Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) | Sci-Fi Saturdays

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My father didn’t fight in the Clone Wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter.

The Star Wars prequel saga takes a decidedly darker turn with its second film, Attack of the Clones. It raises the stakes and sets the stage for some amazing action pieces, fan service, and the upcoming final chapter of the Skywalker Saga.

First Impressions

The trailer for this second prequel is crammed to gills with visual excitement. A return to Tatooine, a water planet, Christopher Lee, the Clone Wars, lightsabers, spaceship chases, monsters, aliens, and more. Having a trailer such as this released onto the internet allowed for fans to dissect the imagery for clues, comparing them to the leaks that were coming from fan websites. This film promises a lot, and made fans even more excited for the upcoming Attack of the Clones.

Presented below is the trailer for the film.

The Fiction of The Film

Ten years after the events of The Phantom Menace, Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) is now a Senator in the Galactic Senate, returning to the city-planet Coruscant in order to vote on a resolution to create a Republic army. She is targeted for assassination but survives, and is assigned protection from two Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his padawan Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), who is still madly in love with her.

After another attempt on the Senator’s life, Obi-Wan and Anakin follow a shape-shifting bounty hunter, but she is killed before they can get a name out of her. Anakin is tasked with taking Padmé to her homeworld of Naboo, disguising themselves as commoners and taking public transport. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan tracks down the origins of the poison dart that killed the bounty hunter which takes him to the rainy ocean-world of Kamino.

Surprisingly, the long necked aliens of Kamino have been expecting a Jedi representative, since an order for a clone army was placed by another member of their sect ten years ago. He reviews the progress and communicates his findings to the Jedi Council. He also meets with the host used to produce the clones, a bounty hunter named Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison). Back on Naboo, Anakin and Padmé discuss politics and share a kiss along with some alone time, which pushes them closer together.

Obi-Wan follows Jango, and his unaltered clone/son, Boba (Daniel Logan), to the nearby world of Geonosis, where he discovers ex-Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) in league with a number of Separatists, who threaten secession from the Republic. Obi-Wan is captured and Dooku informs him of a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious that is in control of the Senate. Kenobi refuses to believe any of Dooku’s lies. Meanwhile, Anakin has taken Padmé to his homeworld of Tatooine upon realizing that his mother, Shmi (Perniella August), is in danger. She dies while in the hands of Tusken Raiders, so Anakin slaughters the tribe (not just the men, but the woman and children too), and returns her body to the Lars farm.

Yoda (voice of Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) order Anakin to stay with Padmé on Tatooine, while they check out the clone army and rescue Obi-Wan. Padmé believes that they will not arrive in time so she takes Anakin, along with droids C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) to the droid foundries of Geonosis. They too are captured and put on display in an arena for a public execution.

Luckily, a number of Jedi, led by party-pooper Mace Windu arrive and free the captives in time to battle hundreds of battle droids, bug-like Geonisians, and Jango Fett. Mace decapitates Jango, and the survivors are surrounded as Dooku escapes. Yoda arrives with a clone army numbering 200,000 units. They lead an assault on the Separatist forces, as Obi-Wan and Anakin pursue Dooku. The two Jedi are outmatched in a lightsaber battle, and both injured, Anakin having lost an arm. Fortunately, Yoda arrives and proves himself most adept in the Force and in lightsaber combat.

Dooku escapes and reports to his master, Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid)–who is secretly Chancellor Palpatine in disguise–reporting that he was successful in starting the war. Anakin escorts Padmé back to Naboo, and the two are married in a secret ceremony. On Coruscant, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Mace ponder the apparent lies of Dooku as they review the huge army that is suddenly under Republic control, just as the clone wars begin.

