Despite the notion that any deliberation around 'Star Wars has the ability to start World War III, I highly doubt that this take will be the most incendiary yet. Thanks to a good friend of mine, I've been sharing a Disney+ account to see some of the hottest content on there that pertains to me. Before I dive into 'The Mandalorian' and eventually the everlong 'Clone Wars' series, I'll be rewatching some of the feature films to cement my ranking of the 'Skywalker Saga' (my top 4 and bottom 2-3 are rigged in place). So why not start off with a bang and say that I've come back around to reliking 'Attack of the Clones'? Although 'Revenge of the Sith' and to some extent the whole prequel trilogy hold a place of nostalgia for many, the only one that I believe touches the sky is of course, 'Revenge of the Sith'. 'The Phantom Menace', while not awful, remains a tedious watch due to its slog handling of the political storylines, a bulk of its plot being an uninteresting slow burn that merely provides some building blocks for the future episodes. 'Episode II' thankfully provides a lot of payoff as its own contained chapter before 'Episode III', and it's far more engaging and interesting despite being clumsy at times.
I've always loved the idea of the franchise utilizing different genres (including a 'Star Wars' Horror novel that I need to read), and George Lucas's plot here channels many elements of Noir and the 'James Bond' canon- Obi-Wan's investigation into Senator Amidala's assassin, Jango Fett, evocates 'Dr. No' plus of course there's 007 Hall of Fame champion Christopher Lee in the role of Count Dooku. There's also Coruscant that resembles portions of 'Blade Runner's' Los Angeles, and the stunning world of Kamino with its black, rainy atmosphere. It's effectively used as a backdrop for us seeing the assembly of the clone army which would soon become a vital key to the downfall of the Jedi. There's a low-key tension filled scene as Obi-Wan questions Jango Fett in his and his son's small quarters about his involvement in the clone army that's also interesting to see. Ironically enough, Jango is given more to do and charisma than his more renowned son had in either 'Episodes V' nor 'IV'- oops. Temuera Morrison gives a subtle performance that has also aided him in getting to portray Boba in 'The Mandalorian'.
Ewan McGregor has often been cited as one of the best parts of the prequels, and he's as good as ever here in and in 'Episode III'. He greatly displays sharp wisdom, and a vulnerability like when he's trying to get Anakin to control his feelings after Padme is nearly killed during the climax. To be fair though, him scolding Anakin for accidentally losing his lightsaber is rubbish. Natalie Portman gets to shine more as Padmé than in 'Episode I' despite being shortchanged by some of her dialogue.
As for the elephant in the room- Hayden Christensen, who's been made out to be for this trilogy to 'The Godfather III's' Sofia Coppola: He's out of tune in many parts, unable to convey Anakin's awkward nature into something tangible; but Hayden nonetheless gives a strong effort and shines in certain scenes. One of the emotional highpoints of this picture is the death of Anakin's mother Shmi, it's heartbreaking and excellently timed; plus George was able to restrain and make the dialogue work. Hayden's time as Space Hitler in Training improved a lot in 'Episode III', and he's almost excellent in that as well (the Razzies awarding him Worst Supporting Actor for III was uncalled for and major overkill). There's no way to predict what performance Lucas would've gotten out of the actors considered for Anakin, so Hayden has received a deserved break from certain fans in recent years (although the thought of Paul Walker playing him is pretty exciting). The other performances are either serviceable to solid; like Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz and especially Christopher Lee as Dooku, who makes for a noteworthy adversary.
Lucas's fluctuating writing skills are exposed in certain sequences (though nowhere near as abominable as the almost cult like hatedom for the trilogy has made them out to be)- Anakin's plan to catch Padme's attempted assassin on Coruscant is dense (her resting in a bedroom with loose glass that Obi-Wan jumps through), Anakin being the only one left with Padmé on Naboo free to lollygag in open areas and fields for assassins to drop by. I buy why Padmé returns Anakin's feelings, but their affair on her home planet is awkward and plays like bad fanfiction (his speech to her by the firepit comes out musically, like a rejected Taylor Swift single). To be fair though; if I had to protect Natalie Portman on a far-away planet, my feelings would make me behave irrationally (tee-hee). One unwarranted complaint is over Padme marrying Anakin despite everything that went down- the warning signs of future bad husbands can be overlooked early on, same with Anakin. Plus it's clearly established that the Tusken Raiders who tortured his mother are savages, Padmé empathized with his pain and massacre of the tribe (it might've been more powerful though if he didn't tell her about them). Their relationship works on some level, and no fans- it's not meant to be a flawless showmanship of relationship dynamics.
