Exciting, but there are many unanswered questions

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2002)

I was 13 when I first saw STAR WARS nearly 25 years ago, and yes, I became one of those huge "Star Wars changed my life" fans. My favorite character was and is Han Solo but really, it was the epic scope of the story and effects which converted me.
SPOILERS!
So I was kind of disappointed with PHANTOM MENACE, and was looking forward to a better film for Episode II. Especially after that glowing review by TIME, which even gave away the surprise, that Yoda was going to fight with a light sabre!
So I saw the film, and yes, it was better than Episode I (Jar Jar's reduced screen time sure helped), and I liked it. The romantic angle was kind of corny, though, and not nearly as well handled as the Han-Leia love story (one of my favorite things about the saga). But the movie was not plodding or boring at parts like EPISODE I. Lucas realizes that the real comedy should be provided from the original droids, not from Jar Jar!
The old reliable John Williams provides us another great musical score, and Cristopher Lee and Ewan McGregor are superb. I only wish there had been more of that Yoda battle scene with Count Dooku. I was so excited when I saw him unfurl his lightsabre, but the duel was so brief.
Still, there are SO MANY unanswered questions:
1. The droids C3PO and R2D2 are playing such big roles in this current trilogy too. C3PO was actually built by Anakin and his mother, and C3PO was Padme's droid.
SO HOW COME NO ONE RECOGNIZES THEM IN "A NEW HOPE"? Own and Beru Lars, Luke's uncle and aunt, make absolutely no reference to their having seen them before, when they bought them from the Jawas. They simply don't know them!
The old ObiWan tells Luke "I don't remember having owned a droid before" - was he that senile? Not only had he seen the two droids before, but as a young Jedi, he piloted a small ship with an R4 unit.
Most important of all, C3PO and R2D2 themselves do not remember Tattoine or the name Skywalker at all, or realize Vader's connection to Luke or Leia. They act in the classic trilogy as if none of the events in this current trilogy ever happened. If in Episode III we see them handed over to the Organa family in Alderaan to be given to Leia when she grows older, then these robots should be well aware of all the secrets of the story. But they are not. C3PO does not even know who Leia is other that she was a "passenger of ome importance" on their ship, in the beginning of the first STAR WARS.
2. When I saw the first trilogy and read the novels, I assumed that the Emperor and Darth Vader had never known of Yoda, and that they thought only Obi-Wan survived. In Return of the Jedi, Vader keeps saying "Obi-Wan has taught you well" - well, it is now clear that they knew that Yoda was the head of all Jedis, and yet somehow he escaped the annihilation of the Jedis and marooned himself on Dagobah.
3. If Boba is the clone of Jango, then he certainly knows who Anakin Saywalker/Darth Vader is, but in EMPIRE, he was just another bounty hunter ready for hire. Does Boba not hate all Jedis after how his "dad" was killed by one of them? Again, we swee how the continuity is a bit confusing. Boba in the revised EPISODE IV was just another bounty hunter under Jabba's employ.
3. We see in Episodes I and II concepts and characters like "Padawan learner" and "Queen/Senator Amidala of Naboo" which were never mentioned in the original trilogy. It really looks like George Lucas is making it the entire story as it goes along. (Many fans still ask, did he have Luke and Leia as siblings originally? Come on)
4. If the Clone Warriors are sort of the early prototype of what eventually became the Imperial Stormtroopers, then why are the Stormtroopers such lousy shots in Episodes IV to VI?! They keep missing point blank shots at Luke, Leia, Solo and then get clobbered by a bunch of Ewoks. Jeez.
5. It is revealed here that the Death Star plans were first prepared by Count Dooku's allies. But in A New Hope, it was clear that the Death Star was invented by the Imperial Fleet (a certain commander who gets strangled by Darth Vader). Also, Count Dooku is holding the plans for what looks like the SECOND Death Star (Episode VI) and not the first one blown up Luke in Episode IV. Continuity problems again! That scene (Dooku keeping the Death Star plans) was completely unnecessary for this movie.

5. It also seems that the technology (weapons, costumes. ships, etc.) of the present trilogy is far superior to that of the galaxy as we see it in the original trilogy, which occurs LATER. Of course, this time it is not Lucas' fault, really, cinema special ffects have improved since then. But still, you wonder if the Galaxy in Luke's time is the same Galaxy (only 20 years later) that we are seeing in the current trilogy. I mean, if R2D2 can fly, as he did in this movie, we never saw it in the classic trilogy.

Some fans may say I have to get a life and that these errors I am pointing out are nothing more than nitpicking. But they are not. I am a great fan of the saga, but I cannot just close my eyes and accept it that there are very serious plot and continuity issues coming out of our ears.

The title "Attack of the Clones" is bad enough. Maybe that is why they are using "EPISODE II" as the official title itself, to emphasize that this is a STAR WARS movie. Anyhow, the clones we saw in this film were DEFENDING the Republic (at least, that is what they seemed to be doing) and not "attacking." Otherwise, you could give the film the alternative title of "Yoda leads the Attack of the Clones" since he was the one who was commanding them on Geonosis.
George Lucas had better get his act together and come up with not only an exciting but also a clear and logical plotline for EPISODE III, one which would thrill us fans and also provide credible answers to these and other continuity issues that are being pointed out.