Countdown to "The Rise of Skywalker" - Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's time, once again, for the Countdown To The Rise of Skywalker. This time, we'll be taking a look at the second chapter of the Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.
Ten years have passed since the events of The Phantom Menace, and Padme Amidala is now a Senator for the planet of Naboo, while Palpatine is now the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Several star systems across the galaxy are starting to break off from the Republic and are joining a Separatist movement that is being led by former Jedi Count Dooku. The Senate is discussing the formation of a Grand Army of the Republic to aid the Jedi, who are spread too thin to maintain peace, although there are some Senators who oppose forming such an army. Obi-Wan Kenobi has been training Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi, but isn't sure that he's ready to face the Jedi Trials yet.
Upon arriving on Coruscant, Padme survive an assassination attempt, but her decoy tragically dies in the attack. Upon the request of the Chancellor, Obi-Wan and Anakin are assigned to protect Padme from any future attempts on her life. It is here that we learn that a mercenary named Zam Wessell was behind the attack, and after a second attempt on Padme's life, is chased down by Anakin and Obi-Wan. Just as Zam is about to reveal who she was hired by, the bounty hunter she was working for kills her with a toxic dart and escapes. The next morning, Obi-Wan is tasked with finding the bounty hunter behind the attacks, while Anakin is tasked with escorting Padme back to Naboo, where she'll be safe from any future attacks. Upon identifying that the dart was from Kamino, Obi-Wan sets off to find this planet, and learns that the cloners of Kamino were building an army of clones for the Galactic Republic, and they were apparently hired by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas to do so. It is also revealed that the cloners used a Mandalorian bounty hunter named Jango Fett as the template for the clone army, and that he is living on the planet. After meeting Jango, Obi-Wan determines that he was, in fact, the bounty hunter behind the attempts on Padme's life. After a brief scuffle, Jango escapes with his son Boba, who is an unaltered clone (a clone without the growth acceleration or any other enhancements the other clones were given), and Obi-Wan follows him to the barren world of Geonosis, where the Separatists are building a massive army of battle droids.
Meanwhile on Naboo, Anakin and Padme are starting to develop a romantic attraction to each other, despite knowing that they cannot do so, as romance is forbidden for Jedi. After having a nightmare about his mother, Anakin and Padme leave Naboo for Tatooine, and they learn from Watto that Anakin's mother was sold to a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars, who freed and married her. Upon arriving at the Lars homestead, Anakin learns that his mother was taken by Tusken Raiders one day, and that search parties were unable to find her. Anakin goes out in search of her, and finds her dying in the Tusken camp. After she dies, Anakin goes berserk and kills every Tusken Raider in the camp. Upon returning to the Lars homestead, a funeral is held for Anakin's mother, attended by Anakin, Padme, C-3PO, Cliegg, his son Owen, and Owen's girlfriend Beru. After receiving a transmission from Obi-Wan, which they forward to Coruscant, Anakin and Padme decide to head for Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan, while the Senate votes to give emergency powers to the Chancellor, upon which he elects to create a Grand Army of the Republic with which to fight against the Separatist droid army.
After surviving their execution, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme are joined by several Jedi Knights, brought to Geonosis by Mace Windu. After surviving a battle with the droids, Yoda arrives with the clones to assist the Jedi. After a massive battle between the Jedi, clones, and droids, Count Dooku escapes with the schematics for an "ultimate weapon," while Anakin and Obi-Wan give chase. After a series of lightsaber duels between himself, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and even Yoda, Count Dooku escapes to Coruscant to join with his Sith Master, Darth Sidious. After the massive battle on Geonosis, the Jedi prepare for the oncoming war, Anakin and Padme marry in secret on Naboo, and the clone army prepares to mobilize against the Separatist army. The Clone Wars have begun.
First of all, I am aware that a lot of people weren't a fan of Hayden Christensen as Anakin, but I didn't mind his performance as much. While the romantic stuff that he and Natalie Portman delivered in the movie was insufferable at times, their chemistry was pretty decent. Christopher Lee, on the other hand, was terrific as Count Dooku. Remember, this movie was released five months after he first portrayed Saruman in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, so to see him follow up that performance with this is pretty cool. I also really liked how much more of a role Samuel L. Jackson had in this movie as Mace Windu, along with the fact that he got to wield a purple-bladed lightsaber, which is awesome.
