Review: Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

Feel the Force!

The Movie

With Episode II, there’s evidence that George Lucas has listened to his critics. Gone are many of the weaknesses that blighted The Phantom Menace: the infantile tone, the irritating aliens, and that dreadful Jar-Jar (now demoted to a few short scenes – blink and he’s gone). And while the level of performances is disturbingly poor (Lucas remains the only director who can make McGregor look worse than amateur), the dialogue is trashy (despite some script doctoring by Jonathan Hales), there is a sense of grandeur and event that has not been evident in Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back.

Ten years after the fight for Naboo, Anakin (Christensen) is the Jedi apprentice of Obi-Wan (McGregor, oddly bearded), both charged with protecting the life of Senator Padmé Amidala, who is targeted for assassination. As Anakin’s forbidden feelings for Padmé creates a tension between the two Jedi, Obi-Wan follows a trail of clues to the watery world Kamino, where he discovers a vast Clone army of storm troopers, while Anakin returns to his home world to confront a tragedy that compels him to reach out to his dark side.

The Extras

As the founder of THX, Lucas’s dedication to optimum picture and sound quality should not be in question, and the presentation of Episode II, the first live action movie to be transferred to DVD from originating digital files, sets a new standard for home cinema. The detail in both visual and audio is exquisite.

As with Episode I, there are three different menus that are randomly accessed by the DVD player. The city of Coruscant, the arena of Geonesis and water planet Kamino are all realized with new CG animation as good as anything in the movie: the chapter selection menu, with its droid factory conveyer belt, must be seen to be believed.

by David Richardson

Find the full 3-page review, as well as
a 9-page feature on Star Wars in:
Ultimate DVD #35

© LucasFilm
Review © Visual Imagination 2002. Not for reproduction

Taken from

Ultimate DVD #35
November (Star Wars) 2002
ships from Oct 9 2002
News-stand Price
UK £3.99 / US $7.99

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