Let's get the good out of the way first. Christopher Lee does his best with the nothing he's given, fitting genuine affability and remorse where he can. McGregor is better as Obi-Wan even if it'll still take him one more movie to really feel comfortable in the role. "Good job!' is genuinely funny.
That's it for the good. Phantom Menace could at least entertain some kids for a few hours, even if it probably wouldn't stick with them. This doesn't even have that. Lucas' directing hamstrings the cast, who can't be blamed for their wooden delivery. RD-D2 and C-3PO's comic relief does not fit in at all. Dex's Diner is an incredibly jarring shift. The film has no idea what it's trying to say or go for. The fights are just silly. The 'mystery', the chase sequence, and the droid factory sequence all go on for too long with no real excitement.
And the romance. Star Wars, in all of its films, has not had a single good romance. Not one that it's stuck with, at least (RIP to Finn and Rey, Finn and Poe, and Finn and Rose). This is the one movie in the franchise to focus primarily on it, and the result is abysmal. It literally starts with Padme telling Anakin he'll always be that little boy she knew on Tatooine. Not a great start! Combine that with the awkward and overwrought lines, the constrained acting, Anakin pursuing her even when she's made it clear she's uncomfortable with it, and the forgiveness of genocide, and you have a slog of a film. I can't even see kids having a fun time with this one, and that's the most damning slight of all.
As a kid (I was 6 when I saw this for the first time), I still remember telling my dad when we left the cinema back in 2002: “that looked a little bit like Monsters Inc!”. Rewatching it with adult eyes makes me realize that my younger self was onto something, because yes: time has not been kind to this film. Movies from the same year, like The Two Towers or Chamber of Secrets, still hold up pretty well visually, because they didn’t attempt to do anything they knew they couldn’t do at the time. Oh, there are scenes with big spiders and a huge snake in the second Harry Potter book? No problem, we’ll use animatronics and set most of it in darkly lit sets in order to hide the details.
George Lucas, however, was more intent on pushing the technology forward, instead of thinking about how his film would age. As a result, it looks like you’re watching a dated Pixar film. If only it also sounded like one. The acting is absolutely atrocious, as well as unintentionally funny, because the dialogue that’s given to the actors doesn’t sound natural. The narrative is extremely boring, with the romantic subplot being the low point in the entire series. The only real positives in the film that I can think of are Ewan McGregor’s performance and John Williams’ score, and I suppose some of the action looks okay. Other than that, this is really hard to get through.
2.5/10
Attack of the Clones, the second installment of the prequel trilogy, had the potential to set the stage for the eventual fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of the Empire. While there were some positive elements to the film, such as Obi-Wan's investigation and duel with Jango Fett, and the dramatic storyline surrounding Anakin's mother and the Tusken Raiders, the overall execution of the movie falls short. The droid factory scene and the arena battle at the end were poorly executed and took away from the stakes of the story. Additionally, the dialogue and romance between Anakin and Padmé was poorly written and delivered, resulting in wooden performances from the actors. On the other hand, the visuals of the film were impressive, with new planets and environments adding to the spectacle. Overall, while there were some good ideas present, Attack of the Clones failed to fully capitalize on them and ultimately falls short of reaching its potential.
El ataque de los clones, la segunda entrega de la trilogía de precuelas, tenía el potencial de preparar el escenario para la eventual caída de Anakin Skywalker y el surgimiento del Imperio. Si bien hubo algunos elementos positivos en la película, como la investigación de Obi-Wan y el duelo con Jango Fett, y la trama dramática que rodea a la madre de Anakin y los Tusken Raiders, la ejecución general de la película se queda corta. La escena de la fábrica de droides y la batalla en la arena al final fueron mal ejecutadas y le restaron importancia a la historia. Además, el diálogo y el romance entre Anakin y Padmé estaban mal escritos y entregados, lo que dio como resultado actuaciones de madera por parte de los actores. Por otro lado, las imágenes de la película fueron impresionantes, con nuevos planetas y entornos que se suman al espectáculo. En general, si bien hubo algunas buenas ideas presentes, Attack of the Clones no logró capitalizarlas por completo y, en última instancia, no alcanza su potencial.
Me and this second Star Wars prequel have an interesting history. (I know; I say that a lot, don't I?) My first time seeing it was actually in an IMAX theater at a local museum; at the time, that place had the only supersize movie screen anywhere close by. What I didn't know until after it was over was that the IMAX version actually was shortened; as soon as me and my brother-in-law walked out of the theater, one guy said to his friend who saw it with him, "So...how much did they cut out?" Still, despite the hate this movie has gotten--it was widely considered to be the worst of the saga even before the prequel trilogy was finished--I enjoyed it; the action sequences were spot-on, and it's interesting to see the start of Anakin's journey towards the Dark Side. True, the romance was a bit overdone, but, this series isn't about lovey-dovey scenes anyway.
