Review of Star Wars: Episode II Attack Of The Clones (2 Discs)

Introduction

OK, so most people didn`t like The Phantom Menace. It was too kid-friendly I agree, but I myself enjoyed it. It was exhilarating. It was a new breed of Star Wars. So now, three years on, Lucasfilm have released the fifth film about the fearsome wrath of the Dark Side, and the noble Jedi Knights fighting their evil.

When I saw the film back in May when it was released in the cinemas, I walked into my local multiplex with a sense of excitement. Critics have said that Attack of The Clones is an improvement on Episode I, it`s Star Wars going back to its roots. As the infamous logo shrunk back accompanied by John Williams` legendary score, my heart rate raised. As the words scrawled up to the screen into infinity, I knew I was in for a treat...

OK, let`s recap. What`s the plot? Attack of The Clones is set a decade after the events of The Phantom Menace, and the Republic is under threat once more. Queen Amidala is now Senator Amidala (played by Natalie Portman), and she is assigned protection after a failed assassination attempt takes place. Who are the protectors? None other than a bearded Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor back in `his` role) and naïve Anakin Skywalker (played by Life As A House star Hayden Christensen).

Now I have the chance to re-live the experience on DVD, thanks to 20th Century Fox and another double-disc outing. Here I was, with a Star Wars DVD in my hands - hoping that this would set the yardstick for future discs just like its predecessor did: and by that I mean content and presentation wise.

The first thing that hit me whilst watching the film was how Attack of The Clones is not an action-packed flick. It is not a straight, beginning to end tale. It doesn`t flow like The Phantom Menace, by that I mean it doesn`t have the introduction (introducing `ickle Anakin), a main action sequence (the Pod Race) and then a climatic, adrenaline soaked finale (three-way `sabre battle). It flows oddly to put it bluntly.

Video

It is presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, and the visuals are deep and well defined, with absoloutely no compression signs nor print blemishes visible. Flesh tones are just right, and the transfer is as crisp as you can get. This was transferred straight from the digital stock to DVD, so no wonder there is no visual sacrifice. More of this please...

The film has several locations: a bustling Coruscant and two new planets (where the film is based most of the time), as well as Tattoine, which is an important plot device as it is one of the only places in the film where Anakin`s `rage` is shown.

Another sci-fi offering that was released recently, and also shared a lot of hype and expectation, was that little film called The Fellowship of The Ring - a film in which director Peter Jackson combined intelligent directing, great location and action shots, and the odd bit of CGI to wrap things up nicely. Very nicely in fact. What Jackson created was a blend that appealed to the eye whilst also keeping in check with reality...something that doesn`t come naturally to some film-makers. And one film-maker who doesn`t fully understand this is unfortunately George Lucas (or to the people who have been living under a rock for nigh on thirty years: the director of this, and two other, Star Wars).

In The Phantom Menace, Lucas managed just to include enough live-action to convince the audience that this was a living, breathing world. But, in Attack of The Clones he has overdosed on his passion. The whole film is full of ILM animation, and the film is composite shot after composite shot, and yes, to create alien worlds, the use of CGI is needed, but not to this extent - it ends up looking like a glossy toy catalogue. For the first time, Yoda is completely CG - a painstaking process, and it is one of the only CG things that actually is believable.

Audio

A DD 5.1 EX track is on offer, and the ambience of the audio will leave you speechless. The surrounds are used constantly, with the sub given one hell of a workout during the action scenes - the chase through Coruscant, the space dogfight and the climatic lightsabre battle. The main audio stream is crisp and clear throughout, with the dialogue represented excellently.

The script is OK, but it lacks a flair - perhaps people may say it has lost the charm the original trilogy`s scripts had. However, I have drawn one definite conclusion: George Lucas cannot write, period. He has no sense of pace, development, nor a uniqueness that will define Star Wars above other sci-fi romps. And his handling on the love story in Attack of The Clones is laughable - some of the dialogue will make you physically cringe. The script is saved by the story, and the odd moment where Lucas finds his niche, but only for him to lose it a scene later.

John Williams is back, and so is that score, plus a whole host of new music, which adds not only ambience but also a well-needed sense of class to the proceedings.

