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Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones [2002]
from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson
directed by George Lucas

Features:

• Anamorphic
• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

The most densely plotted instalment of the saga so far, Attack of the Clones is a tale of both Machiavellian political drama and doomed romance; it's epic war film and silly comic-book fantasy combined, as teenage Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) chafes at the restrictions imposed by his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and falls in love with Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman). Renegade Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) is leading a breakaway federation of disgruntled systems; while the insidious influence of Darth Sidious is felt rather than seen as his invisible hand guides apparently unrelated events, from Jar Jar's unwitting instigation of a disastrous Senate decision to bounty hunter Jango Fett's revelatory role at the centre of the conspiracy.

Along the way the story has fun with the conventions of Chandleresque detective fiction as Obi-Wan explores the seedier side of Coruscant, and incorporates the noble warrior ethos of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in its portrayal of the Jedi order. The portentous tone is lightened by tongue-in-cheek self-referential dialogue and the antics of robotic clowns R2D2 and C3PO. (One niggle for music fans, though, is the cavalier cut-and-paste approach to John Williams's music score.) Like the Empire Strikes Back, Clones is the bridging film of the trilogy and thus ends on an equivocally bittersweet note.

On the DVD: Attack of the Clones is an all-digital film, and so looks suitably superb in this anamorphic widescreen transfer, accompanied by a THX encoded Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. Anyone who owns The Phantom Menace two-disc set will know what to expect from the special features: here's another group commentary led by George Lucas, two lengthy documentaries on the digital effects ("From Puppets to Pixels" and "The Previsualisation of Episode II") plus several other featurettes and Web documentaries, notably "Films Are Not Released, They Escape", a look at the sound design. There's also a fun trailer for the R2-D2 mockumentary "Beneath the Dome", trailers, photo galleries and more to satisfy any Star Wars fan. --Mark Walker

DVD Special Features (To Be Confirmed):
Feature-length Audio Commentary
Exclusive Deleted Scenes with Introductions
"From Puppets to Pixels" An all new Full-Length Documentary
"State of the Art: The Previsualization of Episode II"
"Films Are Not Released; They Escape" Sound Documentary
Featurettes: Three mini-documentaries offering a detailed look at Attack of the Clones Web Documentaries: The award-winning 12-part web series that debuted on starwars.com
"Across the Stars" Music Video: original composition by John Williams
Poster and Print Campaign
Trailers and TV Spots
"R2-D2: Beneath the Dome" Mockumentary trailer
Never-Before-Seen Production Photo Gallery
ILM Visual Effects Breakdown Montage
Exclusive DVD-ROM Content Picture: Widescreen 2.35:1 anamorphic
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 -- THX Surround EX

In the second installment of the Star Wars series, EPISODE II--ATTACK OF THE CLONES, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is now a teenage Jedi apprentice to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). Together they must protect Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) from a militant group of political activists who are trying to assassinate her. This group is led by the evil Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). But aside from other troubles, Anakin faces some hard choices as he begins to fall in love with Padme, a love that is forbidden by the Jedi knights' creed. In addition, Anakin begins to show his rebellious attraction to the dark side--which will eventually conquer him, when he becomes the future Darth Vader.
The story is set 10 years after STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE, and there are appearances by some of PHANTOM's characters, including the much-maligned Jar Jar Binks. But CLONES also contains familiar faces from the original STAR WARS: the lovable droids R2D2 and C3PO appear here, as does Yoda, who plays a key role in this film. Although the acting is for the most part wooden, and the dialogue full of clunkers, Lucas creates an impressive array of beautifully rendered alien planets and beings, sleek spaceships, and dazzling effects; he remains at the head of the class in terms of technical ability and visual imagination. The film's climactic final sequences show the magic with which CLONES' earns its place as part of the beloved STAR WARS series.

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

• rubbish
  after the awful phantom menace this is if anything worse,the acting is awful as is the scripting and the film is also very boring.one of the worst star wars films

• Perhaps George Lucas's Most Advant Garde Stars Wars Movie?
  *Contains spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen the film*
  Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is the Star Wars movie that possibly divide's Star Wars fans the most. With The Phantom Menace, most fans are united in their indifference to down right loathing. With Revenge of the Sith, most fans agreed that it was a huge step up in all departments. But with 2002's Attack of the Clones opinion was varied widely between those that hated it more then Phantom Menace right through to those that thought it... more info

• Decent in parts, but still a disapointment.
  Well this film is certainly better than 'The Phantom Menace' but it still has plenty of bad points. The acting is still dodgey but the biggest crime is the script. At times the script and acting are cringefully bad. The romantic scenes between Anikin and Padame are very poor and at times embarassingly bad. In this film there are a few contenders for 'worst actor of the decade' award (if there was one). That being said, there are some good points ..... Chrisphor Lee is excellent as a Sith-Lord and Jar Jar... more info

• not great, not even good...but still better than the Phantom Menace
  Hype, or hyperbole to give it its full title, is defined as a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated, and is used to evoke strong feelings and create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally. Lets be honest here, with that definition I could have described any of the Star Wars movies, and if anything has been associated with so much hype it makes your head spin, it has been these movies, in particular the so called prequels. However, other words are also associated with... more info

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