Send in the clones: ‘Star Wars: Episode II’

Next up in the Netflix queue: Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones (pictured: Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan). I am not much of a Star Wars follower. I give that disclaimer, because in judging episodic movies like this, I always feel like an outsider, unable to see it in the context of the larger, overarching story, or in comparison to its individual parts. That said, here goes.

Episode II is just okay. The story is well-laid out and the world created by the movie is complex and stunning—my makeshift home-theater system, such as it is, was having inadequacy issues handling such digital splendor—but I feel like the writing and acting could have been stronger. (I know that’s not the point of the movie, but still.) All the dialogue is simple and open, with the characters so easily declaring their motivations and emotions, there’s not much for you to do but gawk at the scenery, which itself ends up being somewhat of a scene stealer. To be fair, there are a few affecting moments, mostly provided by Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen)—like his finding of his mother, and his sudden self-awareness after slaughtering her captors—where you get some depth of character.

If I want to get really nitpicky, I should mention the music. I admire film composer-extraordinaire John Williams, but practically every scene here is underscored, and while it lends to a buoyant, unrelenting pace, it made some scenes feel heavy-handed, overwrought. Like, “cue the [insert emotion here] music!” Yeah, I know, it’s an epic, but there’s too much simultaneous spectacle for me to feel the drama.