Dutch postcard by Boomerang, Amsterdam, no. P10-02. postcard. Photo: Lucasfilm. Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002).
Dutch postcard by Boomerang, Amsterdam, no. P10-02. Photo: Lucasfilm. Leeanna Walsman as Zam Wesell in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002).
Singaporean postcard by ArtCard, no. 337, Collectable postcard series, no. 5 of 9. Photo: Lucasfilm. Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002). Caption: Mace Windu. A senior member of the Jedi Council, Mace Windu is a highly revered Jedi Master. Mace is a diplomat by nature and seeks peaceful solutions to the most volatile issues. However, with thousands of solar systems threatening to break away from the Galactic Republic, Mace believes the time has come to swift action. He leads a battalion of Jedi to the planet of Geonosis to rescue Anakin, Padmé and Obi-Wan and to neutralize Count Dooku's overwhelming forces.
An army of clones that has been under production for years
Ten years after the invasion of Naboo, the Galactic Republic is facing a Separatist movement and the former queen and now Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) travels to Coruscant to vote on a project to create an army to help the Jedi to protect the Republic.
Upon arrival, she escapes from an attempt to kill her, and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are assigned to protect her. They chase the shape-shifter Zam Wessell (Leeanna Walsman) but she is killed by a poisoned dart before revealing who hired her.
The Jedi Council assigns Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin to discover who has tried to kill Amidala and to protect her in Naboo. Obi-Wan discovers that the dart is from the planet Kamino, and he heads to the remote planet. He finds an army of clones that has been under production for years for the Republic and that the bounty hunter Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) was the matrix for the clones.
Meanwhile, Anakin and Amidala fall in love with each other, and he has nightmarish visions of his mother. They travel to his home planet, Tatooine, to see his mother, and he discovers that she has been abducted by Tusken Raiders. Anakin finds his mother dying, and he kills all of the Tusken tribe, including the women and children.
Obi-Wan follows Jango Fett to the planet Geonosis where he discovers who is behind the Separatist movement. He transmits his discoveries to Anakin since he cannot reach the Jedi Council. Who is the leader of the Separatist movement? Will Anakin receive Obi-Wan's message? And will the secret love between Anakin and Amidala succeed?
Vintage postcard, no. 744. Photo: Lucasfilm. Yoda in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002).
Vintage postcard, no. 745. Photo: Lucasfilm. Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002).
An iconic lightsaber duel
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002) is compared to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (George Lucas, 1999) a superior achievement, but it still doesn't break much new ground.
The problem with both films is George Lucas' dialogue. His lines sound like the actors are reading them off of cue cards and some weak, unsatisfying sequences drag the speed of the film down. The two major storylines in the film are the political underpinnings that eventually lead to the start of the infamous Clone Wars, and the personal story of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen).
The latter storyline is problematic because it both traces Anakin's path to the dark side and becoming the father of Luke and Leia. Therefore, he must turn evil – and fall in love with Padmé (Natalie Portman) – at the same time. It does not work.
Still, the film is entertaining, the visual effects are spectacular and there is an iconic lightsaber duel at the end to top it all off. Lucas and company introduce a stunning variety of sprawling landscapes, crazy creatures, fanciful vehicles, and formidable weapons although he does tend to favour CGI backgrounds and creatures too much. But in this film, Jedi Master Yoda really comes alive, thanks to first-rate CG effects. Yoda is played to perfection by Frank Oz.
Natalie Portman is captivating as Queen Padmé and displays emotional depth. Happily, Lucas also introduces some exciting villains to boot Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and the devilishly evil Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). He also gives Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan a lot more to do in this film. McGregor acquits himself very well as do such great actors like Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu) and Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine). And finally, there is again a heavenly John Williams score.
Vintage postcard, no. 743. Photo: Christopher Lee as Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002).
Vintage postcard by Billy Production, no. 23. Film poster for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002).
Sources: Claudio Carvalho (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
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