Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - Jedi Quality (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (DVD))

Member Name: AndyCreighton

Product:	Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (DVD)
Date:	23/05/09 (1 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Special Effects, Great Sound Track, Hours of Bonus Material

Disadvantages: Story Could Have Been Stronger, Hayden Christensen

I will try and keep this review as un-bias as possible, however I do have to admit that I am a bit of a Star Wars fan!

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is the sequel to Episode I: The Phantom Menace, it begins around 10 years after the first instalment of this prequel trilogy and in many ways it is a huge improvement. This time around the story is aimed at the frustrated love between an older Anakin Skywalker and the now senator Padme Amidala, while the rest of the film revolves around this plot, the remainer of the film seems to be the more interesting with twists and turns and some great action scenes.

The majority of the actors deliver a great performance, McGregor continues in his role as Obi Wan Kenobi and is as great as ever, Portman again plays Amidala, however this time is not irritating in the slightest (apposed to the previous film where she drove me mad, like a spoilt child). The presence of Christopher Lee adds a certain level of prestige to the film, this is a smart choice by Lucas as without Neeson, an older and distinguished actor was needed and fills the role superbly. The only exception to the great cast is Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), while using unknowns has worked for Lucas in the past this time it fails, and fails quite miserably ,it does (See what I done there?) Christian comes as across as wooden and emotionless, not a great choice for the main character in a love story eh?

The effects, as you would expect from a Star Wars film, are absolutely spectacular. Wether your on the desert world of Geonosis or the constantly raining planet of Kimino, every one feels unique with its own race of people and its own look and feel. You also, for the first time, get a look at the lower levels of Courasant. The lightsaber fights are, of course, awesome, and while the fights may not be as dramatic as the final battle in Phantom, there is a particular scene towards the end of the film when the Jedi launch an attack themselves which is simply jaw dropping. I can guarantee you have never seen anything like this before.

I think in a film with as much melee combat as this I should talk about choreography. In a word, excellent. There is really nothing bad I can say about the choreography, each Jedi/Sith has his or her own style of fighting. This is where Lee comes into his own, and his previous experience with swords clearly shines through in the final battle. When released Episode II brought us some of the best lightsaber battles to date.

The sound is as usual, breathtaking. Preformed again by John Williams, the music is a mix between Phantom and music from the original trilogy which works great. While it still feels like an entirely different film, the music makes us aware of where we are going and the merge between to 2 trilogy's. The effects are also great, with every blaster fire, every lightsaber swing sounding like you would imagine it too.

While Attack of the Clones is a great film in itself, you can't help but compare it to the original trilogy. Simply, it has nothing on it. The choice to make the film a love story dampens the enjoyment. While the last half an hour or so is great, its quite a dragged out story. I found myself wanting to see more of Obi Wans story apposed to Anakins. Although like I mentioned earlier, its a lot better than Episode I. Also Jar Jar is almost obsolete in this film! Yay!

Now onto the DVD itself, I must admit I was very impressed with the level of content available. There is hours of bonus material, and the majority of it is interesting and informative. A Star Wars fans dream, it features several featurettes on different aspects on the making of the film, from location to the special effects used there's everything. One of the most impressive things about the bonus material are the deleted scenes, each one comes with a small commentary beforehand to explain what the scene is about, what they were trying to achieve and why it was not included in the main film. Its very interesting and comes with some of the best deleted scenes I've seen to date.

To sum it all up, while Attack of the Clones is a great film, there are a few aspects that has let it down. Don't get me wrong, the film is still great and its not enough to bring it down but it could have been better, the story could have been stronger and more time and though went into picking your lead character could have produced a film on par with the original trilogy. But the films worth a watch, and with the bonus material I would recommend it to anyone who liked any previous Star Wars films.

Andy Creighton

Summary: Better Than Episode 1, Not As Good As The Others, Worth A Watch.