7) Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones (2002)
Directed by: George Lucas
Written By: George Lucas, Jonathan Hales
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid, Temuera Morrison, Jimmy Smits, Ahmed Best, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker
Suffering from all of the same issues as The Phantom Menace, Attack Of The Clones fares slightly better only by virtue of the fact that it moves the story along in a timely, well-executed fashion. After the laborious pace of The Phantom Menace, Attack of The Clones packs a great deal of momentum into its 144 minute runtime, with the character of Anakin moving from frustrated Padawan, to young lover tempted by the Dark Side; and the hitherto hidden, political machinations of the fledgling Empire coming into view.
The real problem with the film is that Hayden Christensen, in playing Anakin, starts the film at what seems to be an already high level of agitation – which means that when he’s required to increase that to an explosive rage, he has little room for manoeuvre. Instead, he depicts a young man whose whininess is enough to challenge that of the young Luke Skywalker at his most dissatisfied teen stage. This only serves to make the romance between Anakin and Padme Amidala even less believable.
The fact that Anakin and Obi Wan Kenobi head out on different investigative paths is a win for the film, as the dynamic between the two characters is relatively tedious. These Jedi are far more compelling to watch when pursuing their own leads, in addition to the way in which this two-pronged development speeds up proceedings.
