitely an aspect that Lucas let himself down with. While there aren't too many truly horrible lines in the movie, there's enough to warrant the writing a thumbs down. Still, Star Wars was never about great writing anyway.
Attack of the Clones is most definitely an entertaining ride. Ironically, when the battle starts in the final third, the film loses some of it's vitality and the first two thirds are far more interesting. Still, Star Wars fans will be pleased with this film. I just wish he'd got it right with Episode I.