The one complaint I did have is that it feels a bit...well, oversexed. Between seeing Anakin shirtless and Padmé's various immodest outfits, it seems that the makers were trying to provide unnecessary eye candy for viewers of both genders. Also mildly disappointing was the single profanity; the only one in the entire prequel trilogy!
Oh, God, I always forget just how bad the slapstick and punnery is, including the Oogachacka Baby-levels of CGI with Yoda jumping around during his fight with Dooku.
Not that Lucas has ever been a brilliant screenwriter, but god damn the dumbing down of Padmé to speedrun her and Anakin's relationship is still a huge sticking point for me. From a self-possessed and smart queen to just glossing over every single thing Anakin said or did, that should've been a giant red flag ("maybe we need a dictatorship" and "the Tuskens earned a little genocide, as a treat"), just kills the character she was.
Also, despite Windu and Yoda acknowledging that their abilities to use to the Force were lessened because of the Dark side, you really didn't need the Force to see just how clearly Anakin's behavior was being driven by his feelings for Padmé. Hell, even Obi-Wan had to remind him how close he was to being expelled from the order, yet Anakin was still allowed to continue escorting her all over the galaxy.
Padmé and any of the Jedi being shocked by Anakin's turn is cheapened by the writing here.
Also, "Attack of the Clones" was a horrible title seeing as we never see the clone army in battle until the last quarter of the movie, and they're only attacking on order of the Jedi.
Like Episode I, the design and special effects are stunning to look at and Williams continues his rich vein of music for the Star Wars films. Unfortunately, the first hour suffers from unnecessary or overlong scenes that slow the film down and like the last one, it would benefit from better editing to improve the pace. However, MacGregor's Obi Wan Kenobi is a much stronger character here, no longer in Liam Neeson's shadow, and his detective story is intriguing enough to drive the first part of the film. Christensen plays Anakin as the petulant teenager that he is, but by making this the focus of his character, Lucas creates a distance between him and the audience, which makes it difficult to sympathise with him. His romance with Portman also suffers from some awful dialogue, which is also often completely unnecessary. A good edit of the film could have removed a lot of poor lines and still conveyed the gradual developing relationship between the two central characters. However, things pick up considerably for the final hour or so, with Anakin taking another step towards his destiny, and a rousing final act with the Jedi in action as the Clone Wars begin.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2020-12-10T10:14:19Z
THE WACPINE OF ‘STAR WARS: EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES’
WRITING: 2
ATMOSPHERE: 4
CHARACTERS: 2
PRODUCTION: 4
INTRIGUE: 3
NOVELTY: 5
ENJOYMENT: 4
The Good:
Christopher Lee is never bad in anything, and he brings much-needed experience and authority to this film.
The Jar Jar Binks scenes have been cut to a minimum.
The Geonosis sequence is long, but it's rewarding. The mega-battle at the arena and the duel with Dooku are high punts of the film. We finally see multiple Jedi in action.
The Bad:
Let's get this straight. Hayden Christensen is atrociously awful from his first scene until his last scene in Revenge of the Sith. He is the definition of wooden, terrible and unnatural.
Natalie Portman is marginally better when compared to the phantom menace, but only when she is not forced to speak more than two lines.
I'm annoyed by how plastic-y and fake the surroundings look most of the time. The original trilogy and sequel trilogy managed to capture the gritty, flashy and futuristic much better, by mostly relying on partial effects and sets.
George Lucas cannot write dialogue. The lines he gives to his character, the leading ones, in particular, are so unnatural that not even a skilled actor like Ewan McGregor could pull them off without sounding overly theatrical or wooden.
George Lucas cannot write a compelling story, with drama, romance, comedy and action. Most of what he has written falls apart, either intentionally or because the actors cannot deliver what he wants without looking stupid. Lucas' world-building serves no real purpose and his secondary characters are just unnecessary chess pieces on an overstuffed chessboard.
Obi-Wan and Anakin's relationship is at the centre of the film, and it's terrible. Anakin is whiney and erratic and Obi-Wan is patient with him for no reason at all. It's pretty much given that Anakin goes and ruins everything with his childish tantrums.
What hurts me most is how Lucas has ruined Anakin's journey, He goes from bad to worse in no time, and we never see that true fall from grace that we had hoped for. He is annoying from the start.
This is also e of the stupidest political plots I've ever seen in anything. How could everyone be so stupid that they don't realize that Palpatine is slowly taking power?
The film is too long. By the time we arrive at the endgame, I'm already feeling fatigued.
Christopher Lee wasn't fit for lightsaber duels at age 80, which unfortunately shows since his presence during the final battle is very stiff whenever he's not replaced by his stunt double. The final battle lacks any of the epicness from the first film's climactic showdown.
The Ugly:
Obi-Wan is pretty stupid. He had to see Yoda realize that Kamino was deleted from the planetary archive. A little child could see that. Come on!
Oh.
AND I DON'T LIKE SAND!
WACPINE RATING: 3.43 / 10 = 1,5 stars