Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

A long time ago…

A journey continues. A journey of choices…a journey for the fate of a soul, the fate of a family, and the fate of a galaxy!


Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is the second movie in a 6 part movie series that revolves around the fate of the family of Skywalker. Set in the distant past in a far away galaxy, this timeless series explores themes of choices and consequences, fear and love, good and evil, family, friends, and redemption.

The Story

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.” – Yoda, Episode I: The Phantom Menace .

Jedi Master Yoda (The Jedi are an ancient sect of followers—an order of knights designated as guardians of the galaxy who can tap into a mystical energy known as “The Force” that is produced by all living things, that some, by accident of birth, are able to tap into) once said these words to young Anakin Skywalker, the child of legend (as some would believe). Now, years later, still trying to remove emotional attachments from his life, Anakin is thrust into a galaxy that is tipping towards war! He is tempted by love, by hate, by revenge…he is put to the fire and must come out ahead, or tip the balance of good and evil in the galaxy.

The Sith (an ancient order of evil force-users—last seen in Episode 1) continue their plans to create havoc and war. They have found a way to create a giant clone army for one side, and stir up the trade federation on the other! The Jedi must find a way to stop the evil Sith and save the galaxy!

The central characters in this story are Obi-Wan Kenobi (the Jedi Master), Padme Amidala (the young queen of Naboo, played stiffly by Natalie Portman), and Anakin Skywalker (a rescued slave, and Jedi apparent who appears to be the subject of an ancient prophecy.)

The speed and excitement in this episode make this truly a wonder to enjoy! From exciting air-car chases through the sprawling city-planet of Coruscant, to war between clone troopers and droids, to an arena dual, and exciting lightsaber battles, this movie does not leave you wanting for action!

The acting is sub-par in general, but much like the old movie-serials that this movie takes its origins from, the acting is second to the excitement of pacing and the story is second to plot. This type of movie is all about “what happens next?” and succeeds dramatically on that front.

From exciting visuals (the city-chases), to amazing characters (the various Jedi, the aliens, the droids), to many thrill-a-minute action sequences, Attack of the Clones delivers the goods.

The Music

The musical score by John Williams continues to provide the mood, heart, and soul of the series. Actors may not always portray their emotions overtly and the dialogue may not always convey the tension or mood, but the music always keeps it front and center. During a scene where one character is angry and scared, the music begins to draw on the theme of the evil Darth Maul from Episode I...brilliant!

The Special Effects

Almost every scene is awash in special effects, and in most you never really notice them. It is the enjoyment of the excitement of a scene…the total immersion in the experience that allows them to work so well, especially when creating completely alien worlds and creatures. ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) continue to outshine themselves! The air-car chase in Coruscant left me breathless!
The Sound

The Star Wars saga continues to shine in the sound department. Each and every alien voice, laser blast, lightsaber clash, droid movement, door opening, etc., has such a unique and wonderful sound that the love of the sound technicians can truly be scene. One of my favorite aspects of the Star Wars sage is the sound. I love listening to the movie while doing other work just to enjoy the sounds!

Best sound effect: the “depth” charges that Jango Fett shoots from Slave I! Very cool!

The Costumes

The alien costuming, the jedi robes, and the outfits of Amidala continue to shine. Most are barely noticeable as they blend perfectly into the scene and don’t stick out. Amidala is the (purposeful) exception with further scene-stealing wardrobes.

Other Good Points

The elegant new villain Count Dooku. It is enjoyable to see a villain of class who believes in his superiority.

Mace Windu. Samuel L. Jackson. Enough said!

Much less Jar Jar Binks!

The Bad

The acting by Hayden Christenson is rather weak, along with more stiff-ness from Natalie Portman. Even through this, though, I was able to believe their love-story in a “I know it really happened behind the scenes” sort of way.

The lame jokes by C-3PO. I just didn’t enjoy most of the 3PO humor in this film.


Final Thoughts About the Movie

I absolutely love Attack of the Clones. It is my second favorite Star Wars movie after The Empire Strikes Back. From the exciting characters, locations, events and just pure fun element, this one hit the perfect chord for me.

The DVD

The DVD is a wonderful set, from nicely done menus to tons of extras. It covers 2 discs, with the movie one and most of the special features on the second.

The menus are exciting and fun and easy to navigate. The discs themselves are picture-discs and nice to look at. The special features are absolutely wonderful.

Disc one contains the movie with bonus commentary tracks (always interesting).

Disc Two contains: Bloopers, Documentaries, trailers and TV spots, and Deleted scenes

The deleted scenes also contain commentaries explaining why they were deleted. These are really not quite as good as the ones from Episode I, but worth checking out. The documentaries range from some rather short boring ones, the fantastic “From Puppets to Pixels” full-length documentary on the digital characters.

The DVD is worth every penny!


DVD Details
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Running Time: 142 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: 11 Dec 2002
Aspect Ratio (widescreen edition): 2.35:1


The Star Wars Saga

Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi