Return of the Old Feel

Rating: 8/10 (18 May 2002)

SPOILERS AHEAD
Well, saw it finally. What can I say? "Attack of the Clones" is an almost automatic reflex by George Lucas of the overwhelming problems of "The Phantom Menace". In that movie, the possibility of making anything happen surpassed the movie itself and in the end the movie was just a parade of special effects that, as fantasticaly crafted as they can be, only helped the poor script to look fluffy. Here, the wish to make a CGI reality come to life is much more soft. But there are many things that they could have avoided (Obi Wan's reception on Kamino and the conversation with their leader is too CGIed). Effects, however aren't the thing that threaten's the film's performance. Here the trouble lies on an opposite side: the love story. Hayden is great as a Jedi in action, and him and Obi Wan have cool scenes together. But when it comes to show his feelings for Padmé, it all sounded too damn fake, and, although Natalie Portman tries to do the best she can, she can't make up for the arthrysis in those intimate scenes, that should be treated with more sensibility. I can fairly say that, even though that this is a starting relationship, they will have to be much more believable in Episode III. The rest of the movie, however, works as a fantastic ride. It's a Star Wars fan dream: Jedis kicking ass in huge numbers, force powers galore, Jar Jar out of the plot (but important in a crucial point in the film) and Yoda finally showing why he the greatest. Christopher Lee also makes a great Jedi-turned-evil. Mace Windu could have more screen time. The sights and sounds have a mixed quality: even though some computer generated images and sound design are beautifully made, some others show some lack of perfectionism (the clone army is entirely computer-generated - even in close-ups, and sometimes we feel like we are watching the Final Fantasy movie; some sounds of speeders, ships, etc, sound exactly like the podracing machines of The Phantom Menace). John Williams score is vivid and inventive, the highlight being undoubtedly the love theme, the lowlight being that cartoonish interruption of that same theme when Padmé refuses that kiss by the lake.
Basically, this movie shows that there is a lot of potential to be drawn from the basic structure that makes a Star Wars movie, but that the technological achievements can't surpass the very movie that is being made (one feels relieved to finally see a crowded scene where the people are NOT computer generated - the bar scene). This movie ends up being an amendment to the errors of The Phantom Menace, even though it falls into the same traps again (the use of CGI creatures should be more modest and be used only to compose the cities and landscapes, one can tell why in some animations and close-ups). The fans won't be disappointed, the remaining viewers will only like if they have the slightest idea what all the entire saga is all about. Basically, a movie that can be appreciated as a single one, but that really should only be scrutinized as part of a whole. May the Force Be With You, makers of Episode III - this story needs a kickass ending.