Ten years after initially meeting, Anakin Skywalker shares a forbidden romance with Padmé Amidala, while Obi-Wan Kenobi investigates an assassination attempt on the senator and discovers a secret clone army crafted for the Jedi.
With the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, this is the perfect opportunity to recap the epic space opera audiences have enjoyed for over 40 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 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 and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker are assigned to protect her. They chase the shape-shifter Zam Wessell but she is killed by a poisoned dart before revealing who hired her. The Jedi Council assigns Obi-Wan Kenobi to discover who has tried to kill Amidala and Anakin 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 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, ...Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In the visual dictionary of the film: Jango Fett was adopted and raised by the Mandalorian Warrior Army after his parents on his homeworld of Concord Dawn were murdered. See more »
Goofs
In the beginning, right after the blast of the explosion "hits" the two actors outside the ship, the male actor jumps before he falls. He also quickly turns his head and stretches out to slow his fall, revealing him to be anticipating the "blast". See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Naboo lieutenant:
Senator, we're making our final approach into Coruscant.
CordÈ:
Very good, Lieutenant.
See more »
The film was released on IMAX theaters on 1 November 2002. The reformatted IMAX version was approx. 20 minutes shorter than the theatrical release. These are some of the scenes that have been cut from the IMAX version:
A long scene in Palpatine's office involving Yoda and Amidala. Palpatine suggests Kenobi and Anikin as bodyguards.
Jar Jar greeting the Jedi pair as they enter Amidala's quarters.
Kenobi talking to the Jedi head librarian.
The hilltop scene on Naboo where Anakin rides a grazing animal and Amidala and Anakin talk about political science.
Mace Windu and Yoda discuss whether they should reveal that the Force is no longer as easy to use.
The scene in which Yoda says that while Anakin is somewhat arrogant, that is an increasingly common failing among Jedi.
Owen Lars greeting Anakin and Amidala at the farm.
The confrontation between Count Dooku and Kenobi is shorter.
Jar Jar being set up by Palpatine to get the Senate hand more power to him.
Part of the scene where Padme sees Anakin for the first time in 10 years. The cut goes directly from the elevator to ObiWan discussing security.
Part of the scene where Anakin and Padme leave Coruscant has been trimmed
The scene where Anakin and Padme meet with the Queen has been eliminated
Scenes with Anakin and Padme on Naboo have been trimmed, with the picnic scene eliminated completely.
When Obi Wan was captured and met with Dooku, after the line "I'll never join you" it cuts directly to the Senate floor without Dooku responding "It may be difficult to secure your release".
Ending credits use a slideshow format instead of scrolling in order to shorten their length.
And now, the Darth Vader origin story really begins. In fact, "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" sort of renders its predecessor useless. "Episode I" feels like a mostly unnecessary part of the story now that "Episode II" gives a better glimpse into the troubled young man Anakin Skywalker – the future Darth Vader – has become.
Of course, "Attack of the Clones" also has troubles of its own. Although it is quite the grandiose visual effects spectacle – more so than any of its predecessors – it is the smaller, character- driven parts of the story that George Lucas absolutely botches, to almost comical effect.
Central to the entire prequel trilogy is the story of how Darth Vader becomes Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire rises to power, which means Lucas has a trajectory he must follow. It's clear in many ways that the story and screenplay is slave to this. Everything must add up to fit with the original "Star Wars" trilogy and Lucas must connect the dots, even if they don't all want to connect.
The dots that are most critical to the story are the ones that trace Anakin Skywalker's (Hayden Christensen) path to the dark side and becoming the father of Luke and Leia. Therefore, he must turn evil – and fall in love – at the same time.
Because "The Phantom Menace" does very little legwork for Anakin's turn to the dark side, everything falls on "Attack of the Clones" to put it in motion. Right away, we are presented with a cocky, reckless young padowan of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) who is nothing like little "Ani" in "Episode I." He is also extremely forward with Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), because, well, they have to fall in love and there just isn't much time for them to do so in a believable way.
Before ripping into this unfortunate romantic subplot, it's worth noting that most else about "Clones" is entertaining. Running through the film is a pretty solid mystery thread: As a dangerous separatist movement gains steam in the Republic, now-Senator Amidala finds her life threatened and Obi-Wan and Anakin are assigned to protect her, and if possible, identify her would-be assassin. Obi- Wan traces a poison dart to a mysterious planet called Kamino, where he uncovers a big secret and a conspiracy unfolds.
Ever since Alec Guinness' Ben Kenobi mentioned fighting with Luke's father in the Clone Wars in "A New Hope," "Star Wars" die-hards have been itching to see the Clone Wars and find out just what they were all about. "Attack of the Clones" sets this up an exciting way and introduces some exciting villains to boot in Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). For the first time, fans can piece together how the Galactic Empire came into power, and that's exciting.
Interspersed with this unraveling mystery, however, is the Anakin- Padme romance, a subplot that reveals the most hideous weaknesses of Lucas' storytelling ability, namely that he cannot write good dialogue and he most certainly cannot create a genuine romance.
