three s formula (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (DVD))

Member Name: cabletow

Product:	Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (DVD)
Date:	02/06/02 (225 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: the force is strong with this one

Disadvantages: my op cannot match the true scale of this epic

I will review this movie with a mind to the entire Star Wars epic that is unfolding before our viewing eyes. The Clone Wars is episode 2 of 9, 5 have been completed and this episode is gripping in its own right but it brings together some of the mystery that the whole saga is based on. In this respect it is even more poignant and well worth a trip to the cinema to view it.

The whole epic is a masterpiece that is created on a three S formula; Simplicity of the story, Symbolism and Special effects.

SIMPLICITY, the saga is based on the age old story of love and the battle between good and evil. I don't want to give away too much of the story but Clone Wars is the coming of age of Anakin Skywalker. Ultimately Anakin becomes Darth Vader, Lord of the Dark side of the force and a Jedi knight of some power. In Clone Wars he is still Obi wan Kenobi's apprentice but there are signs of both his skill and his mastery of the force and more importantly his crossing to the dark side. Clone Wars sees his impatience with the slow wisdom of his master and his use of rage to boost his power, we witness his slaughter of those who he sees as his enemy based on the revenge spawned by the maltreatment of his mother, in a most unjedi like manner he kills women and children to satisfy his need for revenge. The story also deals with his love for the senator he met as a child in the first episode who ultimately becomes Luke and Lea's mother in episode 4, 5, and 6. This love is forbidden by Jedi law yet Anakin is prepared to break this law.

SYMBOLISM is by far the most important thing that a star wars aficionado craves. The whole Jedi order is almost Masonic in its ritual. Clone wars has the ultimate Masonic symbolism of the three pronged attack on the Dark Emperor's right hand man Count Dooku. First Obi wan tries to vanquish him and fails, and then the more talented Anakin gives his right arm in a titanic clash, but fails. Then the master Yoda takes
on Dooku. The master is able to match his foe but is unable to cast him asunder and Dooku escapes. True Masonic stuff.

The Dark Emperor is disclosed as being the Lord high chancellor who uses those Dark side attributes such as sewing seeds of distrust and disunity to take control of the intergalactic republic and amass himself a formidable army of clones from the most determined bounty hunter in the universe. These troopers are clad in white and become the storm troopers of subsequent episodes. The clones are based on Temura Morrison, evil to the core and all have the only accent that is acceptable in Hollywood at the moment as the mark of a baddy, New Zealand.

The Jedi order shows the weakness that leads to its down fall in that they were unable to sense the traitorous Dark Emperor in their midst. Presumably the next film will deal with the fall of the Jedi. Star Wars itself is the story of the rebirth of the Jedi through Anakin's son Luke Skywalker. The force is strong with Anakin and his skills are formidable. Remember his skills will increase as each Jedi who kills another acquires the skills of the Knight he has vanquished and I presume Anakin will be the fall of Dooku in the next film.

We meet Babafet the son of the bounty hunter who witnesses Anakin kill his father and this has real significance in later films.

The other secret that we see in this film is the planning of the death star that the Dark emperor builds and Luke destroys in star wars. Obi wan Kenobi comes across this when he is searching for the would be assassin of the senator.

SPECIAL EFFECTS are the trade mark of the George Lucas in this saga. Star Wars first burst onto our cinema screens in 1977. We had not seen anything like it before and even now the special effects in that movie are awesome. Star Wars has been seen by more moviegoers in the world that any other movie and it was as a result of these effects that it remains the world's most
popular film. Clone Wars is packed with awesome effects too. The most powerful image that remains in my mind is the effect of the sonic charges that dogged Obi wan as he flew through the Asteroids in pursuit of the bounty hunter. Spectacular and devastating weapons have never been more graphically portrayed on digital celluloid.

The sound effects too are marvellous in full digital glory and make the visual art even more poignant.

This is a must for all Star Wars fans. It is a must for the big screen as I am sure a great deal of its impact will be lost on the small screen. Clone wars is a major contribution to the art of cinema and has taken the saga to a new plane with its effects.

I have the utmost respect for George Lucas. This story has been created totally in his head. There is not a book that he based the fuilm on and he is able to keep the symbolism going through now 5 films. Each film is linked to the next and the story is unfolding before our very eyes. He has not made sequels that fall flat after a first film but he has kept true to the story and true to the Force.

Watch it and be prepared to be moved as the force becomes with you.

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