Review of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) by Stephen Z — 05 Aug 2014

"Attack of the Clones" was the first Star Wars film that I ever saw in theaters and was the film that really got me hooked on Star Wars as a kid. So it is with some bias that I say it is one of the best of the saga, and is my personal favorite. Why?

First of all, the action and visuals in "Attack of the Clones" are phenomenal and some of the best in the entire saga. There are so many great, engaging action sequences, all of which have some nice comedy thrown in. Another great thing is the tone of mystery. This film is surrounded with mysteries. Finally, the character development in this film is great, possibly the best since "A New Hope" and "Empire". Anakin and Padme especially get a lot of dramatic, emotional moments on Naboo and Tatooine.

The cast of this film gives us spectacular performances. Ewan McGregor is again fantastic as a mature Obi-Wan Kenobi. McGregor brings to this trilogy the same kind of charm that Harrison Ford brought to the original. Hayden Christensen is often cited as the film's biggest problem, but he's not that bad. He is a bit stiff in the role, but he also gives us a dark, brooding Anakin Skywalker. Natalie Portman has really grown into the role of Padme, and she and Christensen have great chemistry on screen for the most part. And even Yoda gets an upgrade in this film, from a puppet to CGI. As much as I loved the puppet, this was long overdue.

"Attack of the Clones" is the sum of the best qualities of both Star Wars trilogies. This movie corrects a lot of the errors "The Phantom Menace" made and renews a lot of the fun and humor that the Original Trilogy had. This is a visually impressive epic that does an astounding job of laying the foundation for future events in the films. If you are a fan of Star Wars, you will thoroughly enjoy "Attack of the Clones".