Star Wars: Episode 2—Attack of the Clones

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Star Wars: Episode 2—Attack of the Clones ★★★ 2002 (PG)

Ambitious Jedi knight Anakin (Christensen) goes further on his journey to the dark side while Obi-Wan (McGregor) tries to reign him in. He and Amidala (Portman), who's now a senator, have a forbidden romance, and the Republic continues to be plaqued by enemies from within and without. The romance angle, so touted in the pre-release hype, seems forced due to a lack of chemistry (and some ridiculous dialogue) between the two leads, but everything else is spectacular. The exposition is handled much better that in Episode 1, (and really whets the appetite for Episode 3) and the action set pieces are (as expected) well done, and superbly choreographed. Christensen shows brief flashes of the personality changes to come in Anakin, but his performance is uneven. Jackson finally gets to show what he's got as the baddest Jedi this side of Yoda. 124m/C VHS, DVD . US Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Temuera Morrison, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Pernilla August, Jimmy Smits, Jack Thompson, Rose Byrne, Oliver Ford Davies, Leanna (Leeanna) Walsman, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Ronald Falk; D: George Lucas; W: George Lucas, Jonathan Hales; C: David Tattersall; M: John Williams; V: Frank Oz, Ahmed Best, Andrew Secombe. Golden Raspberries '02: Worst Support. Actor (Christensen).