The Star Wars prequels of the early 2000s have had a significant surge in love and appreciation over the last few years. People who were children when the films were released have grown older and have a greater nostalgia and admiration for the George Lucas-directed trilogy. This newfound passion for the films has led to Lucasfilm feeling confident enough to revisit the trilogy through numerous outlets, most notably that of the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series, which saw the return of Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor to the galaxy far, far away.
However, the fact that more people actively and proudly enjoy the films now does not mean that they are perfect works of art. As enjoyable as the story is and as well-cast as some of the characters are, the Star Wars prequels are still a very mixed bag. There were some truly great things to come out of the films, but they also provided some of the worst moments in the history of Star Wars. Looking back at them now, these good and not-so-good aspects become all the more apparent.
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While Episode I – The Phantom Menace kicked off the trilogy well enough with an exciting yet overly complex debut story, Episode II – Attack of the Clones is where the light and the dark sides of the prequels really come into focus. There was a significant time jump between stories, which resulted in the recasting of Anakin Skywalker to the aforementioned Christensen, while McGregor and Natalie Portman returned as older versions of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala. Here are some of the standout good and bad aspects of Attack of the Clones.
Not-So-Good: The Dialogue
20th Century Fox
George Lucas is a brilliant creative mind, but there’s no way around it; dialogue is not the Star Wars creator’s strongest point. This is an issue that plagued the entire prequel trilogy, as Lucas had creative complete control over the whole thing. However, the writing is particularly dreadful in Episode II. Even the addition of Jonathan Hales to the scriptwriting process along with Lucas was not enough to fix the spoken words contained within the second film. Attack of the Clones features some of the clumsiest, most awkward, and poorly written dialogue in the entire Star Wars franchise. As interesting as the story may be, it’s hard to really enjoy the plot or get connected to the characters when most of the words out of their mouths are either cliché, illogical or just plain cringe-inducing.
So many of the most quoted lines from the prequel trilogy come from Attack of the Clones, but unfortunately, they are often not quoted with fondness. One of the most notorious is the conversation between Anakin and Padmé when the young Jedi explains his distaste for sand by eloquently stating “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.” It is lines like that which really hurt the prequels. On paper, the line might seem like a bit of fluffy and light dialogue to make Anakin seem more likable, but in execution it just comes off as a wooden and unnecessary aside that makes the audience question what the point of including the entire conversation is. Through a slew of other scenes like that, the lackluster dialogue of Attack of the Clones trips up the film with almost every chance it gets.
Good: The Beginning of the Clone Wars
As clunky as the dialogue may be, the base story of Attack of the Clones is certainly an interesting one. Nowhere is this more apparent than with how the film establishes and builds to the beginning of the Clone Wars. Up until the release of Attack of the Clones, the Clone Wars were a real mystery in the Star Wars canon. Aside from a few loose references to them within the original trilogy, not much was actually known about the events of the wars or what led to them. Attack of the Clones finally answered those questions, and it did so in an unexpected way.
Prior to Episode II, it had largely been assumed that the eponymous clones of the war were fighting against the Jedi, but the second prequel turned that assumption on its head. While the unquestioned secret creation of a clone army is a bit of narrative convenience, the twist that the clones were actually fighting alongside the Jedi as the soldiers of the Republic was a fresh idea that brought a new sense of energy and development to the world of Star Wars. Plus, with the introduction of the Kaminoans and the interweaving of Boba Fett’s origin story, the incorporation of the clones in Episode II remains one of the most unique and intriguing developments in all of Star Wars.
This is all not even to mention how this development would lead to one of the best parts of the entire Star Wars canon, the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars television show from Lucas and his apprentice Dave Filoni. Through that show, the clones and the events of the Clone War itself were more rigorously developed to feel like real characters and events. The story of the clones is often a tragic one, which eventually ends in the takeover of their minds and forcing them to kill their friends and superior officers. The Clone Wars animated series is one of the best expansions of the Star Wars universe, and its roots are thoroughly established in Attack of the Clones.
Not-So-Good: Anakin and Padmé’s Romance
Considering the Star Wars prequels were telling the story of Anakin Skywalker, father of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, it was only a matter of time before a romantic storyline was introduced. However, the romance between Anakin and Padmé lacks pretty much any sort of depth or naturality to it. The worst of their relationship comes in Attack of the Clones as their feelings for each other grow. The story of these two falling in love just doesn’t work. The characters don’t have any chemistry together; they are in positions of power that make it irresponsible of them to pursue their love, and, most of all, their relationship just feels way too forced and contrived from a story perspective.
A key part of why this romance fails is because Anakin is just way too weird and obsessed with Padmé, especially when she very explicitly tells him that she is not interested. It’s not even that they are going in circles, but rather that Anakin keeps running into a brick wall that he refuses to acknowledge is even there. This just happens on repeat, until he wears her down and suddenly they are in love. It’s about as inelegant and abrupt as it can get. Throughout the entire film, he keeps making comments that are creepy and inappropriate, and it makes it really hard for the viewer to buy that there would be any reciprocation of feelings from Padmé. Even when they are sent on a romantic getaway to Spain (or rather Naboo) the development of their love is painful to watch.
