In the summer of 2002 my review for Attack of the Clones ended up in the reader pages of Dreamwatch and Starburst magazines. With the release of Revenge of the Sith imminent, I thought I'd post it here.
After the relative disappointment of the first prequel, much rides on this second instalment in Lucas’ six-part magnum opus. Does it deliver and can it equal ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ in the dramatic stakes?
On Tuesday, May 21st 2002, I travelled (with friends) to see the movie at the Odeon, Leicester Square. This is one of too few venues, which has the facility to present motion pictures digitally (if it’s available in the format). Suffice to say that I was excited to see, for myself, whether or not ‘Clones’ could deliver both in terms of dramatic and technical performance.
On the former. After the obligatory credit crawl. The camera pans up, which breaks with the convention established in the previous entries, a motif that signifies a change in tone. The colour palette and designs allude to ‘Empire’. And the tense, and by turns amusing, chase through Coruscant inspires obvious comparison with ‘Blade Runner’ and the highly derivative ‘Fifth Element’ on speed! This is followed by Obi-Wan’s journey to the, mysterious and enigmatic, water world Kamino. The clinical ‘look and feel’ of the cloning facility mines the cinema of Stanley Kubrick! Culminating in a thrilling rain-soaked encounter with bounty hunter Jango Fett on a landing platform. Jango’s eventual fate, at the hands of Mace Windu, was deserving. This hopefully drives an older Boba Fett to play a substantial part in the final prequel! He certainly has the motivation.
Anakin’s ‘Tusken slaughter’ confessional to Padme is, arguably, almost on a par with Vader’s paternal revelation! Hayden Christensen (finally getting centre stage) chillingly convinces as the conflicted apprentice. John Williams serves to underscore this pivotal scene, reflecting on what is to come with familiar leitmotifs that sound somehow fresh and new.
Article comments