“The shroud of the dark side has fallen. Begun the Clone War has.” – Yoda

History in the Making

When George Lucas started his prequel trilogy in 1999 with The Phantom Menace, fans were assured that at least two more films were coming. Attack of the Clones became the second part in his (at this time) six-part saga of the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker. Released three years after Episode I, this film reunited the returning prequel actors, Portman, McGregor, McDiarmid, Oz, Ahmed Best as Jar Jar Binks, and Jackson with newcomers Christensen (taking over the role from young Jake Lloyd), Morrison (who would continue to play multiple roles as the voice of the clones, and eventually return as an adult Boba Fett on a Disney+ series, The Book of Boba Fett), Lee, and Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa–Princess Leia’s adoptive father.

As with The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones benefitted from an increase of digital technology; from the previsualization process to the filming and editing of the picture. Rather than create hand-drawn storyboards to lay out action scenes, camcorders and other digital assets were combined to make rough “home movie” sequences that could be shared with various departments on how a shot was to be framed, composited, or even paced. Episode II became the third motion picture to be fully shot digitally, after Lucas experimented with digital cameras on The Phantom Menace. To close out the loop, digital editing and compositing was used to allow Lucas the freedom to make changes up until the eleventh hour in terms of shot construction, pacing, and effects. He even had the ability to reframe scenes as needed, having shot the film at a 16:9 aspect ratio, a digital norm, which eventually was reduced to a 2.40:1 widescreen ratio for release.

Fan excitement was still high for this film, though many remained wary after feeling disappointed in the portrayals of young Anakin and Jar Jar three years before. Lucasfilm also toned down the marketing response, creating less merchandise than had been seen with The Phantom Menace. However, the studio responded to internet leaks and fueled rumors with posts on StarWars.com, the official website, with behind the scenes photos that gave previews of new and sometimes indecipherable things. Fans were still treated to action figures, novelizations, comic adaptations, and soundtracks as well as clothing, and other cross promotions. The film nevertheless garnered mixed reviews, some happy to see a more adult Anakin, but others displeased with what some believed was the actor’s inexperience. Some of the first Star Wars memes were born that day in May 2002, as fans bemoaned Christensen’s reading of, “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.” Stiil, by the end of the film, fans were able to see several possible connections between this film and A New Hope. Anakin and Padmé were married. Palpatine was making his move to turn the Republic into an Empire. And a burgeoning war probably meant the end for the Jedi. Just how would it all end, and what would cause Anakin to become, “more machine than man”? Another long three year wait would tell that tale.

Genre-fication

Within the genre of science-fiction, Star Wars is often considered space-fantasy or space-opera. But it is also really its own subgenre of Star Wars. When elements used in Star Wars films show up in other movies, they seem strange (and sometimes libelous). Lucas has always used references and elements from A New Hope in the other films of the original trilogy. He took obvious and sometimes not-so-obvious imagery, settings, and themes and remixed them in new ways. Examples from the original trilogy include a character having “a bad feeling about“ something, the return to Tatooine (a constant element, considering it’s far from the bright center of the universe), and an epic lightsaber duel in the third act. With the prequel films, Lucas now had more elements to work with, which he continued to utilize in unique and different ways.

A documentary video from the prequel films depicts Lucas talking about his usage of an “echo” or “rhyming” moments in the film, like “poetry.” The most prominent examples from Attack of the Clones include an opening shot of a giant spaceship and tilt to a planet (this time up, instead of down), a character in a bar/cantina that get dismembered by a lightsaber, and a big lightsaber battle (actually two) in the final act. There are call backs to A New Hope, which include the introduction of Owen and Beru Lars, Threepio’s complaint about how much he hates space travel (here being excited at never having flown), the discovery of where the Death Star plans originally came from, and a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it moment of Jango hitting his head on the door of Slave I (referencing the stormtrooper that smacked his head on the Death Star door). But with the middle film of the prequel trilogy, Lucas also had the ability to specifically reference (echo) the middle film in the original trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back.

