Second prequel that improves

Rating: 6/10 (3 August 2014)

Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones is the second of the Star Wars prequels and one that in my opinion, just about beats that of it's previous film in the series. The story is upped quite a bit from Phantom and much more is going on here and there and everywhere throughout the galaxies, with much more fight scenes, an interesting mystery running through the film and of course, more lightsabers. Overall I felt it was just about an OK movie, and here below is why.
The story is fast paced, lots goes on in a quite long movie though and so the film truly gets what it wants to get out in the right amount of time. The thrills are also more abundant than Phantom and rival any of the Star Wars for true thrilling action and big battles. I wasn't to keen on the quite rushed ending though and there are parts of the story which could have been done much better with more added depth and at times, not enough is going on then suddenly lots is happening.
From an acting perspective it isn't so bad this but also not the greatest, Ewan McGregor is OK as Kenobi again and is in a much more major role this time around, dealt well McGregor does. Hayden Christensen is not the best person they could have got as Anakin, sure he can do the action scenes fairly well and any fast movements, but his acting is poor here and much work is needed on the character of Anakin. Natalie Portman is much better this time around and the entire supporting cast are fairly good in there roles, even a welcome sight of a CGI Yoda.
Lucas and his writing skill suffer once again in this one, it never quite harms the film to such an extent but it does mean certain scenes are left awkward and just strange. His directing is good for this one, he does seem to have worked a little harder for this one and the scenes where his direction is most needed are worked out very well. The effects are shall we say, over used, yet they are pretty good for 2002 and this film will always be known as a turning point in special effects technology.
The main criticisms don't just lie in the writing, it's the effects too and of course acting. The dialogue is fairly stingy and Lucas seriously shouldn't have written this second or for that matter the first. I said about the special effects but one major point is there is just too much, the colour can make you feel a bit dizzy and it can seem near every set is made from green screen or has been digitally done. And on to the acting, it isn't just Hayden, not everyone is so comfortable in there role, but I guess that is what you get with such an epic space drama.
For Star Wars fans they should prefer this to the Phantom Menace but compared to any other of the movies, they may feel bitterly disappointed, It is a satisfactory film but for the true fans, maybe not so. If you are new to the franchise then I feel you will like it although watching it years after does not help the effects used and can seem as if the producers were pretty lazy. This for me is the Star Wars most kids should enjoy, it has a lot of fighting and big action sequences, not to ruin any but they are spread well across the running time.
Overall it is Just About OK in my opinion, many will disagree but some will say it is better, that is for you to decide. I have to admit from watching this when it first came out I did like it much more back then but you see in time what is just about wrong with the movie, but you also keep what is good about it. One more thing, I may criticise Christensen but he shouldn't ruin the movie for you, for the most part he is competent in the role as Anakin Skywalker.