The feistiness of the Leia-Han backward romance accidentally worked out really well for Lucas because of Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford's repartee. This romance, however, is way more dramatic, serious and creepy. For one, the age gap between the two is uncomfortable, and largely because Padme says that she still sees him as a little boy. For another, he comes on to her aggressively and with a stalker-like anger that she apparently doesn't mind after he's persistent enough. And amidst it all, Anakin is having nightmares about his mother and is dealing with feelings of revenge that don't seem to bother Padme. There's just no way it had to be this ugly, but again, Anakin is Luke and Leia's father, and that has to happen somehow.
In a film without "Star Wars" in the title, "Attack of the Clones" would've warranted more scathing backlash, but the romance failure is somehow more acceptable in this instance because "Clones" is part of a story and a universe bigger than itself. You just have to brush it off. At least, unlike "Phantom Menace," the film feels more connected to that universe in other ways (and there's exceptionally less Jar Jar Binks in it).
With an iconic lightsaber duel at the end to top it all off, "Clones" skates by on adventure even though it does make it clear that no matter what happens in "Episode III," the prequels won't have the same heart and same lovable nature as the original films do.
~Steven C
Check out Movie Muse Reviews for more
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And now, the Darth Vader origin story really begins. In fact, "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" sort of renders its predecessor useless. "Episode I" feels like a mostly unnecessary part of the story now that "Episode II" gives a better glimpse into the troubled young man Anakin Skywalker – the future Darth Vader – has become.
Of course, "Attack of the Clones" also has troubles of its own. Although it is quite the grandiose visual effects spectacle – more so than any of its predecessors – it is the smaller, character- driven parts of the story that George Lucas absolutely botches, to almost comical effect.
Central to the entire prequel trilogy is the story of how Darth Vader becomes Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire rises to power, which means Lucas has a trajectory he must follow. It's clear in many ways that the story and screenplay is slave to this. Everything must add up to fit with the original "Star Wars" trilogy and Lucas must connect the dots, even if they don't all want to connect.
The dots that are most critical to the story are the ones that trace Anakin Skywalker's (Hayden Christensen) path to the dark side and becoming the father of Luke and Leia. Therefore, he must turn evil – and fall in love – at the same time.
Because "The Phantom Menace" does very little legwork for Anakin's turn to the dark side, everything falls on "Attack of the Clones" to put it in motion. Right away, we are presented with a cocky, reckless young padowan of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) who is nothing like little "Ani" in "Episode I." He is also extremely forward with Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), because, well, they have to fall in love and there just isn't much time for them to do so in a believable way.
Before ripping into this unfortunate romantic subplot, it's worth noting that most else about "Clones" is entertaining. Running through the film is a pretty solid mystery thread: As a dangerous separatist movement gains steam in the Republic, now-Senator Amidala finds her life threatened and Obi-Wan and Anakin are assigned to protect her, and if possible, identify her would-be assassin. Obi- Wan traces a poison dart to a mysterious planet called Kamino, where he uncovers a big secret and a conspiracy unfolds.
Ever since Alec Guinness' Ben Kenobi mentioned fighting with Luke's father in the Clone Wars in "A New Hope," "Star Wars" die-hards have been itching to see the Clone Wars and find out just what they were all about. "Attack of the Clones" sets this up an exciting way and introduces some exciting villains to boot in Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). For the first time, fans can piece together how the Galactic Empire came into power, and that's exciting.
Interspersed with this unraveling mystery, however, is the Anakin- Padme romance, a subplot that reveals the most hideous weaknesses of Lucas' storytelling ability, namely that he cannot write good dialogue and he most certainly cannot create a genuine romance.
The feistiness of the Leia-Han backward romance accidentally worked out really well for Lucas because of Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford's repartee. This romance, however, is way more dramatic, serious and creepy. For one, the age gap between the two is uncomfortable, and largely because Padme says that she still sees him as a little boy. For another, he comes on to her aggressively and with a stalker-like anger that she apparently doesn't mind after he's persistent enough. And amidst it all, Anakin is having nightmares about his mother and is dealing with feelings of revenge that don't seem to bother Padme. There's just no way it had to be this ugly, but again, Anakin is Luke and Leia's father, and that has to happen somehow.
In a film without "Star Wars" in the title, "Attack of the Clones" would've warranted more scathing backlash, but the romance failure is somehow more acceptable in this instance because "Clones" is part of a story and a universe bigger than itself. You just have to brush it off. At least, unlike "Phantom Menace," the film feels more connected to that universe in other ways (and there's exceptionally less Jar Jar Binks in it).
With an iconic lightsaber duel at the end to top it all off, "Clones" skates by on adventure even though it does make it clear that no matter what happens in "Episode III," the prequels won't have the same heart and same lovable nature as the original films do.
~Steven C
Check out Movie Muse Reviews for more