Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Director:

George Lucas

Writers:

George Lucas (story)
George Lucas (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 May 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A Jedi Shall Not Know Anger. Nor Hatred. Nor Love.

Plot:

Anakin Skywalker shares a forbidden romance with Padmé Amidala while his teacher, Obi-Wan Kenobi, makes an investigation of a separatist assassination attempt on Padmé which leads to the discovery of a secret Republican clone army.

Plot Keywords:

Female Pilot | Disguise | Alien Race | Loss Of Mother | Death Star

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 10 wins & 35 nominations

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman	...	Senator Padmé Amidala
Hayden Christensen	...	Anakin Skywalker
Christopher Lee	...	Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Mace Windu
Frank Oz	...	Yoda (voice)
Ian McDiarmid	...	Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
Pernilla August	...	Shmi Skywalker-Lars
Rose Byrne	...	Dormé
Temuera Morrison	...	Jango Fett
Daniel Logan	...	Boba Fett
Jimmy Smits	...	Senator Bail Organa
Jack Thompson	...	Cliegg Lars
Leeanna Walsman	...	Zam Wesell
Ahmed Best	...	Jar Jar Binks (voice)

Also Known As:

Attack of the Clones (USA) (short title)
Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version (promotional title))
Star Wars II (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (USA) (video box title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sustained sequences of sci-fi action/violence.

Runtime:

142 min | USA:120 min (IMAX Version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.81 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Malaysia:U | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG | Austria:10 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Finland:K-11/9 | France:U | Germany:12 | Iceland:10 (original rating) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:MG6 (video rating) | New Zealand:PG | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:PG (cut) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Chott el Djerid, Nefta, Tunisia

Company:

Lucasfilm

Trivia:

Was shot on exactly the same stages as Moulin Rouge! (2001), also starring Ewan McGregor

Goofs:

Continuity: The spinning display in the background of the Lars family's workshop is inconsistently placed between cuts.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Naboo lieutenant: Senator, we're making our final approach into Coruscant.
CordÈ: Very good, Lieutenant.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Odyssey 5: Trouble with Harry (#1.12)" (2002)

no soul

The passion Lucas has for his work is lost on the screen. It is lost by the wooden acting mostly, since they lack any passion in their roles. No doubt acting in front of blue screens hinders their performance, but they should work on it a bit more and not move on till they get it right! At least marginally good! Even if their dialogue doesn't help them.

The music, which to me was the best thing about episodes 4-6 (including the original ewok singalong that ended ROTJ), is good, but doesn't seem to push the film like in the original trilogy. There were no moments here for me(like when Luke turns off his computer in the x-wing in ANH) where the music takes you to another level. I think that the lack of a strong storyline really made it impossible for Williams to do much more. Also, the aforementioned bad acting didn't really made me care too much about whether the characters lived or died (in fact, even if i knew they'd be in episode III - and IV through VI- i still wished some wouldn't make it), so the music alone could not make up for that. The over-reliance in cgi makes it difficult for me to believe that the characters are actually "there". When Luke was in Dagobah, you could feel he was there, among the trees in the fog. The characters here don't interact with their environment like they should. It is very distracting; it makes you very aware you are watching a special effects scene in a big budget movie and pulls you out of the story. Not helpful at all.

I wish I could be more specific about the details, but I saw the movie a while ago. I feel like I'm just restating a lot of the opinions of other users. But I really disliked the film, and I'll probably wait to see it again when the whole saga is available in DVD. Before Episodes I and II came out, I could only imagine what occurred before. I imagined it as a very exiting, magical, and epic tale. I never thought that the events leading up to the clone wars could be so dull. THE CLONE WARS, just that name alone , conjured up so much incredible visions. Now we are getting closer to actually seeing it. I really really hope that Lucas surprises everyone a gives us the best film in the sixology with episode III. Out with a bang not a whimper.