This is it!  The finale of the sequel trilogy from George Lucas.   After enduring 5 plus hours of entertaining, yet uneven action from the Phantom Menace and the Attack of the Clones, we can now finally find out what leads to the ultimate transformation of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader. Despite the flaws and misstep’s  Lucas had done a great job in setting the stage for a thrilling conclusion to the saga.  Beyond the Skywalker storyline there was the plight of the republic, the Jedi order, and the evolution of Obi Wan Kenobi as a hero.  These plots held intrigue for me going into the finale, gave me very high expectations for this film, and I had faith that George wouldn’t let me down.  Or will he . . . 

We start off getting thrown into the carnage and madness of the war between the Republic and the Separatists.  Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi are on a mission to rescue the captured Chancellor Palpatine now held hostage by Count Dooku and General Grevious of the Separatists.  The two Jedi confront the Count and demand his release.  When Dooku refuses, a lightsaber battle commences.  Obi Wan is defeated, but Anakin avenges his defeat from the previous film and kills Dooku.  He rescues the Chancellor and despite the pleading of Palpatine to leave Obi Wan behind, Skywalker rescues his unconscious mentor.  On his return to the Republican capital, he embraces his now pregnant wife Padme, who he’s secretly married.  While being lauded as a hero, Anakin’s bid for the Jedi council was rejected due to his youth despite his great abilities. In addition, the council has handed him the task of spying on the Chancellor and report back to them if he can be trusted to run the Republic.  Despite his frustration with the council and Palpainte being his benefactor, with reluctance, Anakin accepts.

The war itself despite the rescue of the Chancellor, continues to rage on.  In service of the republic, numerous Jedi become leaders of various clone armies to thwart off various attacks from the droid armies.  Among the Jedi are Obi Wan who is searching for General Grevious and Yoda who is in an alliance with the wookies to liberate their planet. from the Separatists.  Meanwhile Anakin discovers that Palpatine is indeed a Sith with a powerful knowledge of the Force.  The Chancellor seduces Skywalker with claims that he could teach him the dark side which would guarantee the health of Padme through her difficult pregnancy.   He reports back to the leader of the Jedi Council Mace Windu of his findings, and Windu takes a group of Jedi to arrest the Sith lord while ordering him to remain where he is.  Skywalker remains conflicted however as the visions of the premature death of his wife continue to haunt him as he ponders whether or not he should intervene with the pending arrest of Palpatine.  

This is a difficult film to review.  There’s a lot I like about this film.  For one, I actually liked the dark tone of the film.  Don’t get me wrong, I like optimism and redemption in movies, but that’s what the original trilogy was..  The world can be cruel and evil and this film is a reminder of that sad fact..  There are murders, betrayals, massacre’s, and heartbreak in this film, but there’s also consequences for those committing those acts.  Anakin is physically and emotionally scarred and Palpatine’s actions would ultimately led to the formation of the Rebels that would later defeat him and his Empire.  Sometimes before the light can shine, there has to be darkness.  

I also think the major strength of the film is the relationship between Palpatine and Skywalker.  Anakin is powerful yet very troubled.  He’s dealing with the death of his mother, a forbidden relationship with Padme, and is seeking a mentor for guidance.  While Obi Wan is a very good influence for him, he doesn’t understand the angst and anxiety that Skywalker is going through.  Enter Palpatine.  He knows Anakin’s visions of Padme’s demise and he knows exactly how to use it to his own advantage.  He tempts him with the dark side of the force as the only way to save Padme and creates doubt between him and the rest of the Jedi. .  Ian McDiarmid’s performance as the treacherous dark lord is acting perfection.  You could easily imagine him being the devil incarnated as he leads his vulnerable prey to the path of the dark side.  It’s very unsettling to watch but witnessing Anakin’s transformation from good to evil does answer the question of the origins of Darth Vader in a very satisfying way.

Lucas also does a great job at creating the ominous tone of the film.  Whether it’s the dark menacing John Williams score or the dark backdrop of colors and setting, George ensures that this Star Wars film is bleak from the Chancellor’s office to the red lava dominated climatic lightsaber battle.  This is also his best screenplay with a variety of twists and revelations that will shock and sadden us.  It probably helps that he doesn’t have to focus on the romance between Anakin and Padme and he can just focus on their fates as opposed to the development of their relationship.  I also enjoy how effectively he uses the cameos of C3PO, R2D2, and Chewbacca to add emphasis to the story as opposed just sticking them in to interrupt the flow.  This is Lucas’ at his best as a filmmaker in this trilogy.

However, I will severely criticize two storyline decisions that ultimately hamper the film.  First, why have Count Dooku be killed off in the beginning of the film and be replaced by a character who hadn’t been seen until this film?  Christopher Lee’s charismatic portrayal as the Count was a major reason why I enjoyed the flawed yet enjoyable Clones film and his early demise was a waste of a great character.  Then replacing him with the animated General Grievous makes matters worse.  The lightsaber duo between Obi Wan and the computer animated Grievous while a great example of special effects is emotionally hollow.  It’s a credit to Ewan McGregor that the sequence wasn’t laughable. 

My Second complaint is the execution of the climax of the two great conflicts involving Anakin, Obi Wan, Yoda, and Palpatine.  The culprit once again is the over reliance of special effects.  The first battle is a lightsaber battle that is so fast and elaborate that it’s hard to follow, with minimal emotion until it’s climax..  The other duo is the battle of the knowledge of the force that is dominated with computer generated objects and maneuvers.  It doesn’t take long until it becomes phony and fake.  Unlike previous battles between Vader and Luke and Obi Wan with Darth Mull, there was too much reliance on effects and a lack of refinement in the effects that plague the battles.  Yoda and Palpatine’s battle is very tepid  while Anakin and Obi Wan’;s confrontation is only salvaged by it’s exciting conclusion.  Very disappointing.

The film is very good, but it should’ve been a great film.  The grand introduction of Darth Vader is a perfect example.  It was exciting seeing the helmet put on his head for the first time to hear his first asthmatic breathing pattern.  However, that great moment is tarnished somewhat by his yell that is currently used in radio drops in as a punch line across the country.   A great moment that becomes somewhat tarnished.  I really wanted to reward this film for being willing to be a dark, bleak film that does a great job answering all the questions and storylines from the first two films.  I just can’t overlook how unsatisfied I was with the battles and fights that were the strengths of the original trilogy.   I just shake my head at what could’ve been.

Brian‘s rating   7

20/20 Movie Review: Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones – 2002