Judging by the early response from fans, “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” is a hit. But a hint of bias may pervade among these fans.
How does the new “Star Wars” really stack up against its preceding films?
What you’ll hear the most is that “Attack of the Clones” is better than “The Phantom Menace.” And this is true. The movie matures to the delight of many fan critics who felt “Episode One” was too childish in its tone. But perhaps this was writer and director George Lucas’ intention. The movie seems to have matured along with the main character, Anikin Skywalker, who is now a teen-ager studying to be a Jedi Knight.
“Attack of the Clones” is a teen-ager movie and it will probably delight many of that age. The movie has a video game type feel with fast paced action sequences whizzing by on the screen. The artistry and special effects are impressive, but sometimes things go so fast, you’ll be left waiting for the DVD version to use the slow motion feature and fully take in all of the images.
In style with the last four movies, the last quarter of the film builds up to one long battle sequence with the accompaniment of good John Williams music in the background. This is where the film probably is at its best. Lucas slows down action just a nip with some good moments of the droids R2 and C-3PO that break in between the action to bring viewers back to the humor of the first three films. The combination of a large scale battle, along with individual duels, also works well.
The disappointment of “Attack of the Clones” comes once again with the story Lucas is trying to tell. Anikin’s change to the dark side is hinted throughout, but it always comes in short bursts. The movie never stops to reflect on the larger picture for more than a minute. Where in the original “Star Wars,” Lucas had his characters take time to explain the world of “Star Wars,” the last two movies have done little to advance that story. It seems as if Lucas has a few things he wants to explain about the old movies with the new ones, but once he has revealed the secrets (such as the origin of the Deathstar) he forgoes any enlightening dialogue and whisks away to another action sequence.
To give Lucas some credit, surpassing the original “Star Wars” trilogy would almost be impossible. “Attack of the Clones” is a good movie worth seeing in the theaters.
As for the third movie already in production, adults can only hope Lucas will mature the movie one more step.