STAR
WARS
EPISODE
II
-
Attack
Of
The
Clones
With
Ewan
McGregor,
Natalie
Portman,
Hayden
Christensen,
Samuel
L.
Jackson
Directed
by
George
Lucas
It's
impossible
to
describe
in
words
what
this
movie
means
to
me,
or
the
thousands
of
others
around
the
world
who
might
consider
themselves
Star
Wars
fans.
But
quite
simply,
a
fan
of
anything
will
have
a
hard
time
finding
fault
with
the
primary
focus
of
their
fanatical
behaviour.
And
with
that
said,
I
cannot
find
fault
with
this
movie.
It
is
the
essence
of
what
great
movie
making
ought
to
be
on
all
levels:
Superbly
filmed,
accompanied
by
an
incredible
score
and
of
course,
storytelling
at
its
Lucasian
best.
The
second
prequel
to
the
original
trio
of
Star
Wars
movies,
which
themselves
ushered
in
a
paradigm
shift
in
film-making
in
the
70's
and
80's,
takes
us
a
little
further
into
the
beginnings
of
the
Star
Wars
with
the
original
"Clone
Wars",
and
expanding
on
the
origins
of
some
of
the
now
iconoclastic
characters.
The
Star
Wars
trademark
elements
of
love
and
hate,
obedience
and
honor,
good
and
evil
and
just
plain
thrilling
action
from
start
to
finish
are
all
here.
And
there
are
some
dazzling
surprises
which
had
the
audience
in
my
show
applauding
like
out
of
control
football
fans!
Yeah,
Star
Wars
is
not
just
a
movie
franchise,
it's
a
way
of
life...
more
a
culture
than
a
cult.
For
those
fans
who
are
very
familiar
with
the
chronoligical
progression
of
the
tale,
ATTACK
OF
THE
CLONES
will
feel
like
an
intensely
interesting
history
lesson
and
really
begin
to
bring
a
lot
of
the
story's
elements
together.
But
more
importantly,
it
will
re-release
that
kid
in
you
who
saw
the
originals
as
they
were
released
over
the
past
25
years...
After
standing
in
a
line
of
400
for
2
hours
to
get
tickets
on
opening
night
(which
is
really
nothing
if
you're
familiar
with
the
kinds
of
things
fans
of
this
saga
are
prepared
to
endure
to
secure
a
ticket),
I
remember
walking
out
of
the
theater
totally
exhilarated
and
thinking
to
myself:
What
a
great
time
to
be
alive!
-
Brett
Reynolds
(US
Correspondent)
...the
2nd
opinion...
STAR
WARS
EPISODE
II
-
Attack
Of
The
Clones
With
Ewan
McGregor,
Hayden
Christensen,
Natalie
Portman,
Samuel
L.
Jackson,
Christopher
Lee,
Frank
Oz
Directed
by
George
Lucas
The
vast
phenomenon
created
by
George
Lucas
several
decades
ago
does,
to
a
certain
extent,
surpass
us
all.
It
is
a
culture
within
itself,
surmounting
any
Trekkie-fanaticism.
Those
of
us
who
grew
up
with
the
original
films
have
an
affinity
newcomers
may
not
feel
as
strongly.
This,
the
second
in
the
chronological
flow
of
Lucas's
initial
back
story
to
Star
Wars
(Episode
4),
The
Empire
Strikes
Back
(Ep.
5)
and
Return
Of
The
Jedi
(Ep.
6)
start
filling
blanks
of
narrative
detail
and
characters
in
the
originally
filmed
trilogy.
(Have
to
mention
the
reviewer
in
the
Tygerburger
getting
it
wrong
in
every
way
by
calling
this
current
episode
the
3rd
one!
It's
the
5th
one
made
but
the
second
in
the
chronological
series,
genius).
While
my
companion
loved
the
film
and
got
engrossed
in
all
of
the
characters,
facts
and
line-ups
for
consequential
events
we'd
already
experienced
since
the
70s,
I
found
myself
in
another
place
entirely.
As
I
sat
trying
not
to
notice
the
overwhelming
digital
barrage,
she
lapped
up
all
of
the
jargon,
references
and
details
building
out
this
phenomenon.
For
starters,
the
casting
of
the
young
Skywalker
(later
to
turn
to
the
dark
side
as
Darth
Vader
in
the
next
and
concluding
episode
to
the
first
trilogy)
in
the
shape
of
Hayden
Christensen
is
far
too
American
Teen
for
the
Galactic
good
of
the
film's
credibility.
The
old
Harrison
Ford
/
Mark
Hamill
/
Carrie
Fisher
films
were
hands-on
model
building
and
FX
innovation
bar
none.
The
newly
developed
digital
techniques
are
just
so
apparent,
its
believability
zips
straight
out
the
window
like
an
X-Wing
for
me.
Visions
of
the
entire
movie
shot
in
a
blue
or
green
room
of
Lucas's
Industrial
Light
&
Magic
Skywalker
Ranch
and
100
fold
the
time
spent
in
post-production
flooded
my
mind
while
I
was
supposed
to
pay
attention
to
the
story
and
visual
spectacle
flashing
on
the
screen.
McGregor
hams
it
up
while
not-quite-bad-ass-Jackson
is
pretty
low-key
and
serene,
as
a
Jedi
should
be.
Portman's
sad-ass
mouth
can
get
to
you,
but
thank
goodness
the
floppy
eared
Jar-Jar
Binks
(is
that
how
you
spell
his
dumb-ass
name?)
has
little
screen
time.
You
get
to
see
Yoda
in
a
totally
different
light
that
will
either
wow
you
or
have
those
eyes
rolling
way
back.
Lee
pulls
off
his
dark
side
character
well
-
not
like
in
Lord
Of
The
Rings,
but
after
all
as
Dracula
in
the
Hammer
films
he
had
ages
of
practice.
The
romance
element
may
be
trite
but
is
essential
-
where
did
Leia
and
Luke
come
from,
after
all?
While
Attack
Of
The
Clones
is
essential
viewing
for
anyone
remotely
interested
in
the
Star
Wars
cult,
if
you
miss
it,
you
needn't
shed
a
tear,
as
it's
just
another
part
of
the
assembly
line
you're
bound
to
bump
into
on
video,
DVD
or
TV.
There's
no
way
it'll
fall
away
without
you
getting
a
glimpse
-
in
fact,
it'll
come
find
YOU.
3
/
B
-
Paul Blom
1
2
3
4
5
6
A
-
B
-
C
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