Oh, Anakin!
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones makes up for all of George Lucas’s past mistakes
REVIEW
STAR WARS EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Lee
Co-written and directed by George Lucas
Opens Friday, May 17
Check listings
Past generations found their thrills in the epic poetry of Homer’s Odyssey – never mind that we all had to read it in history class, to our ancestors this was downright exciting stuff (and blatantly populist, too). We, the lucky citizens of the 21st century, get George Lucas’s Star Wars instead.
One of the most successful film series in history, the recent announcement to complete the first three episodes in the six-part story sent geeks in every corner of the planet into a tittering frenzy. Each detail leaked from the production was scrutinized and received like manna from heaven, rumoured scenes were re-enacted in countless basement suites around the world with action figures (in and out of package, of course), and dates were crossed off the calendar daily in an eager countdown ritual.
Unfortunately, Episode I: The Phantom Menace was so hackneyed and uneven that it nearly devalued the original classic trilogy. Lucas, in particular, seemed to have lost all sense of direction, padding scenes with God awful timing and an awkward immaculate conception subplot. (So, does that makes Darth Vader the new Jesus?) The characters served as little more than perfunctory cues for one sterile computer-generated battle scene after another. Worst of all, Lucas committed the cardinal sin of being dull – as though his mind was occupied with the adjacent marketing plan, rather than with the film itself.
Thankfully, in Attack of the Clones there are several noticeable improvements from Phantom Menace, starting with the near-elimination of Jar Jar Binks (now a senator – ha! – he’s relegated to less than five minutes of screen time) and the absence altogether of Jake Lloyd (who, as Anakin Skywalker, gave perhaps the worst performance of the entire series – I don’t care how young he is). Most importantly, Lucas has regained his footing in the director’s chair, composing a solidly entertaining adventure that fills in countless gaps in the story and keeps things exciting enough to ensure even the most casual Star Wars fan still wants more in the next film. Like Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, this film succeeds in balancing character with spectacular action sequences so brilliantly constructed that I’m still racking my brain as to how to replicate them in my own basement. (The fishing-line flight path grid has already reached mind-boggling proportions).
Granted, it’s not easy to hold up Attack of the Clones as a solid work of art. The "acting" is negligible, and Lucas directs his special effects aliens far better than any of his human characters. The honest truth, however, is that none of these complaints matter. As a cultural entity, Star Wars has become so entrenched in our notion of going to the movies that Lucas could fill the screen with two hours of jawas dancing in the sunset (or worse yet, more Jar-Jar Binks), and we’d still be excited about seeing the next chapter. We can argue all we want about hype over substance, but at a base level Star Wars succeeds as the modern day serial – much like Homer’s heroic poems of centuries past. George Lucas, you’re one crafty sod. |
