Sunday, April 1, 2012

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)



The second episode offers much more in the line of interesting story and classic Star Wars action.  The two heroes Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christenson) are set to protect Senator Amidala once again as the evil Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) plots to use a new droid army to wreck havoc on the galaxy.

Commanding presence
                Christopher Lee as the powerful Count Dooku was a scene stealer.  What an upgrade from Darth Maul.  I’m impressed at the charisma of Lee to shine in the role of the latest Sith Lord.  I gladly give him credit for making each scene he was in the better parts of the film similar to Liam Neeson in episode I.  Hayden Christensen I have mixed feelings of as he didn’t sell me 100% on Anakin Skywalker.  He came across as whiny and he complained a lot which annoyed me at times.  Is that really part of his character?  I know he’s a conflicted soul but couldn’t it be less dramatic?  Perhaps it will connect to his eventual undoing later on.  I hated the people calling him “Annie” a lot.  It’s such a childish name and should have been left out.  It frustrated me to the dark side to not see Anakin snap back.

Do we really have time for this?
                This movie started a bit slow with the politics, for about 45 minutes, but it did get into a good amount of Star Wars culture as well.  Natalie Portman was stuck with Anakin and her scenes suffered due to his performance.  Can’t she see that she is contributing to the downfall of the galaxy by letting Anakin seduce her in such an awkward way?  She doesn’t respect the true nature of the jedi’s ways so she’d better be willing to live with the consequences.  You see it’s not all Anakin’s fault after all, it’s always the woman.  The scenes of Anakin avenging his mother were a great insight to his moving toward the dark side.  I liked to see him lose it and kill all those sand people.  I hate sand as he once said in such an idiotic way. 

This is BS I shouldn't be killed off so easily.
                Obi-Wan is my favorite jedi and I liked him checking out the clone manufacturing plant.  The tall creatures that created the army were a fanciful kind of creepy.  That part of the movie provides the story with a perfect connection to blend right into the Obi-Wan and Jango Fett battle.  I’m a fan of action sequences that are one on one with excellent camera shots.  To see a jedi battle straight up against a bounty hunter is exciting!  Jango Fett is able to showcase all the classic bounty hunter gadgets that give him just enough edge to win the confrontation.  He was also very well played by Temuera Morrison.  It’s also neat to learn that Bobba Fett is actually just a clone of Jango.  He wanted to be his own father, how sweet.  Father knows best when you get to be the father, ha-ha!

                The coliseum battle toward the end was average at best.  I would have loved to see a couple of Rancor’s entering the fray.  How about Amidala and Anakin kissing on top of that beast?  Can we control our hormones for just one second?  We might get eaten at any moment!  The part when Bobba Fett saw his “dad” die was right in the heart.  Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) got the satisfaction of an old fashion decapitation.  Collect your bounty from the nearest Hutt Master Windu!  But really you need that to be in the movie, it explains why Bobba followed the path of his “father”.  Or is it because he really is just the same man and would have become a bounty hunter anyway?  Don’t you love being filled with those thoughts now?

Weak my companions are.
                The Count Dooku battle scene at the end was one of the best in the Star Wars series, hands down, keep them down.  Christopher Lee rocked that battle, tell me I’m wrong!  He easily handles Obi-Wan and chops off Anakin’s forearm, nice!  Yoda comes in and has to save their sorry butts.  I loved seeing that little guy bounce all around the place but in the end his reluctance to save Obi-Wan and Anakin let Dooku escape.  Well he couldn’t let them die, Yoda is a nice guy.  The story really picks up well after the bland, less interesting beginning of the film and gets you excited for episode III.  I'll leave you with one final thought, how about Leonardo DiCaprio as Anakin Skywalker?

                Rating: 8 of 10


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