Many people have noticed that the titles of the prequels all follow the word count of the originals: A New Hope/The Phantom Menace, The Empire Strikes Back/Attack of the Clones, and later Return/Revenge of the Jedi/Sith. The rhyming elements–whether dialogue, plot or imagery–are sometimes inverted or contorted to change their meaning, as with the opening shot being the only one of the five films, at the time, that pans up to a planet/spaceship. The structure of the film even mirrors Empire. Where this film starts in a city in the clouds (Coruscant) and ends with a ground battle on Geonosis, Empire had the opposite, starting with a ground battle on Hoth, and ending with a city on the clouds (Bespin). The first films in each trilogy, A New Hope and Phantom Menace, follow a single character or two and slowly add more heroes to the party as the action moves in a linear fashion from one adventure to the next. The middle films split the characters up. Luke goes his own way like Obi-Wan, and the romantic couples get a chance to spend time alone in either an asteroid field or on an idyllic plain. The ending shots even rhyme, with Anakin/Padmé and the droids in a pose very similar to Luke/Leia on the medical frigate flanked by the same two droids.

The other thing that Lucas accomplishes, amazingly, is the fact that Attack of the Clones works as either a second film in the Saga or the fifth. For the older generation who grew up with the original trilogy there are dozens of easter eggs and nods to elements heard or glimpsed in the original films. There’s an origin story for Boba Fett (however disappointed some fans may be by this), the romance of Luke and Leia’s parents, the origin of the Death Star plans, and the realization of what the Clone Wars are–having only heard “Ben” Kenobi tell Luke about them on Tatooine. These viewers know what’s going to happen to Anakin, and that Palpatine is the puppet master (the phantom menace) behind everything. But for new viewers who have only seen Episode I, they have no ideas about the elements to come and have the chance to watch everything with fresh eyes, only getting these echos and motifs when they get two to three more films into the Saga. It’s a complex and brilliant work of art.

Societal Commentary

Star Wars has always been a political universe. “The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I’ve just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently,” says Grand Moff Tarkin in A New Hope. Return of the Jedi had the overthrow of a tyrannical regime by an underpowered native militia. The prequel trilogy just upped the ante considerably. From the get-go, The Phantom Menace was about the taxation of trade routes, and the political machinations of a Sith Lord. Here the political themes continue. Anakin prominently distrusts politicians for the most part, and fails to understand the nuance of compromise. Individuals should be forced into compliance by “someone,” he says. Palpatine plays the frail Chancellor, beleaguered by the bickering Senate over the military creation act, only to goad and dupe Jar Jar into raising a motion to grant him supreme authority, which ends with the war, which Palpatine always wanted to arrive, starting.

Attack of the Clones also further examines the themes of love, attachment, and fear started in The Phantom Menace. Anakin is an extremely emotional person, drawn to others on a deep level. His attachments to his mother, Padmé, and Palpatine–all in that order–are the steps to his eventual downfall. He justifies that the Jedi are actually “encouraged to love,” by telling Padmé that their mandate of compassion is really unconditional love. He plays outside the rules and justifies his crimes because he is special and knows he is capable of handling things–but too naive to see that he can’t. The inevitable loss of these loved ones drives him to commit despicable acts in the name of love, again justifying the act as anything but revenge. Yoda’s words from Episode I begin to come to fruition. The Phantom Menace was about fear leading to anger. Here anger leads to hate. Anakin hates the Tuskens. And soon, that hate will lead him to the suffering that will cripple the entire galaxy.

Lucas’ visuals also play on a thematic level in the film. Episode I was a bright and cheery film with broad, cloudless skies on Coruscant, and midday suns on Tatooine. By this second act, the clouds have rolled in. The opening of the film is shrouded in fog as Padmé’s ship lands on Coruscant, and most planet scenes have a perpetual sunset occuring, with the exception of Kamino which is mired in high surf and storms. “The shroud of the Dark Side clouds everything,” Yoda tells Obi-Wan, and the film shows it.

