Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman

Directed by George Lucas, PG

**1/4 out of 4 Stars

Released May 16, 2002

Running time: 142 minutes

**1/4

by Kevin Lang

I got the call in the late afternoon on Monday, two days prior to the film's opening night. There was going to be a screening of "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" at a nearby theater at 9 pm. It wasn't much of a decision whether or not to go. Of course I was excited that I would have the chance to see one of the summer's most anticipated movies before the rest of America. I hadn't expected to see the film until Tuesday or even as late as its opening night on Wednesday. So, my girlfriend and I met a small group of people for what was essentially a private showing. We entered the theater, and we sat down near the middle in the supposedly comfortable stadium seats. Warm popcorn and nachos filled our laps, and we waited in anticipation for the second big movie of the summer (the first being "Spider-Man") to begin.

After an enjoyable set of previews including the upcoming James Bond film to be released in November, "The Matrix Reloaded" and Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report," the lights dimmed and the famous Star Wars scrolling text intro began with the classic Star Wars theme playing in the background. What began was a movie that seemed to never quite fully engage its audience. It's not that it didn't know its place in the universe, it's just that the story seemed to be going on in a galaxy far away. Many things about the film, from its heavily computer generated ships and characters to its limited action sequences and its hard to believe romance, kept the audience at a distance. We were merely spectators watching a story unfold that for the most part kept us waiting for something more.

What is it about computer animation that makes a movie seem unreal? After seeing Episode I, this was perhaps my biggest worry for this new installment in the Star Wars saga. It was also Roger Ebert's criticism of "Spider-Man" (2002), which I would have to disagree with. Spider-Man was at times computer animated, but there were enough scenes where computer animation was barely used or at least not so noticeably. The movies ongoing heavy box-office take lets it speak for itself.

There was just something better about the old Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI. Their worlds looked so real. When the X-Wing broke down we waited for Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 to fix it. When Obi-Wan's ship was damaged in Episode II, we didn't wait very long at all, because why use tools when the filmmakers can fix it with CGI? And knowing that they can, I didn't want to wait either. It's just that in reality life is not computer animated, and until CGI can reproduce images to where we cannot tell what is animated and what is not, we will be able to sense the artificiality in what we see just as a Jedi can sense the dark side.

It wasn't just the ships and backgrounds that looked computer animated. Many of the characters were done with CGI as well. Their movements just seemed too sweeping and perfect to be real, or else their appearance looked like something out of "Toy Story" (1995). The coliseum battle scene near the end of the film was a prime example of this. The large numbers of droids looked like a mass of animated toy soldiers instead of the menacing robots that they were supposed to be. The Storm Troopers from the earlier films elicited a greater amount of fear from the audience, because we were convinced that something real existed under their costumes instead of just bits and bites on the surface. The early city chase scenes in the film reminded me of various scenes from the futuristic sci-fi action film "The Fifth Element" (1997), which as well had many unique characters. However, they were more believably created because of less animation.

The overuse of not quite believable computer animation was not the only problem with the film. The other main problem was the story. It began with Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) investigating an assassination attempt on Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman). Much of the beginning, except for one scene of action, was filled with Obi-Wan's investigation, and Anakin's protection of Senator Amidala. Romance quickly blossomed between the senator and Anakin, who claimed to have thought of her everyday since he'd last seen her, six years ago, which meant that he had last seen her when he was around ten or younger. Unconvincingly, this before puberty crush grew into love, and unfortunately we were the victims of an unbelievable and at times laughable romance. Even after Anakin slaughtered an entire settlement of sand creatures for enslaving his mother, including their women and children, which he vengefully states, the Senator comforted him and seemed to disregard his ruthless action. How could a respected senator, and a recently adored queen simply ignore the dark side in him?

There was no grand villain in the film. The character that turned out to be the villain was not developed well enough for us to fear him, and he lacked the persona that villains like Darth Vader or even Darth Maul had. Bounty hunter Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) proved to be a formidable foe, and he, along with his son Boba Fett, were developed well. However, instead of putting him in a showdown against Obi-Wan, with whom he had a previous encounter, Jango Fett instead confronted Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) in a quick and almost unclimactic battle.

One of the best scenes in the film was the fight scene at the end involving a light saber wielding Yoda. It was fun to watch, especially because he normally moves like a turtle and walks with a cane. His character was one of the most enjoyable in the film, as we saw him instruct his Patawan Learners, and later sense the Dark Side in Anakin. Anakin's battle at the end was also visually appealing as the glowing sabers cut elegantly through the darkness.

Going into Star Wars: Episode II, I had been expecting something more. I wasn't anticipating any revolutionary advances in special effects, and I feel any expectations to that regard would have been unfair to the filmmakers. However, instead of attempting to be groundbreaking again, this time by using an abundance of computer animation, director George Lucas and company should have focused more on the story and the interaction between its characters. The film lacked characters like Han Solo (Harrison Ford), who not only provided humor, but also helped to make the trio of himself, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker enjoyable to watch. The characters in Episode II often seemed uninspired, maybe because what was around them was often not real but blue screens. Early cult hype had put Episode II on a pedestal that it never deserved to be on. Eager fans may be pleased that all of the necessary elements were there to advance the saga, but moviegoers who don't believe that the Force resides in them may find the movie a little less satisfying.

Review written May 14, 2002, CTF.