Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

 

The return of Star Wars with the prequels in 1999 was greeted with mixed feelings and while the recent Disney trilogy has arguably made The Phantom Menace look somewhat better in comparison due to a more succinct storyline, I can't say time had really made the overall film any better. It had it's moments but for all the highs, there were a few too many lows. Yet that wasn't enough to sway George Lucas from returning to the director's seat when making Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones that released in 2002. I remember being blown away when I first caught a glimpse of the trailer and loved this when watching it at the cinema before then owning it on VHS. Critics were hard on the film though and fans also generally put this down as the weakest in the prequel trilogy. Has eighteen years been kind to this?

Nabbing the synopsis from iMDB; 'Ten years after initially meeting, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) shares a forbidden romance with Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), while Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) investigates an assassination attempt on the senator and discovers a secret clone army crafted for the Jedi.' TPM was a relatively straightforward action-adventure that innocently fitted well within the Star Wars universe but it was really just setting the scene for what fans of the original trilogy expected to see. Within AOTC's very title, fans knew this was getting to the action so-to-speak with the clone army being referenced to in the very first Star Wars film and now with Anakin grown-up meaning he was one step closer to Darth Vader, the film carried a sense of much-needed momentum that had me in the cinema very excited.

Rewatching in 2020, I really had a blast with this and found the film's running-time of over two hours to fly by. It seems Lucas had learned a lot from where he went wrong last time resulting in a far more enjoyable story that was neatly paced and that felt less stilted than TPM. The cast seem to be enjoying themselves as well, with McGregor having a role worthy of his talents as he's given more to do than the "Yes, master" task he had before. While his performance with Liam Neeson was good, there was little in the way of any chemistry which made things feel rather flat but here the screenplay makes the characters feel more alive. His relationship with Christensen really benefits from this and the added touches of humour go a long way in keeping things exciting, and just in time otherwise this trilogy would have really suffered.

The supporting cast that include Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson and Temuera Morrison all benefit from the improvements made to series. Ian McDiarmid is sort of left in waiting as the soon to become villainous Emperor Palpatine but then we do have the fantastic Sir Christopher Lee as the villain Count Dooku. Criminally underused with a late introduction but his performance really elevates the film towards the final act making it hard to imagine anyone else in that role. AOTC also benefits from stronger visuals and better direction from Lucas this time around but the film is still far from perfect...

I've held-off mentioning it until now but poor Hayden Christensen is given without a doubt the worst lines from the prequels, and all in this very film. His scenes with Portman gradually improve but there are some so cringe worthy that there were almost tears of laughter because Lucas' script is just awful in places. I think Christensen does a good job on the whole and in his defence, I don't think any of the cast could have saved what he was given. Ironically these moments probably boosted my enjoyment but when the rest of the film is flying on by smoothly, it's a shame Lucas drops the ball around the mid-point of the film even if the story recovers in the final act. 

Nonetheless, I still had a good time with the film that I personally think improves over its predecessor despite the Padmé/Anakin scenes which aren't enough to derail the overall experience. In TPM it was easier to pick out the good from the bad because those moments weren't exactly plentiful, whereas here I can point to the bad as there's only a few. AOTC has great action sequences, an engaging story and, when the script allows, characters who I could invest in. It's not perfect but I had a lot of fun and would gladly rewatch Episode II in the future.