An Unfairly Battered Film?

I realize this is the second straight post dealing with a Star Wars film, but hopefully you'll bear with me because I came to a surprising realization:

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is actually a good movie.

Yes, I know -- it's one of the "dreaded" prequels. Bashing Star Wars prequels has become as commonplace as iPhone apps. And while there is weight to the thought that none of those three movies ever lived up to the expectations of the legions of Star Wars fans who lived and died by the limelight of the original trilogy, there is also credible evidence that there was some artistic merit to be found in these much-maligned movies.

I found myself watching Clones on a lazy Sunday night with not much else to do. And I found myself, well... engaged. I had not seen the film in a long time, although its plot is certainly no mystery. Still, what seemed to draw me to it was - gasp! - its characters. The film was actually about something, and the characters were truly grappling with that something. What that something turned out to be was the concept of responsibility and growing into maturity (or not).

Simply, Attack of the Clones is a movie about adolesence. It's about the maturing of a confused boy... and, in parallel, the maturing of a confused nation (in this case, the Galactic Republic). If you think of the movie thru this prism, you'll find yourself admiring its construct.

Anakin Skywalker is torn by three things; (1) his frustrating scholarly learning of the Jedi ways, (2) his far-away mother who he misses, and (3) the girl that cranks up his teen hormones and who he would love to make his girlfriend. He's lost in his emotions, and he's trying to find a way out, while being lectured to be responsible about how he goes about this. It turns out, in the end, Anakin lacks the maturity to really cope with his feelings. This fact is obscured and betrayed by his physical and heroic exploits that give the impression he is a being in control. He's not. His mother's death crushed his heart, and he's now driven not to have his soul ripped away as well by losing the girl he loves. He is on the verge of becoming obsessive, which is what will lead to his downfall in the next film. All of this is crafted quite well in the film, despite some infamous bad dialogue ("I am haunted by the kiss you should not have given me" - who talks like that???). But the smattering of less than ideal dialogue still fails to derail the movie from its headlong purpose -- to show a very vulnerable human being trying to do the right thing.

Simultaneously, the Galactic Republic is trying to figure out how to do the right thing for its citizens and member worlds. They have been in a prolonged conflict with a separatist movement that is eroding political stability in the galaxy. To date, the Republic is a peaceful entity with no army. But there are those in the Senate who would like the Republic to react to this separatist threat with arms. The famed Jedi Knights have been trying to hold the line, but even they are not enough. And now there are whispers that the Jedi's old nemesis, the Sith, may be rising again. What is the responsible thing to do here? Especially when it is revealed that an army of clones has secretly been under "construction" for nearly a decade, ordered into existence by a long-dead Jedi operating apparently as a rogue... or perhaps as an instrument of a scheme devised by those seeking power. Power that will be backed up by force... by a shiny new army.

All of this comes to a head in one final battle, in the tradition of all Star Wars films. There's a lot of loud boom-booms, fancy effects, and off-the-cuff comments from the ambulatory peanut gallery of these films -- the droids, C-3PO and R2D2.

But once again, it is the characters that made all of this work, and kept honest to the film's central theme. Ewan McGregor is just plain solid in his performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi. He almost single-handedly picks up the film and carries it on his shoulders. Hayden Christiansen struggles to emote with depth the flooding feelings of Anakin Skywaker, but he manages to get through it without doing a dis-service to the underlying content of his character. And he does rise in one chilling moment where we see a glimpse of the future -- of the being that will become Darth Vader. Natalie Portman as Senator Padme Amidala, Anakin's true love, is at her best here. She fumbled a bit in the first film, The Phantom Menace, and was less than inspired in her performance in the third film, Revenge of the Sith. But here, she really brings this character home, who is also torn by responsibility. From her commitment to prevent the Republic from assembling arms, to her questioning of her relationship with Anakin, she truly shines as a focal point in the story.

So for those who batter this film to a pulp, I say... maybe you're just responding to a popular exercise of poo-poo'ing the prequels and not really seeing what's there. George Lucas had something to say here to his audience, and I think he said it well.