The Science in The Fiction

This film happens to be one of at least half a dozen movies and television shows from the early 2000s that dealt with clones and cloning. The 6th Day and Replicant are two previous films covered on Sci-Fi Saturdays regarding the subject. This may sound weird to say, but Attack of the Clones has the more realistic portrayal of cloning of all of them. Most films that deal with cloning, at least historically, have exact duplicates of the characters appearing instantaneously. A device makes a copy of them (like in Multiplicity), or they are produced from some genetic “blank” in a matter of hours (like The 6th Day), or grown to adulthood in a matter of months (like Replicant). Attack of the Clones has their clones created in batches from the original genetic template, Jango over years. And the Kaminoans grow their trooper clones in a near real-timeframe. There is a growth accelerant introduced to keep the story moving, but it’s more accurate than anything to date. The Jedi order was placed ten years ago, so the first batch of clones is ten years old, with accelerated growth making them 20 years old in genetic terms. And since the clones are created in batches, the Republic will continually have more clones available through what will become a three year war with the Separatists.

Another interesting scientific oddity in this film is the seismic charges. Star Wars has long been dinged for perpetuating the stereotype of sounds in space. The original trench run has lasers pew-pewing around, and X-Wing and TIE Fighter engines whining. Why? Because it’s more exciting and engaging than a silent dogfight. This film takes the sound design of space to a new level with Ben Burtt’s version of the seismic charge, deployed by Jango Fett in the asteroid field. Much like an earthbound explosion miles away, the explosion is seen seconds before the sound occurs, with a “brraaaaam” sound effect tearing through the void. It’s as equally ludicrous as  anything else, but is also one of the more memorable moments.

The Final Frontier

George Lucas is a student of film, and as such likes to reference other cinematic elements he finds interesting. Many know that the overarching structure of A New Hope is based on the Akira Kurosawa film The Hidden Fortress. The Phantom Menace had a scene of Gungans on the mounts emerging from fog like another Kurosawa film, Throne of Blood, as well as basing the action of the podrace on the chariot race in Ben Hur. Attack of the Clones also borrows from classic cinema with the scenes of Anakin entering the Tusken village echoing the John Wayne western The Searchers. But Lucas seems to reference an even more modern film with Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of The Lambs. Specifically, it’s the scene that cross cuts between police about to raid a house, and the kidnapper inside his house. It appears to be the same location, but turns out, via editing, to be a fake out. Lucas does the same thing in the Outlander Club, with Zam holding a pistol. She appears to be following Anakin, but in reality she was sneaking up on Obi-Wan, who disarms her–literally.

Attack of the Clones introduces Christopher Lee to the Star Wars universe. A friend, and colleague, with both Alec Guiness (Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope) and Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin), Lee adds that old school villainy and gravitas that has become a trademark of the series. The film also, finally, gave Yoda an action scene that had audiences gasping. Known as a backwards-talking and slow-moving Jedi Master since 1980, fans were shocked to see Yoda’s spinning and flipping style–which was influenced by Filipino martial arts. Audiences also got to see a lightsaber in the rain. One of the more graphic and cinematic scenes. And for fans that bought the film on DVD, they were also treated to a mockumentary-style short film called R2-D2: Beneath the Dome, which was influenced by VH1’s rock documentary series Behind the Music. It was co-directed by droid wrangler and former ILM archivist Don Bies, and follows the reckless Hollywood lifestyle of R2-D2 after he shot to fame in the late 70s.

Attack of the Clones is the darker middle act of the trilogy which raises the stakes and sets the stage for the finale of the third act. However, it’s a film that has a lot of fans split on its merits. It definitely seems to be a more mature film than The Phantom Menace, and has a lot of fan service and action beats that attempt to please an aging original trilogy fan base. Certainly there are elements of it that might fall short, but it exceeds its mandate to set up the necessary character and plot elements to bring audiences one step closer to the creation of Darth Vader, coming in three short years to theaters everywhere.

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