Splendid Visuals and Entertaining Action Sequences. Nothing More.

Rating: 5/10 (1 September 2002)

I love the original Star Wars Trilogy. Obviously, I had to see this new installment. I was hoping to see Anakin taking his first steps into the dark side. I was hoping to see a decent love story between Anakin and the beautiful Amidala. I was hoping to see great visual effects. I was hoping to see great action sequences. And I was hoping to have a lot of fun. I did, although not as much as I would hope for.

STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES is a decent picture. It's not a great movie, but it has some good stuff in it. It's not quite up there with the original three installments. But, yes, it is better than THE PHANTOM MENACE (A movie I found entertaining, if a bit childish). The plot is.....well...a bit complex if you're not a SW fan: there's a LOT of trouble in the galaxy, and there is an attempt at senator Amidala (Natalie Portman). The Jedi Council orders great Jedi-knight Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his padawan learner (Hayden Christensen) to protect senator Amidala. But meanwhile, there is another attempt to kill Amidala, in which Obi Wan ends up trying to investigate the bounty hunter, which leads him to a planet where they are building an army of the republic, which is formed of...you guessed it, clones. Meanwhile, Anakin and Amidala travel the planet Naboo, where they both fall in love.

All of that, is the plot. But this is not a movie to discuss the endless plot. This is a movie in which one has to seat back, and enjoy the visuals on the screen. There's nothing better than that in the film. If you want to go to the movie, and be interested by a story, and find intriguing characters, and find a great love story, and be moved, or be challenged, then prepare to be dissappointed. The movie has banal dialogue, a love story in which the very little chemistry that exists is because of how cute the two lead actors look together (Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman).
Do not confuse dialogue and story. The film has a decent story (if a bit overlong), but it has bad dialogue. The story is just fine.
The acting is so-so. Hayden Christensen is sometimes good, and sometimes flat. Natalie Portman looks just terrific, wearing different costumes in every scene, and she has a kind of warm smile that gives her character a bit juice. Ewan McGregor is the best actor in the film. He is very witty and good, and he is much better here than in THE PHANTOM MENACE. Christopher Lee is also good as the Count Dooku, a new evil jedi knight who is helping Darth Sidious with his evil plan to rule over the galaxy.
The directing could be better. George Lucas is too busy with his visuals that he should put a little more strength in his characters.
However, the action sequences are great. Just great. They make the movie worthy. And the visuals, deserve an Academy Award.
OVERALL: Despite it's flat and banal dialogue, sometimes wooden acting by Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman, the film has a decent sci-fi story. It has great visual effects and it has TERRIFIC action sequences.
*** out of ****