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Star Wars Episode II - Attack Of The Clones

Plot Summary  

10 years have passed and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is now a young man. Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is training him in the skills of the Jedi. Anakin is headstrong and proves a handful for his Jedi master. He is impatient and he feels that Obi-Wan Kenobi is holding him back.

Meanwhile there is trouble brewing in the Republic and some of the planets are breaking away, threatening to destroy the peace. An attempt is made to kill Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) who is now a Senator. Anakin is given the job of protecting Senator Amidala and he escorts her back to her home planet of Naboo while Obi-Wan Kenobi investigates the assassination attempts.

RATING

2 STARS

ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO

Main Cast  

Ewan McGregor is Obi-Wan Kenobie

Hayden Christensen is Anakin Skywalker

Natalie Portman is Padmé Amidala

Samuel L Jackson is Mace Windu

Iain McDiarmid is Supreme Chancellor Palpatine

  Review  

Great special effects bring, robots, strange creatures, aliens, space ships and weird planets to life but while the movie is visually stunning the story plods and grinds along. The magic of the original trilogy, Star Wars, Return of The Jedi and The Empire Strikes Back is missing.  It’s a classic case of special effects coming before plot and no matter how stunning the special effects are there still has to be a good story.  Chronologically, the story is leading up to the original Star Wars plot and it is interesting to see how the characters and plot are developing and growing into the Star Wars characters and story.  But if you haven’t seen Star Wars or if you don’t know who’s who, this film, on it’s own, is let down by a very ordinary storyline. 

Much of the movie is taken up when Anakin escorts Padmé back to Naboo and they fall in love. The scenes jump from Anakin in Naboo to Obi-Wan Kenobi who is investigating the assassination attempts. This part of the movie is slow and the scenes jumping from one to the other is tiresome.

The characters in this film are much more serious that in previous episodes. The humour and “fun” element that is in the previous movies is sadly missed.

George Lucas is going to make one more “Star Wars” movie and I am looking forward to the next episode, as this final movie will join up with the Star Wars plot and characters. Hopefully George will brighten things up and try to bring back the magic, fun and adventure that the original movies had!

Reviewed by Niall Quinn, Premier Movie Reviews, 2002

  Director  

George Lucas

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