Solid Sequel Proves Episode One Wasn't Good, But Necessary

Rating: Null/10 (2 June 2002)

It seems nowadays that nobody who even considers themselves even the smallest of Star Wars fans can resist bashing Episode One. Lucas has lost his touch, too much talking, no action, Jar Jar is a pain. Well, Episode II has proved all naysayers wrong (mostly).
Attack of the Clones, despite the ironic name, has everything that made the original three great - spectacular action, FX way ahead of it's time, a grand, sweeping epic story, and even a memorable line or two at the end.
In fact, the only truly bad thing I could think about Ep. II is, unfortunately, that George Lucas took the pen into his own hands. As most Star Wars fans know, The Empire Strikes Back was easily the best of the three, primarily because the writing and directing were done by someone other than Lucas, who, despite his grand vision, does not have a way with words. But if you can wedge between the forced dialogue (especially in the love scenes) and a few instances of bad timing, Episode II shines in every way.
But, not to upset anyone, but, if you didn't see Episode I, don't bother going to Episode II. Episode I wasn't all that good on it's own, no, but without it, nothing makes a bit of sense. It was the equivalent of the text that comes before the movie - it's just exposition.
It feels as if George Lucas isn't trying to create a stand-alone trilogy with these prequels - I got more of the feeling that each movie is just part of a building process, that it is simply a three movie introduction to the original trilogy; watched alone, they are only so-so, but watched as the predecessor to the original trilogy, they are perfect. Maybe, once Ep. III is out, we can see.
But, no matter which way you look at it, Episode II is sheer brilliance, and if you consider yourself a true Star Wars fan, you may even find yourself near tears at the end. I know I did.