In the game of baseball, an almost infinite amount of outcomes can occur whenever a hitter steps up to the plate. It is one of the most charming things about the game in general, that the potential for seeing something you’ve never seen before exists on every single pitch.
The strategy involved, by all parties, can wildly affect different outcomes. But right or wrong, it’s the hitter’s mentality that often receives the most scrutiny by observers. Is the hitter swinging for the fences? Is he putting a little extra pop into his swing, risking the biggest of whiffs in the process, but also giving him the opportunity to change the game in one swing with a deep shot? Or is he “playing it safe,” hitting for average and just trying to get on base?
The sport is littered with guys who took that “swing for the fences” mentality to extreme levels, guys like Sammy Sosa and Andres Galarraga retiring with a stat line full of both homers AND strikeouts … the ultimate feast or famine hitters.
There are many coaches who try to drill this out of guys, preaching the classic “don’t be a hero” line, and certainly the sport has plenty of space for different schools of thought on this topic. No one is exactly right or wrong, per se.
But…
I like home runs.
Therefore, I like the pursuit of home runs as well. There’s nothing quite so thrilling as a zero sum game — all or nothing — played out over the course of a couple of hours. What can I say? I respect an aggressive mentality, or perhaps more accurately, a willingness to shoot for the stars … even if failure can be the end result.
Enter “Attack of the Clones.”
George Lucas’ second movie in his Star Wars prequel trilogy is widely held in low regard among fans, critics and the general populace. And it’s easy to see why. Indeed, the most common complaints about the prequels in general can be applied to this movie specifically.
The acting is wooden.
They rely too heavily on digital effects.
Some of this stuff is really opaque and/or boring.
While I don’t necessarily agree with all of that, I can also acknowledge that the criticisms have some merit. I can further acknowledge that “Attack of the Clones” is the most prequel-y of the prequels.
So why do I still love it?
Swinging for the fences, man.
Let’s time-travel back to the genesis of the movie. “Say, I’ve got an idea. Let’s tell a grand, epic love story whilst also telling a prime detective ode to noir starring Obi-freaking-Wan Kenobi, mash these two stories together into a fantabulous gladiator jubilee, morph THAT into the greatest land battle in the history of the Star Wars universe, and oh, just for shits and giggles, let’s show the kids Yoda in his prime wrecking shop in a lightsaber duel to end all lightsaber duels.”
Holy shit, give me that movie every day of the week.
That this movie didn’t nail each of those elements successfully is deeply frustrating, both for fans of the movie and critics alike. A pertinent question might be the batting average, as it were, since we have to evaluate the movie somehow, and my contention is that the movie has tremendous value, both in its intent, but also more importantly in its execution.
Its batting average is still respectable.
I recall my first viewing on opening weekend, and I left the theater hyped as hell. Sure, we had some moments of wince, but we also had some highs that exceeded Episode 1. And to be sure, I can’t for a second doubt that the filmmakers intentionally tried to address concerns and complaints about that first movie.
Less Jar-Jar!
More Obi-Wan!
More tie-ins to the original trilogy!
Make it cooler and less kiddie!
Check marks across the board. Was it a little try-hard? Yes, definitely. But seeing something as remarkable as Yoda leaping around swinging a lightsaber, despite being fan service, was an incredibly breath-taking experience.
That sense of wonder, and leaning into it as much as humanly possible, has always served Star Wars well. Each movie tries to do it bigger and better than the last. And it’s arguably the most important aspect of the entire series. The modern myth, steeped in the likes of Joseph Campbell, isn’t a fail-safe by any stretch, but I will never fault Star Wars for falling back into the roots of what made it great in the first place. It wasn’t the rickety spaceships or the laser swords so much as it was the tale of a young person finding their path in a big, fascinating world that inspires and awes.
We see that here in spades.
Coruscant had never looked bigger (or more threatening). We also get to see more of Naboo and Tatooine and amazing new worlds like the humanoid-termite infested Geonosis and the crashing waves and storms balancing the interior serenity on Kamino. This is visually stunning stuff.
