Lucas should stick to SciFi and never try romance

Rating: 8/10 (1 May 2003)

Attack of the Clones is a typical member of the Star Wars series in the sense that it has all the good ingredients but the common flaws as well. Great special effects, which provides for sometimes astonishingly beautiful backgrounds of the cities in particular (I quite like the retro-inspired design of the spaceships too), the never-ending struggle between good and evil, personalised in the two generations of Skywalkers, and of course the sloppy romantic scenes. AOTC has the best specials effects you've ever seen, but for those who thought that the love-interest between Leia and Han was rather hair-raising, beware, because AOTC sets a new standard in that field too. Anakin is a whiny brat with the emotional capacity of a six year old, who tries to seduce Amidala with lines that have less romantic power than a list of ingredients on a pizzadelivery order form. No blame on Haydn Christensen, for even Brad Pitt couldn't have been interesting for Amidala with this kind of dialogue or role. She's a strong, independent woman, and there's no overwhelming chemistry between them blasting from the screen to give at least the smallest of an excuse for her being attracted to him. It's a shame, because I can imagine a lot of people dislike the film because of this subplot, when for the rest, after the terrible Phantom Menace, AOTC is among the best in the Star Wars series: a more complex plot than the Episodes 4 to 6, which poses intriguing questions and makes one look forward to Ep 3, a dark, gloomy atmosphere, lot's of action-packed sequences, an *ss-kicking Yoda, and, as mentioned before, excellent SE and design. Lucas should have hired a ghostwriter for the romance, for now he missed a chance to make a truly memorable SW-film again. 8/10