Attack of the Clones (Spoilers Ahead -- Watch Out!)

Well, everyone else is talking about it, so I will too. I should tell you that I was a huge Star Wars fan, starting when the first movie came out. It shaped me in a lot of ways. I knew all sorts of trivia. I knew the movies inside out and practically knew the "making of" features inside and out. I read Splinter of the Mind's Eye (and some of the more recent books), the Marvel comic line way back when, and the Dark Horse comics more recently. I hosted Star Wars parties at my home. I went to the first national Star Wars convention in Denver three years ago.

Total Star Wars geek. Got the picture?

Then came The Phantom Menace. It wasn't an immediate letdown. The letdown came slowly. I saw the movie a number of times and each time one thought came more and more to the fore: "What was it about these movies that was so great?"

It wasn't until a friend of mine, who was working on Star Wars Gamer magazine at the time, asked the question, "What was the first line Greedo had to say to Han in the cantina?" (I don't know how this came up.) The answer? "Oota Goota, Solo?"

I had been spending all these years revering a movie with a character named Greedo who said things like "Oota Goota, Solo?" Suddenly, it all came crashing down around me. This is genius? It didn't seem so anymore. Maybe my definition of "genius" had changed over the years, and the Star Wars movies didn't. Only just then had the definition caught up to the reality.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like the first three movies, and still find them very watchable. I can even stomach the Ewoks. But not so with The Phantom Menace. That's just not a good movie. It's got some good parts, but overall it's pretty sorry. The dialog is stiff, and some of the acting is stiffer. The plot is hardly worth mentioning and even the direction is bad. (Notice the next time you watch it, if you do, how important moments of action are spoiled by expository dialog. For example, the pod race announcer explains things to us before we see them happen. A Naboo fighter pilot tells us that he sees a ship -- Anakin's -- coming out of the Trade Federation station before it happens. Bad editing. Bad directing.) And don't get me started on Jar Jar and the poop jokes.

But today I saw Attack of the Clones. And... I liked it very much. Why bother pointing out its foibles? If you saw the movie you don't need me to go on about them (and I'm sure plenty of other people will). I just want to talk about the things I liked.
I liked that it showed the incompatible nature of Obi-Wan and Anakin. You can imagine that on a daily basis, Obi-Wan complains about and -- unintentionally -- belittles Anakin, always telling him what to do. Which is exactly how not to raise a person like Anakin. Clearly, Obi-Wan wasn't up to the task of handling a Padawan, and Anakin may have indeed been too old to start the training. It's nice to see Yoda, the acclaimed wisest Jedi around, proven correct, and it plays into Obi-Wan's regrets in the latter trilogy.

I continue to like Padme as the female action hero. She's no simple damsel in distress to be rescued in either movie (not any more than any other character, anyway). She takes charge and does what needs to be done.

It was wonderful to see the Jedi, including Mace and Yoda, take action. The action sequences were amazing and entertaining. I found the visual affects, of course, astounding.

Speaking of effects, I was struck that the same people who made a totally CGI character totally annoying (Jar Jar) made a totally CGI character that was likable and interesting -- Dex, the guy in the "diner" who helps Obi-Wan with information. I don't know why he was so appealing. I guess it was that he wasn't annoying, threatening, or silly. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and competent. They could have gone for the silly, fat alien jokes, but they didn't. Nice.

Christopher Lee, of course, was great. He can do no wrong, whether he's a fallen Jedi or a corrupted wizard.

And no midi-chlorians. Nothing was "wizard." And no poop jokes. Thanks, George.

I'm still not the Star Wars fanatic I once was. But this was a highly enjoyable movie. It probably benefited by coming after TThe Phantom Menace (but that doesn't excuse The Phantom Menace).

I'll say it again. Thanks, George.

 

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