Lucas hasn’t spoken much on his influences for the film, though there are direct inspirations that are easy to see like William Wyler (“Ben-Hur”) David Lean (“Lawrence of Arabia”) and Steven Spielberg (“Close Encounters of the Third Kind”), but you can also guess that great Italian romances like “Three Coins in the Fountain” surely had an influence as well. The sheer breadth of films Lucas attempts to pay homage to here is staggering.
Notably, these types of creative decisions in regard to the imagery tell our story in a meaningful way. Consider Kamino, for example. A ravaging external environment represents a harsh, war-like galaxy, which the Kaminoans choose to exhile themselves from (though not before exploiting them for profit … hypocrites).
Later on, we see in Anakin Skywalker’s quest to rescue his mother — which morphs into a revenge play after he fails — some of the most powerful scenes of the franchise. You don’t have to squint to see “The Searchers” in this narrative. And while it’s tremendously shot, it’s also one of the rare instances within the film of just absolutely phenomenal acting.
Ah, the acting.
You can defend it to a point. Yes, the love story inspires much wince, but when you look at the nature of the romance (these two are super inexperienced at this stuff), the choices here make some sense. The formality of the Jedi Order, the politicians, yadda yadda yadda. Most of it makes sense if you really want to try to rationalize it, though there’s no defending certain things (“You’re soft, unlike sand, let’s kiss!”)
When one weighs the sometimes shaky dialogue and acting performances on display (which, let’s be clear, are decided marks against the movie), the visuals and John Williams score are that much more striking. Furthermore, I’ve contended for some time that of George’s films, this one most of all might lend itself best to the silent film treatment. This is absolutely peak visual storytelling, and John Williams brings his usual exceptional contributions as well. Do you even need dialogue at that point?*
* Here’s where I also make the case that the nonsensical plotting of Obi-Wan’s detective endeavors is much like the unraveling of a sweater: The more we pull on that particular string with added dialogue, the less sense any of it makes. Let’s just not talk about it at all, yes?
It’s not straight “A’s.” This film was shot digitally, and coupled with Lucas’ reliance on green screens and studio sets, the effect on the viewer can be disorienting. For some, a legion of digital clonetroopers poses no problems. For others, the uncanny valley is too much to overcome. That Lucas made the call to go 100% digital was risky as hell. Was the technology truly ready to handle this type of burden?
Swing for the fences, baby.
Whether it works for you or not, the final act of this movie is some of the most bat-shit, balls-out, ambitious film-making you’ll see in this series or in any big budget film … ever. From the moment that Padme declares her love (and the moment works, thanks to the amazing “Across the Stars”), we are treated to an unrelenting pace of sensory overload via the epic arena battle and its subsequent leaking out into the surrounding landscape of Geonosis.
It all ends with the future seeds of the Empire fully planted with Palpatine now over-seeing an army of faux-stormtroopers, the entire galaxy embroiled in the Clone Wars, and the supreme cherry on top of this shit sundae: Anakin and Padme getting married in secret. That our heroes are doomed doesn’t occur to them, but it certainly occurs to us. This foreboding sequence of events constitutes the darkest ending of any of the movies, precisely because it presents itself in the shell of optimism. They’re doomed. They’re all doomed. And tragically, they don’t know it yet. It’s my favorite ending of the saga.
I admire this movie for going for broke. I’ve been both meanly critical and effusively glowing in my past remarks about this movie, and if I’ve had a bi-polar reaction to it, it’s because it’s the most bi-polar film in the saga. I alternatively hate and love it, even during the course of a single viewing.
“I hate sand.”
Gaaaaaaaah!
“Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be the death of me?”
YES YES YES!
Hey, what can I say? I love the chase for the home run. Like Sammy Sosa, “Attack of the Clones” strikes out WHILE hitting home runs. It’s not perfect by the stretch of anyone’s imagination, but like a good home run derby, it’s absolutely, without question, entertaining as hell.
As Star Wars always is.
Liked this post? Check out:
My retrospective on “The Phantom Menace”
My retrospective on “Return of the Jedi”
My retrospective on “The Empire Strikes Back”
My retrospective on “Star Wars: A New Hope”