Ten years have passed since the events of The Phantom Menace, and Padme Amidala is now a Senator for the planet of Naboo, while Palpatine is now the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Several star systems across the galaxy are starting to break off from the Republic and are joining a Separatist movement that is being led by former Jedi Count Dooku. The Senate is discussing the formation of a Grand Army of the Republic to aid the Jedi, who are spread too thin to maintain peace, although there are some Senators who oppose forming such an army. Obi-Wan Kenobi has been training Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi, but isn't sure that he's ready to face the Jedi Trials yet.
Upon arriving on Coruscant, Padme survive an assassination attempt, but her decoy tragically dies in the attack. Upon the request of the Chancellor, Obi-Wan and Anakin are assigned to protect Padme from any future attempts on her life. It is here that we learn that a mercenary named Zam Wessell was behind the attack, and after a second attempt on Padme's life, is chased down by Anakin and Obi-Wan. Just as Zam is about to reveal who she was hired by, the bounty hunter she was working for kills her with a toxic dart and escapes. The next morning, Obi-Wan is tasked with finding the bounty hunter behind the attacks, while Anakin is tasked with escorting Padme back to Naboo, where she'll be safe from any future attacks. Upon identifying that the dart was from Kamino, Obi-Wan sets off to find this planet, and learns that the cloners of Kamino were building an army of clones for the Galactic Republic, and they were apparently hired by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas to do so. It is also revealed that the cloners used a Mandalorian bounty hunter named Jango Fett as the template for the clone army, and that he is living on the planet. After meeting Jango, Obi-Wan determines that he was, in fact, the bounty hunter behind the attempts on Padme's life. After a brief scuffle, Jango escapes with his son Boba, who is an unaltered clone (a clone without the growth acceleration or any other enhancements the other clones were given), and Obi-Wan follows him to the barren world of Geonosis, where the Separatists are building a massive army of battle droids.
Meanwhile on Naboo, Anakin and Padme are starting to develop a romantic attraction to each other, despite knowing that they cannot do so, as romance is forbidden for Jedi. After having a nightmare about his mother, Anakin and Padme leave Naboo for Tatooine, and they learn from Watto that Anakin's mother was sold to a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars, who freed and married her. Upon arriving at the Lars homestead, Anakin learns that his mother was taken by Tusken Raiders one day, and that search parties were unable to find her. Anakin goes out in search of her, and finds her dying in the Tusken camp. After she dies, Anakin goes berserk and kills every Tusken Raider in the camp. Upon returning to the Lars homestead, a funeral is held for Anakin's mother, attended by Anakin, Padme, C-3PO, Cliegg, his son Owen, and Owen's girlfriend Beru. After receiving a transmission from Obi-Wan, which they forward to Coruscant, Anakin and Padme decide to head for Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan, while the Senate votes to give emergency powers to the Chancellor, upon which he elects to create a Grand Army of the Republic with which to fight against the Separatist droid army.
After surviving their execution, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme are joined by several Jedi Knights, brought to Geonosis by Mace Windu. After surviving a battle with the droids, Yoda arrives with the clones to assist the Jedi. After a massive battle between the Jedi, clones, and droids, Count Dooku escapes with the schematics for an "ultimate weapon," while Anakin and Obi-Wan give chase. After a series of lightsaber duels between himself, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and even Yoda, Count Dooku escapes to Coruscant to join with his Sith Master, Darth Sidious. After the massive battle on Geonosis, the Jedi prepare for the oncoming war, Anakin and Padme marry in secret on Naboo, and the clone army prepares to mobilize against the Separatist army. The Clone Wars have begun.
First of all, I am aware that a lot of people weren't a fan of Hayden Christensen as Anakin, but I didn't mind his performance as much. While the romantic stuff that he and Natalie Portman delivered in the movie was insufferable at times, their chemistry was pretty decent. Christopher Lee, on the other hand, was terrific as Count Dooku. Remember, this movie was released five months after he first portrayed Saruman in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, so to see him follow up that performance with this is pretty cool. I also really liked how much more of a role Samuel L. Jackson had in this movie as Mace Windu, along with the fact that he got to wield a purple-bladed lightsaber, which is awesome.
While some of the dialogue can be a bit ridiculous, the action and visual effects were stunning. Overall, Attack of the Clones was a decent entry in the Star Wars saga, and I give it a rating of 4/5. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time when I cover Revenge of the Sith when the Countdown to The Rise of Skywalker continues.
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