Ten years later after The Phantom Menace, the Galactic Republic and the planetary systems join the Confederacy of Independent Systems led by former Jedi Count Dooku. With the galaxy now on a brink of war, Obi Wan investigates an assassination attempt on Senator Padme Amidala thus leading him to a clone army in service of the republic along with discovering the Separatist movement. Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan's apprentice, is tasked to protect Amidala while sharing a relationship with her as the trio witness a new threat to the galaxy known as the Clone Wars.
While The Phantom Menace wasn't exactly a perfect movie considering it had a child performance that wasn't very good and Jar Jar Binks was by the most annoying side character out of any Star Wars-related media, it still had beautiful visuals, great action, and the other supporting actors especially Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Frank Oz, and Ian McDiarmid were superb. Attack of the Clones, on the other hand, is by far the weakest of the prequel trilogy. It's not an awful film and it does have some good things in it, but coming from someone who enjoyed this film as a kid (not to mention that I love Star Wars), it doesn't hold up well as an adult.
The story has a unique concept, but sadly the execution is somewhat convoluted when compared to the last film as it tries to throw too much at you with little to no impact and the pacing does drag in certain areas, but what really drags this movie down for me is the dialog which is by far the worst written out of all the Star Wars media. The line "I hate sand" is filled with so much cringe (yes, even worse than the line "Are you an angel?" from the last film) which resulted in Hayden Christensen giving a very bad performance (which is a shame because he's a really good actor).
That being said, there are some good things that helps the film make up for it's flaws. The visual aesthetic, much like the last film, is beautiful with a very unique atmosphere especially when we get to see the entire clone army, the costumes are spot on, the supporting actors especially Ewan McGregor, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, Natalie Portman (who brings emotional depth to Padme), Samuel L. Jackson and the late Christopher Lee as Count Dooku (who makes for a great effective villain) did a great job, and the action sequences are some of the best since the original Star Wars trilogy.
Overall, Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones isn't a great movie and doesn't hold up well after 20 years, but it's a serviceable entry of the prequel trilogy.
While The Phantom Menace wasn't exactly a perfect movie considering it had a child performance that wasn't very good and Jar Jar Binks was by the most annoying side character out of any Star Wars-related media, it still had beautiful visuals, great action, and the other supporting actors especially Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Frank Oz, and Ian McDiarmid were superb. Attack of the Clones, on the other hand, is by far the weakest of the prequel trilogy. It's not an awful film and it does have some good things in it, but coming from someone who enjoyed this film as a kid (not to mention that I love Star Wars), it doesn't hold up well as an adult.
The story has a unique concept, but sadly the execution is somewhat convoluted when compared to the last film as it tries to throw too much at you with little to no impact and the pacing does drag in certain areas, but what really drags this movie down for me is the dialog which is by far the worst written out of all the Star Wars media. The line "I hate sand" is filled with so much cringe (yes, even worse than the line "Are you an angel?" from the last film) which resulted in Hayden Christensen giving a very bad performance (which is a shame because he's a really good actor).
That being said, there are some good things that helps the film make up for it's flaws. The visual aesthetic, much like the last film, is beautiful with a very unique atmosphere especially when we get to see the entire clone army, the costumes are spot on, the supporting actors especially Ewan McGregor, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, Natalie Portman (who brings emotional depth to Padme), Samuel L. Jackson and the late Christopher Lee as Count Dooku (who makes for a great effective villain) did a great job, and the action sequences are some of the best since the original Star Wars trilogy.
Overall, Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones isn't a great movie and doesn't hold up well after 20 years, but it's a serviceable entry of the prequel trilogy.