A new film for a new decade, Attack of the Clones tosses everything Star Wars into a blender, adding in doses of insane action and mundane dialogue to flesh out the story of Darth Vader. It's a movie that's better in parts than a whole, but as a middle film in this new trilogy, it does what it needs to do. Whether or not it's what you expected is an entirely different situation.
The special effects sequences are of course the highlight, especially the simply stunning finale. You can imagine what the original trilogy would look like if this technology were available in 1977. This is one mans vision, perfectly brought to life inside a computer. While a few minor effect shots don't quite go as planned, for the most part, this is one of the most visually stunning movies of all time.
It's what surrounds all of that that causes a problem. The cheap, poorly written, and unbearably acted love saga between Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman kills the movie early on and it's lucky to recover at all. It's a necessary part of the story and it has to be included, just not in this way. Any memorable quotes that come from this film are spoken by these two, and that's not a good thing.
There are more minor nuances strewn around, particularly the decision to create Yoda entirely with CG. You have to laugh when you watch these documentaries and see the animators struggle just to make sure the ears wiggle properly. Why wouldn't you just use the puppet for shots like these? Now when all the films are finished, there's going to be a problem with the old and new styles clashing. Then, late in the film, it seems that the animators go completely overboard as he fights Count Dooku. While the other battles occurring simultaneously try to be epic and serious, Yoda's acrobatics are far too absurd to be taken seriously.
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