Review of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) by Dan E — 05 Jul 2018

To me, "Attack of the Clones" is so far the worst cinematic Star Wars film. It doubles down on the problems of its predecessor, making for an even more disappointing and less entertaining experience.

A decade after the events of "The Phantom Menace", Anakin Skywalker is older now and trains with Obi Wan Kenobi. The Galactic Republic is threatened once again, this time by a former Jedi Master, Count Dooku, who has organized a Separatist movement.

That's as far as you have to know about the plot, even though it does feel like a lot more is happening throughout this film - most of which is hard to recall. It's a slow and quite boring film, which is a crime, because the concept of the prequel trilogy is very interesting.

It has several dull moments. Despite the much reduced role of Jar Jar Binks, this film somehow managed to include more cringe inducing moments, most of which are the result of some really unnaturally and weirdly written dialogue.

I would say that I found most of the cast more dedicated to their performances than they were in the previous film, particularly the loveable Ewan McGregor. However, the casting of Hayden Christensen in the role of the now 19 year old Anakin Skywalker was simply wrong, because he was creepy in a very uncool way and was unbelievably monotonous in his role; not that his role was a well written one, but still.

George Lucas did deliver on the action and the visuals though, even if the latter could have been replaced by a few practical effects. The score was as always captivating. It's not a very bad movie, but it's still pretty bad.