Features

Just like The Phantom Menace, we are blessed with two discs full of extra goodness. Starting on the first disc, we have an audio commentary from director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, editor Ben Burtt, ILM animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow. Informative and worth a listen.

Moving onto the second disc, we open with a 50 minute documentary - "From Puppet To Pixels", focusing on the CG in the film, with highlights including how they made the greatest Jedi of them all - Yoda, in his new computerised form. It is very insightful, although people who aren`t interested in animation might not be able to sit through the whole of this.

There is another documentary, entitled "State of The Art: The Previsualisation of Episode II" - again, focusing on animation and the mammoth process preparing and developing effects for a Star Wars film - and after watching this, you can`t help but showing admiration towards the guys who manage to create so many CG effects in relatively little time - even though they spoil the film somewhat.

Moving on from the `Documentaries` section, there are three featurettes: entitled "Love", "Story" and "Action". Each one clocks in at just under ten minutes, and focus on their titles, and focus on them well. Good for snippetts of insight.

A `Deleted Scenes` section is also provided, and mastered for the DVD release, with introductions from the crew about why it was axed et cetera. Good, but the majority are just extended takes, but one good one was when Padmé and Anakin visit her family home.

Like The Phantom Menace, there is also a `Web Documentaries` section - 12 short documentaries covering all aspects of the production, such as the hiring of Hayden Christensen; the creation of the music; sound design and many more. Each documentary is about 5-6 minutes long, so all in all there is about an hour`s worth here.

A documentary entitled "Films Aren`t Released, They Escape" is also provided - this focusing on all sound-related aspects of the production, and is interesting, featuring interviews with Ben Burtt et al.

Now we move onto the `mockumentary` front - "R2-D2 - Beneath The Dome", an amusing short look at R2-D2`s `film career` and even features Francis Ford Coppola (he wanted the droid for the part of Michael Corleone...very well done) and Steven Spielberg. A nice distraction.

Finally, we have trailers, TV spots, a music video and photo galleries - including on-set stills with poster art campaigns, one of which is cleverly tied in with the 2002 World Cup (poster of Count Dooku, Jango Fett and Zen, with the tagline: "The other Group of Death"). If you like static extras, then this is definitely for you.

The menus are animated excellently, with clips from the film and Williams` score in the background. And contrary to popular belief, the menus do not change each time you boot the disc up.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of The Clones is presented in a clear Amaray case with a leaflet containing chapter listings.

Conclusion

Attack of The Clones plods along, with its few action scenes (chasing through Coruscant, which is slightly over-long; Jango Fett`s battle; and the space flight) slotting in to stop the clunky narrative jamming up completely. This has been hyped up as being the darkest in the saga so far (it is the only one to get a `PG` so far, although each movie in the U.S. has received a `PG`), but quite frankly it`s not. There is little development on Anakin`s anger that is wating to explode, apart from his comments to Padmé after annihilating a group of Tusken Raiders.

The acting is typical Star Wars - nothing special, but it does the job. However, you can`t help feeling that Christensen has been miscast...Anakin is supposed to containg rage and be an authority figure, yet his portrayal is of a typical teenager out of his depth. Fortuantely, Natalie Portman is on good form, and their relationship is elevated slightly thanks to her prowess.

This does not live up to its much-hyped potential, and the odd clunky scene and lacklustre script combined with an overdose of CGI doesn`t equate to a good film. But, Attack of The Clones is saved in some areas - and repeat viewings do strengthen it slightly: but more effort needed to be put into the finished product.

Disc wise, excellent - benchmark in future releases on the presentation side, and the extras are very good, but The Phantom Menace had a more extensive documentary, and sadly this doesn`t. It instead focuses on the visuals and audio side, which is interesting, but with a bit more thought, this could have been a killer disc.

Worth a watch (after all this is a Star Wars film), and some will no doubt enjoy it, hailing it a great sci-fi experience. If it`s cheap enough, due to the great disc, go for it, otherwise in my opinion, it`s not worth that much hard-earned cash. Oh, and Jar Jar has a smaller role. Yep, you can almost hear the yells of delight.