Across the Stars

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 2002)

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is, contrary to popular belief, is a great film. Unlike many, I do not compare it to other Star Wars movies to judge the movie as a whole. Obviously nothing can top the original Star Wars, whether how good the movie is or not. Episode II is wonderfully directed, written well for Star Wars (reality writing isn't what Star Wars wants), okay acting (Portman was a disappointment), awesome special effects, and much more. It lived up to the Star Wars name just like Phantom Menace did three years before. This time, it had more violence and more lightsaber action, and less Jar Jar Binks... Thank god. This movie had a lot of good and bad points that showed throughou the film. The good, was the world that Lucas formed- it felt as if the viewer was inside that life, Ahhhh the beauty of Science Fiction! The action scenes were quite intense and groundbreaking, most of which were high scale war scenes that never had been used before. Yeah, so what if they were fighting in blue screens? Do you really think Lucas would show a war with people dressed up as droids? Yeah he'd have to find thousands of people for that. Hayden Christensen did a wonderful job as Anakin Skywalker and so did Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan Kenobi- who really showed off his jedi knowledge and power in this movie, as well as his acting. Christopher Lee (The Man with the Golden Gun) also did a good job as the villian; rarely do you see a grounded villian who is not savage and at peace with himself. That is the best villian you can have in a movie and that's why Lee as Count Dooku survived. Unlike the Phantom Menace, Episode II failed not to make you fall asleep, but to take nothing away from Phantom Menace, the 1st Star Wars (Episode Four) does make you fall asleep at times. Lastly, when Yoda came in, it was not only funny but very entertaining. I won't give away much more, but Yoda definitely is my sunshine. Now to the bad points. The Romance between Anakin and Senator Amidala was way too childish. Childish is alright, but this love was like 1st grade love. One scene Anakin acts jealous because of a boy Amidala was with and another scene Anakin acted like he was hurt and rolled and played with Amidala in the grass. O how sweet. It would of been nice if the love story was built up a little bit more- that was like the second scene with the two together in there newly found attraction. Plus, every time it cut back to the soon to be couple, they were at a different romantic location. Is this the Travel Channel or something? Also, one actress who failed to make a good stand was Natalie Portman who did a bad job, I think, as Senator Amidala. Hayden had all the chemistry to fuel his relationship with Amidala, and even together, it looked like Hayden was the only one driven on pure energy on love. Amidala looked like she was loving him as a friend, more than anything else. But the romance wasn't the only problem, as Portman just didn't "feel" her role so to speak. Overall, great movie. Relax and enjoy your time at the theater. This is not a kids movie like many people believe; this is a teenage flick and should be watched anyways regardless of your age. It brings back the forgotten age of the passion of Star Wars and leaves you drooling for the next installment Episode III.