by Chris Knight

(Beware of possible spoilers)

Episode II: Attack Of The Clones can be an overwhelming spectacle or an underwhelming plot, depending on your own point of view.

Before going further, know this: I seriously love this movie! It?s extremely wild to watch and it?s several cuts above Episode I: The Phantom Menace. In fact, this movie makes that one ? already good in its own right ? BETTER! Lucas has staked a claim to some of my wallet this summer. That?s not his fault, it?s my choice free and clear. And I will relish seeing this film again and again.

But I still wanted to enjoy this film more. Maybe it?s because I was able to follow Episode II?s developments for the past two and a half years, that there was nothing left to goggle at. That?s par for the course on TheForce.net though: we came to possess very nearly everything there was to know about Attack Of The Clones, down to which colored socks Mace Windu wears to Geonosis. It?s not something I want to go through with Episode III though: the surprises of life only come around once, after all. Better the next go-round that I hold out in earnest for three years, so as to savor that moment for eternity.

The initial disappointment is how much backstory that was filmed got cut. The ?Lost Twenty? are not mentioned at all, and Obi-Wan?s investigation into the source of the dart is watered down to an asterisk on the greater puzzle: Kamino and the clones. The scenes with Padme?s family ? which would have been terrifically sweet across the board ? are nowhere in sight. That Padme came from such a humble background would have reinforced one of the core strengths of Star Wars: that anyone can be a hero, without regard to station or wealth. Without the backstory in hand anyway, one might think that this movie is an elitists-only tale, as opposed to the ?common clay? allure of the original trilogy.

The trial on Geonosis was cut, as was much of the political dialogue. I hope this was filmed, that we?ll get to see it on the DVD in coming months. As a historian, I don?t think Lucas realizes how potent a tool he had in this movie: many of the ideas he and Jonathan Hales presented in their script are BRILLIANT. I seriously believe that with their inclusion, many people in this present generation would take pause and consider the way things are ? and the way things are becoming ? in the world around us. There are things in this script that put The Matrix to shame. Please Mr. Lucas, if at all possible, please insert those scenes into the DVD

As a love story, Episode II doesn?t just break credibility, it shatters it. So many things didn?t satiate with this: Hayden Christensen was the perfect portrayer of Anakin? except when Anakin is showing his feelings toward Padme, then it seemed manufactured and prodded. It?s not in the same league as Titanic, and it ranks a distant second to the Han/Leia relationship of the classic trilogy. The budding romance is far too rushed: that Anakin and Padme go from a ten-year parting to full-bore nuptials over the space of a week is pretty desperate to grasp.

But that?s also the least estimated theme of Episode II, which is part of why I loved this movie so much. Whether it was intentional or otherwise on Lucas? part, Episode II is not a love story, no matter what the marketing guys say. Episode II is about obsession.

You see, Anakin and Padme have ?the love?, but they also have this desire for something they cannot have, and yet hold to their positions. The beautiful senator is trapped between serving her people and yielding to her own needs. The young Jedi is even worse: what really drives Anakin ? and maybe this will get played up more in Episode III ? is that he hates change. He wants things to stay the same in his world, just as they were in Episode I when he had his mother and some boyish dreams. He can have the love or have the adventure, but he?s denied both by the sterile stagnancy of the Jedi order. Now his dreams are coming true? but he still cannot have all he desires. Anakin is like Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald?s The Great Gatsby: trying to recreate and hold onto a moment that never really was. Holding on, refusing to yield? until his obstinacy for that moment destroys him.

We see some of that in Episode II, but it?s not quite satisfyingly enough. As a romance, Attack Of The Clones doesn?t measure up. As a story of blooming obsession, it might become the most powerful Star Wars story yet.

Now for the unadulterated good: Episode II?s action sends Spider-Man swinging home and crying to Aunt May.

The first few seconds establish the shift in things from The Phantom Menace (I so wanted to hear Boss Nass scream ?WAR!!? after that attack). Count Dooku is now my all-time favorite Star Wars baddie after Emperor Palpatine ?course: Christopher Lee is easily the most stand-out performance of the film. That he gets introduced relatively late doesn?t detract from that, but I did want to get more on his background. His style of lightsaber is very gentlemanly, and quite aggressive: I can?t even remember Darth Maul very well, after seeing Dooku in action. Jango Fett was ubercool? and an entire new depth gets added to the name of Fett via him and young Boba. Yoda?s fight scenes? are incredible. That alone will have people paying good money to watch everything that transpires beforehand.

This needs to be said: the ending of Episode II is the best one yet: very ?The Winds of War?-ish. Some things to watch for: the music for Boba Fett is a nascent form of his ?metallic funeral dirge? theme in The Empire Strikes Back. The clones do have bellybuttons (thanks to an umbilical cord in the cloning chamber). The cameo appearances in the nightclub are a hoot: we?ll have to watch that a few times before we get them all. Some things that are common knowledge to Episode II spoiler junkies are a tremendous surprise to the unwary.

I?ve noted some disappointment with Episode II. In its defense, the two friends who saw it with me ? who had been blissfully unaware of most of the plot ? loved it! They couldn?t wait to see it again during the next few days. In their lifetimes, there is now, at last, a fifth Star Wars movie!

Be of good cheer: this is a Star Wars movie on every level. Though if you?re anticipating a chapter with serious emotional ?WHAM!?, Episode II may disappoint? perhaps immensely so. But if you want some light-hearted entertainment ? a fun popcorn flick ? with a tinge of ?WHAM!? for good measure, you can?t go wrong with Episode II. Thank you, George Lucas and Jonathan Hales, and everyone involved with this production, for your hard work in producing this movie.

One final thought: am I one of the few fans who wanted more of Jar Jar Binks in Episode II??

RATING: 8 out of 10.

You can check out all of TFN's AOTC Reviews below (may contain spoilers):

• TFN AOTC Review 1 (Carter)
• TFN AOTC Review 2 (Scott)
• TFN AOTC Review 3 (Steven)
• TFN AOTC Review 4 (Josh)
• TFN AOTC Review 5 (Chris)
• TFN AOTC Review 6 (Joel)