The dialogue of the film isn’t doing Anakin and Padmé any favors either. Many of the film’s worst lines come from moments between these two. Whether it be the already-discussed line about Anakin’s feelings toward sand, Anakin saying he is in agony when he’s near her and that he is haunted by her kiss or Padmé directly telling Anakin that he is making her uncomfortable with the way he looks at her, there are just so many awful lines and cringey moments that make it nearly impossible to actually buy into these two falling in love. Never mind the fact that Padmé still decides she loves Anakin when he confesses to outright murdering an entire village of Tuskens. Even with the heavy lifting that John Williams’ “Across the Stars” love theme is doing, the love story between Anakin and Padmé falls flat on its face.
Good: The Prequel Story Comes into Focus
Despite the failed romance between Anakin and Padmé, the story of Attack of the Clones is actually pretty solid. It’s at this point in the prequel trilogy that all the pieces begin coming together, and the overall picture and story of the trilogy begin to become clear. The brother/mentor relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan is established well, Palpatine’s political rise continues; the folly of the Jedi becomes more apparent, and, generally, the differing motivations that trigger the Clone Wars are well-laid out and developed. Plus, as underutilized as he may be, Christopher Lee makes for a solid antagonist as Count Dooku, who fills the shoes of Darth Maul very well.
In addition to all of that, the Jedi are given a lot more to do in Attack of the Clones than they were in The Phantom Menace. While the first film mainly showed them sitting around a room discussing various issues, Attack of the Clones really dives into the details of the Jedi Order and the goings-on at the Jedi Temple. There is an extended scene of Yoda training younglings, Obi-Wan searches for information in the Jedi Archives, and there is plenty of talk about what the Jedi Order’s role should be in the oncoming war. Eventually, this all leads to a great climactic sequence that features a legion of Jedi descending upon Geonosis to save Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padmé. Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu is finally given some sort of action sequence and, as divisive as it may have been at the time, Yoda’s lightsaber fight with Count Dooku at the end has become one of the most recognizable and beloved duels of the entire series.
On the whole, the story of Attack of the Clones builds really well upon that of The Phantom Menace. There’s a significant evolution from the characters of the first film, and by the end of the second film, there is a clear direction for where the story will go in Episode III. As heavy-handed as it may have been, Attack of the Clones also thoroughly establishes Anakin’s fear, anger, and inklings toward the Dark Side. Obi-Wan really comes into his own as a sassy yet intelligent and well-spoken Jedi leader, with McGregor firmly solidifying his stamp on the role. While Attack of the Clones is nowhere near the quality of The Empire Strikes Back, it does effectively serve the same role, as the characters, conflict and scope of the trilogy are expanded in new and unexpected directions.
Both Good and Not-So-Good: The Use of Digital Effects
The digital effects of Attack of the Clones are a real double-edged sword. George Lucas envisioned the prequel trilogy as much larger in scope than the original Star Wars films, which would necessitate believable digital filmmaking and effects in order to be told correctly. That mindset was justified, as there is no way that stories of this magnitude could have been told in this manner without the use of digital technology. The effects work on The Phantom Menace was already immensely impressive, and Attack of the Clones continued that trend, as Lucas was dedicated to pushing the constraints of the technology of the time and creating new tech that could aid more filmmakers in the future.
Through the use of digital effects, Attack of the Clones is able to introduce all sorts of new and exotic planets and creatures into the Star Wars universe. These effects believably bring to life aliens such as Dexter Jettster and the long-necked Kaminoans; the new planets Kamino and Geonosis; the immensity of the Jedi, clone and droid armies, and any number of the other grand inclusions within the story. However, the film also suffers from an overuse of digital effects. There was still plenty of location shooting and practical models built for the film, but there are also many sequences in which the entire environment is added in digitally. While in some instances it works, there are many in which it is painfully obvious that the actors are just walking on blue and green screen sets. It’s distracting a lot of the time, especially as many of those sets could have still been created, at least partially, with the use of practical effects.
Moving beyond that, Attack of the Clones also holds a special place in the history of Hollywood, as it was one of the first major studio productions to be filmed with digital cameras. Instead of shooting on actual physical film, like most everything in the history of filmmaking, Lucas decided to push forward with filming Episode II digitally. This was an abnormal and major change at the time and it ended up being quite controversial, especially among the cinephile and film enthusiast crowds. However, the decision proved to be largely ahead of the curve as within a few years almost everything would be shot digitally, which is much easier to work with on digital effects-heavy movies. It’s yet another example of how Lucas and the creative minds at Industry Light and Magic used the massiveness of the Star Wars brand to pioneer new filmmaking techniques and approaches. Despite Attack of the Clones various flaws, the fact remains that it was a game-changer for blockbuster filmmaking in that sense, and nothing will ever take that away.
