Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones - ***1/2 (out of ****)

Rating: Null/10 (23 May 2002)

PLOT: Ten years after The Phantom Menace, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is anxious to become a full-fledged Jedi. His mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), advises patience as the young apprentice still has a lot to learn. So after a failed assassination attempt on Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman), the two are assigned to protect her. They end up going different paths: Obi Wan goes after Jango Fett (Temeura Morrison), the bounty hunter involved in Amidala's assassination attempt, and Anakin stays with Amidala, and they end up falling in love with each other.
MY TAKE: There's more than that to the plot, but I don't wanna give away everything. Attack of the Clones is a vast improvement over the highly disappointing Phantom Menace, better than Return of the Jedi, on par with A New Hope, but not quite as good as Empire Strikes Back. Attack of the Clones has the best visual effects I've seen so far this year, and the visual effects alone are worth the price of admission. Highlights go to a high-speed chase early in the movie, and everything in the last 40 or so minutes. Performances are much better in this movie than Phantom Menace - Hayden Christenson is excellent as Anakin, and, unlike Jake Lloyd in Phantom Menace, you can imagine him turning into Darth Vador. Natalie Portman is good as Amidala, as she's given much more to do. Ewan McGregor is also better as Obi-Wan, as he doesn't have to stand beside Liam Neeson this time around. One of the worst things about Phantom Menace, Jar Jar Binks, is largely absent from this movie, and that had me cheering. Attack of the Clones might not suit well for younger viewers (because it has a much darker tone), but everyone else who was disappointed with Phantom Menace should at least appreciate this big improvement.