Review of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) by Thequietgamer — 12 Feb 2016

*Updated review*.

George Lucas delivers a visual treat. While definitely not a piece of perfect filmmaking, the seemingly always lovable Star Wars universe kept me enthralled once. With plenty of imagination, spectacle, and visual delights it's a very entertaining follow up that isn't as bad as I originally thought.

A big issue many had with The Phantom Menace was the amount of on the political side of the universe. While an ultimately necessary evil, one that I personally had no problems with, those elements are still present here. They have been toned down quite a bit though. Something many will find a blessing.

Politics are still the backbone of the story, but Lucas is using them to support the more immediate plot. With romance, action, intrigue, and mystery the continued adventures and growth of Anakin Skywalker are likely to be more appealing to a wider audience then Episode I.

George Luas shows once again that he knows how to create some spectacular and exciting action. However when it comes to getting believable performances from all of the cast, he stumbles. Actors like Ewan McGregor, Sir Christopher Lee, and Samuel Jackson do good to great jobs at their characters, but some of the cast just give poor performances. The worst offender is Hayden Christensen. He's awkward, stiff, and wooden. An offense made even worse by the fact that he's playing Anakin Skywalker. You know, Darth Vader himself. The big star of the series.

Perhaps though some of the more unenjoyable performances can be blamed on Lucas as a director. Either way they help to add to a certain cheesy feel of the movie. Also adding to it is the occasionally awkward dialog. Just by watching the scenes that form the romance between Anakin and Padme you can tell that Lucas was really trying to sell the soap opera part of his space opera series. Some of these scenes can be downright cringe worthy.

However despite these issues I still found myself enjoying nearly every second of this movie. There is a lot of action here and it is all thrilling. From exciting one on one fights between characters (including one really surprising one near the end) to a magnificent and downright gloriously huge final battle, if you are looking to see some incredible throw downs then look no further.

Even the plotting is made better when you remember that the, at times grating, character of Anakin is going to be Darth Vader. We are literally watching the evolution of one of cinemas greatest villains. For all of it's issues there is enough good going to make them seem almost minuscule in the grand scheme of things. At least it does in my eyes. The Star Wars universe has enchanted me yet again and made me realize that all I was remembering about this movie over the years was the bad. Thanks goodness I've decided to re-watch both trilogies again, because I remembered there is a lot to love here.

My total score for the movie is a 9.