Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

"Attack of the Clones" is the entertaining sequel to the "first" Star Wars film, "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace", but the film lacks humour and charm. The title, incidentally, is completely misleading. See for yourself why.

The plot has now jumped a few years forward, so Anakin Skywalker has turned 19 in the meantime. He is assigned to protect the former queen, now Senator Padmé Amidala, with whom he is in love. That is problematic, as a Jedi Knight is not allowed personal attachments. While Anakin lovingly takes care of Padmé, his master Obi-Wan Kenobi is busy protecting the Republic, which is once again under threat.

The intrigues and conspiracies are more than usually hard to make sense of if you are not a die-hard Star Wars fan, but the main lines of the story can be followed.

The action sequences work well, but the ordinary dialogue scenes are leaden. Hayden Christensen in the role of Anakin Skywalker is evidently not the world's best actor, and none of the other actors has Harrison Ford's twinkle in the eye either, but George Lucas and his co-writer must take much of the blame for the lines sounding clumsy and cliché-ridden.

The most original thing about this second instalment is Anakin's gradual transformation from an innocent and idealistic lad into a disillusioned and angry avenger. It is rare for characters in adventure films to be so complex, and with Anakin's development into Darth Vader in mind, it will be exciting to see whether George Lucas manages to conclude the trilogy satisfactorily.