STAR WARS EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002) **1/2 The early chase scene is incredible. Your brain knows it has to be graphics, and is definitely a movie rather than "real," but your brain can't tell whatever regulates adrenaline flow anything to keep it less than wide open. Just a long, tremendous scene. Film making of a high, cutting-edge (I try not to use the term often) order. The actual clone attack, when it finally comes, is nearly as good. Intertwining a robot stand up routine through the carnage was a gutsy stroke of genius-one that surely couldn't work in execution, but it did. Some of us ponder why an intellect of the magnitude of George Lucas would spend effectively his entire adult life on a story about space monsters. This film doesn't resolve the question, but George trots out what may be his greatest array of space vehicles and cleverly conceived creatures. It's good that there are so many entertaining diversions (the stormy sea planet is my favorite), because I didn't think much of the plot or actors. Samuel L. Jackson is probably even worse than everybody else. It's kind of like watching a model with chickenpox-you know they'll get better, so it's kind of funny watching them languish hopelessly for awhile. So Sam's no good, but it doesn't hurt the film, rather it enhances enjoyability in some sophomoric way. And it's not that the actors are no good at all. Ewan McGregor is relatively convincing throughout, and Natalie Portman enjoys a certain gymnastic credibility in the action scenes. Even Hayden Christensen has moments of effectiveness when he's trying to act dangerous rather than serious. Serious is the problem, generally. The efforts at romance between Portman and Christensen are absolutely laughable. At points she sounds like a beginner reader sounding out cue cards, and his role would have been more ably filled by Bashful the dwarf. The dumb scenes, and scenes between making efforts towards plot, don't ruin it all-the best scenes are too good for that-but it does all leave you with a sense that George might best utilize his brilliance by making an impressionistic Star Wars installment, one where the protagonist suffers some difficulty of the mind that relieves the filmmaker of any responsibilities in the areas of romance or narrative. That all being true, this is my favorite Star Wars flick since the original.
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