Overall though; all of the other finely tuned qualities and Lucas's direction here make up for the shortcomings. The notion that there's "overuse of CGI" is exaggerated to some extent, because there's a number of practical effects and sets in all three movies; plus tech wizardry makes absolute sense for this movie's extensive worlds and set pieces. The story makes for a chapter that avoids middle-installment/setup syndrome (while 'Episode I' has prequelitus, which many have been victim to- even 2011's 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', I'm not sorry). If you already have your mind made up about 'Attack of the Clones' being squalor or even the worst of the entire franchise, there's no need to even read this further. But for others who don't exactly despise it or have transferred their disdain for it over to the sequel trilogy, it'd definitely be worth giving a second chance (enough years have gratefully passed by that most of my memory of the popular but interminable RedLetterMedia's reviews of the prequels have washed away, giving away to more maturity for myself that I can think for myself and post controversial takes).
Grade- 3 out of 4 stars.
I've always loved the idea of the franchise utilizing different genres (including a 'Star Wars' Horror novel that I need to read), and George Lucas's plot here channels many elements of Noir and the 'James Bond' canon- Obi-Wan's investigation into Senator Amidala's assassin, Jango Fett, evocates 'Dr. No' plus of course there's 007 Hall of Fame champion Christopher Lee in the role of Count Dooku. There's also Coruscant that resembles portions of 'Blade Runner's' Los Angeles, and the stunning world of Kamino with its black, rainy atmosphere. It's effectively used as a backdrop for us seeing the assembly of the clone army which would soon become a vital key to the downfall of the Jedi. There's a low-key tension filled scene as Obi-Wan questions Jango Fett in his and his son's small quarters about his involvement in the clone army that's also interesting to see. Ironically enough, Jango is given more to do and charisma than his more renowned son had in either 'Episodes V' nor 'IV'- oops. Temuera Morrison gives a subtle performance that has also aided him in getting to portray Boba in 'The Mandalorian'.
Ewan McGregor has often been cited as one of the best parts of the prequels, and he's as good as ever here in and in 'Episode III'. He greatly displays sharp wisdom, and a vulnerability like when he's trying to get Anakin to control his feelings after Padme is nearly killed during the climax. To be fair though, him scolding Anakin for accidentally losing his lightsaber is rubbish. Natalie Portman gets to shine more as Padmé than in 'Episode I' despite being shortchanged by some of her dialogue.
As for the elephant in the room- Hayden Christensen, who's been made out to be for this trilogy to 'The Godfather III's' Sofia Coppola: He's out of tune in many parts, unable to convey Anakin's awkward nature into something tangible; but Hayden nonetheless gives a strong effort and shines in certain scenes. One of the emotional highpoints of this picture is the death of Anakin's mother Shmi, it's heartbreaking and excellently timed; plus George was able to restrain and make the dialogue work. Hayden's time as Space Hitler in Training improved a lot in 'Episode III', and he's almost excellent in that as well (the Razzies awarding him Worst Supporting Actor for III was uncalled for and major overkill). There's no way to predict what performance Lucas would've gotten out of the actors considered for Anakin, so Hayden has received a deserved break from certain fans in recent years (although the thought of Paul Walker playing him is pretty exciting). The other performances are either serviceable to solid; like Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz and especially Christopher Lee as Dooku, who makes for a noteworthy adversary.
Lucas's fluctuating writing skills are exposed in certain sequences (though nowhere near as abominable as the almost cult like hatedom for the trilogy has made them out to be)- Anakin's plan to catch Padme's attempted assassin on Coruscant is dense (her resting in a bedroom with loose glass that Obi-Wan jumps through), Anakin being the only one left with Padmé on Naboo free to lollygag in open areas and fields for assassins to drop by. I buy why Padmé returns Anakin's feelings, but their affair on her home planet is awkward and plays like bad fanfiction (his speech to her by the firepit comes out musically, like a rejected Taylor Swift single). To be fair though; if I had to protect Natalie Portman on a far-away planet, my feelings would make me behave irrationally (tee-hee). One unwarranted complaint is over Padme marrying Anakin despite everything that went down- the warning signs of future bad husbands can be overlooked early on, same with Anakin. Plus it's clearly established that the Tusken Raiders who tortured his mother are savages, Padmé empathized with his pain and massacre of the tribe (it might've been more powerful though if he didn't tell her about them). Their relationship works on some level, and no fans- it's not meant to be a flawless showmanship of relationship dynamics.
Overall though; all of the other finely tuned qualities and Lucas's direction here make up for the shortcomings. The notion that there's "overuse of CGI" is exaggerated to some extent, because there's a number of practical effects and sets in all three movies; plus tech wizardry makes absolute sense for this movie's extensive worlds and set pieces. The story makes for a chapter that avoids middle-installment/setup syndrome (while 'Episode I' has prequelitus, which many have been victim to- even 2011's 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', I'm not sorry). If you already have your mind made up about 'Attack of the Clones' being squalor or even the worst of the entire franchise, there's no need to even read this further. But for others who don't exactly despise it or have transferred their disdain for it over to the sequel trilogy, it'd definitely be worth giving a second chance (enough years have gratefully passed by that most of my memory of the popular but interminable RedLetterMedia's reviews of the prequels have washed away, giving away to more maturity for myself that I can think for myself and post controversial takes).
Grade- 3 out of 4 stars.