Worth the wait.

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2002)

The first thing to understand about the prequel trilogy to Star Wars is that it can never, and will never, be appropriately judged by this generation. These films can simply never live up to the impossible expectations set by the fans of the beloved original Star Wars films, so they will always be viewed as disappointments by those who remember staring up in awe at the screen the first time they saw Darth Vader.
That said, Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a worthy addition to the Star Wars pantheon. It takes place ten years after Episode I, during a period of unrest in the Galactic Senate. A civil war has broken out, with many worlds threatening to leave the Senate, and an important vote is taking place on Coruscant. Amidala (Natalie Portman), no longer the Queen of Naboo but its Senator, is threatened with assassination as she travels to make this vote, so she is assigned protectors: Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan MacGregor) and the now-grown Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen).
After an attempt on her life, Amidala and Anakin leave Coruscant while Obi-Wan investigates a mysterious bounty hunter called Jango Fett (Temeura Morrison), who may be behind the assassination attempt. All of this culminates in journeys to several planets, the introduction of a clone army, and a climactic battle between Jedi, battle droids, and the prototype Stormtrooper army. And Yoda whips out the Jedi mastery like never before.
As a technical piece, the folks at ILM have outdone themselves yet again. While Episode I contained just a few full-fledged CGI characters (Jar-Jar Binks being the most prominent), Episode II has dozens of major CGI figures and even more widespread battle sequences involving computer-generated enemies. Yoda, for example, is completely CG throughout this film, and it's barely distinguishable from the puppet version used in earlier Star Wars movies. His fight scene with a rogue Jedi near the end of the film - the audience favorite and a tour de force action scene - was painstakingly constructed by computer animators and is an incredible achievement.
The eye has a lot to see here, as the city-planet of Coruscant is flooded with buildings, lights, ships and vehicles. It would take several viewings to see everything included on-screen. The clone planet and its denizens are excellently designed, as well. While the first film seemed a little too clinical with its CG, this one seems to have incorporated the animation a bit more fluidly; you don't notice it as much as you do during Episode I, which is a sign that ILM is improving at its task.
On the human actor side, the film benefits greatly from Lucas adding a helping hand on the script in the form of Jonathan Hales. The dialogue is still mostly corny and chintzy, and often delivered woodenly, but this isn't Shakespeare we're talking about here. This is high action space opera, where character motivations tend to be cut and dried and emotive acting would detract from the picture as a whole. We all know this is about spectacle and drama rather than technique.
That said, Ewan MacGregor (essentially nonexistent in Episode I), gets a lot more to do here, off on his own missions chasing down Jango Fett and the clones. The romantic scenes between Christiansen and Portman get a bad rap from most reviewers; I disagree. The two have a stilted chemistry that may seem wooden and inflexible (even immature) to most; but that's the point. One is already a career politician at age eighteen, the other is a Jedi Knight who is taught to rein in his emotions. Both are dealing with more than just love and romance, and neither is very good at managing those conflicts.
Christiansen is thrust into an impossible role here - nobody on earth could play Anakin/Darth Vader to the levels that most fans will expect. Even so, he handles the role as well as he could, balancing a young man's own confusions with the anger and power that Anakin can barely control. You can see the seeds for the creation of Vader, especially during a brutal sequence where he gives into his anger on a tribe of Tusken Raiders. Christiansen has brooding down pat, which is essential to the core of a man who is destined to be the universe's greatest scourge. So he isn't in touch with his emotions very well. Can you blame him?
All in all, the film is a rollicking adventure that gives action early and often. The plot is still necessarily muddled with politics (although nothing as thick as the Trade Federation),and too many characters communicate using holograms - the modern equivalent would have everyone talking on the phone. The drama also falls short by necessity - you have a hard time rooting for the good guys when you know the destiny of almost everyone involved. Anakin will turn, the Senate will dissolve, the Empire will rise. It's hard to build a standard dramatic curve with those restrictions. There are plot conveniences and some simplistic twists, but there are also little tidbits in there for the die-hard fans (Beru and Owen Lars, Bail Organa, the relationship between Boba Fett and the stormtroopers).
It's a film that can be set next to the originals without much shame, and one that will probably look better once the next installment is released (much the same way that Episode I looks a little bit better now). No Empire Strikes Back, but better than Return of the Jedi.