Everything TPM was not

Rating: 8/10 (17 May 2002)

For all Lucas' posturing that the critics meant nothing to him, he obviously listened to them because Attack of the Clones was everything The Phantom Menace was not. It was dark, brooding, forboding, complex, well-paced, well-plotted and well-acted. I was impressed at the contrast between this movie and the first. The Phantom Menace played like the Star Wars Kid's TV Special, while Attack of the Clones is of epic proportions, on a par with Greek tragedy (not to say it was a great movie---though it was very good---but it at least TRIED to be great). Even the special effects were 100% better than TPM. The CGI looked absolutely real in this movie...I couldn't tell from looking where the live action left off and the CGI began. One word of advice: be SURE to see this on a digital projector, because I understand the picture is often too dark and murky on conventional screens.