Great movie in spite of the director. . .

Rating: Null/10 (19 May 2002)

Star Wars is a critic-proof saga. This is because George Lucas took a generation when they were young and captured their imaginations, passion, and interest with a story that had action, drama, mystery, all in a universe of his own design. Approximately 25 years after Star Wars: A New Hope, we have the fifth movie, the second of the story that has now a built in audience of grown-ups who like to reminisce about their child-hood. Yes, I am one of these. And not matter what the critics said, I was determined to see it opening day.
To be honest, the film is not as good as it could have been. This does not mean that it was bad or even mediocre, but it was the best it could've done with the talent in hand. Were the actors sub-par? No. Were the sets, the scenery, the props, the costume, unrealistic or even poorly constructed? No. Did the acting leave you feeling a bit emotionally detached from the characters? A bit.
Samuel Jackson, Ewan McGreagor, Natalie Portman, Christopher Lee, all of these human actors, Even Hayden, can give stellar performances. We've seen them all at their best, and this wasn't it. It's not their fault. Honestly, it's George Lucas. He just can't seem to direct. That's probably why everyone thinks Empire Strikes Back was so great; he left the directing to someone else. Yes, some of the dialogue was plastic, but it probably wouldn't have been as apparent it wasn't buttressed by the acting.
Attack of the Clones. Simple. To the point. B-movie title. I wish it was something else (i.e. The Clone Wars), but I'm not the one who came up with the idea so I didn't get to have my say. What can you do? Nobody's perfect.
So there's the down side of the movie. Now for the upside. ..
This movie had a lot in it. Visually there is more to take in than can possibly be absorbed in one sitting. The settings are wonderful. Even the barrenness of Geonosis has a splendor to it. The characters are more fluid (even Jar Jar) than Episode I.
The story has more development than the last film as well. Episode I, at some points seemed to never pick up the pace. That isn't the case with this movie. The movie starts with an explosion. The movie has a lot in it. There is actually some development. We are able to see what causes Anakin to start his dangerous trek to the dark side. We see a peaceful government loose control. We are introduced to new characters like Owen and Beru Lars, Boba Fett, who play key roles later on. We see Ewan's Obi Wan become more like Alec's. And on that note, there was one scene where Anakin and Obi Wan were looking for an assassin in a bar. Obi Wan stops and there is a close up on his face. You could almost see Alec Guinness.
So what is the film about? This movie is a lot about Anakin. After all, George says the saga is about Anakin more than it is about Luke Skywalker. It's about how we see him starting to turn to the dark side, even though he might not know it yet. It's about his struggle to submit to Obi Wan. This struggle includes his feelings for Padmé, which is forbidden in the Jedi Order.
However, this movie is also about how the Empire came into being. We know the end from the beginning. We can see how certain decisions made by key characters affect the rise of the Empire. Not that the Empire was created in Episode II, but we can see the seeds starting.
This movie is about the Jedi Order. We can see how arrogance is really the weakness of the jedi, be they on the light or dark side of the force. We see how this plays together in the fall of the Republic.
There is a lot of eye candy in this movie. The exotic creatures. The light saber fights. The large scale wars. How different jedi use the force. These are all eye popping and really keep the story going. But this is what Lucas is known for. His innovations with technology and creation of fantasy are unrivaled in this day and age.
Jar Jar is still alive. You probably think this should be another downside to the film, but his character is more toned down, even subdued. He has very little screen time and isn't as much of a comic relief as was attempted in Episode I. If this is how he was in the previous film, I'm sure there wouldn't be as much hatred for him as there is today.
So would I see it again? Most definitely yes. I enjoyed the story. With the idea in mind that Lucas isn't as great a director as he is a creator/story teller, it isn't as hard to look past the acting issue. Though the title can make you shudder with B-movie dread, it is a class A flick.