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Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
To
be honest, the anticipation of a big “event movie” (and they don’t get much
bigger than “Star Wars”) is often more fun than the movie itself. Talking about
it with your friends. Waiting in line. Racing for the best seats. Wondering if
the movie can live up to the hype. So
does “Episode II” measure up? Yes and, sadly, no. The Story
For
those of you who haven’t already memorized all the plot points from the
advanced magazine articles, TV specials, and Web sites, here’s a thumbnail
sketch: Ten
years have passed since the Phantom Menace. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden
Chirstensen) is now a tall Jedi apprentice who’s gotten pretty good with the
Force and a lightsaber—but hasn’t learned much patience. Queen Amidala (Natalie
Portman) has left the throne of Naboo and is now an influential senator of the
Republic. Oh, and somebody’s trying to kill her. On
the airport terminal world of Coruscant, Yoda assigns Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan
McGregor) and Anakin to protect Amidala. Before long, Anakin and Amidala are
spending a lot of time on the run together (and falling in love?). And Obi Wan
is chasing Jango Fett around the galaxy and stumbling across a giant army of
cloned warriors. Eventually,
the Jedi Council figures out that a group of world leaders who have broken ties
with the Republic are trying to kill Amidala and start a war. But before all
that, Anakin and Amidala race to Tatooine to search for and try to save
Anakin’s mom. Eventually, though, Anakin and Amidala race to save Obi Wan from
the leaders of the Rebellion, setting off the first major battle of the new
war. Whew! The Verdict
The
best thing about “Episode II” is the big battle sequences and special effects.
We get lots of action this time around. From thousands of ships in space to
dozens of new species on the ground, the movie is popping with creativity and
technical achievement. The
digital sets Lucas created are also very cool, even if they look a little
familiar. An early chase scene looks a lot like a digital version of “Blade
Runner,” complete with giant video billboards. And a later battle sequence in a
sandy arena is a sci-fi cousin to “Gladiator.” It’s
also fun to watch the pieces come together to make the “future” movies
possible. When will Anakin go bad and move toward becoming Darth Vader? How
will he and Amidala get together so they can “produce” Luke and Leah? Where did
the storm troopers come from? Where did Boba Fett come from? How and why did
the whole intergalactic war start? All these questions get answered in “Episode
II.” Unfortunately—at
least for me—the strengths of the movie also become its biggest weaknesses.
Yes, the writing and acting are less than satisfying. But that’s not the point
of a movie like this. We come back for the sci-fi effects and the story. And
the computer-generated images—as cool-looking as they are—never completely
blend with the “real” people in the film. It
was obvious to me that Yoda and most of the other characters and most of the
sets and most of the armies are all just digital images on film. I could never
get all the way into the “illusion” that the actors and the animated images
were in the same world. It was a huge distraction. I kept imagining the actors
doing their scenes in front of a big green scene, talking to a dot on the end
of a pole. In
short, the computer images—including Yoda’s gymnastic lightsaber battle—all
looked amazing on their own, but the lack of reality kept me from feeling any
tension or suspense. The
other problem for me was the lack of surprises. Because we know where so much
of the story ends up, you rarely wonder what’s going to happen next—just how
we’ll get there. As I said, that’s kind of fun. But it doesn’t lure you
anywhere near the edge of your seat. The Spiritual
In
the end, the most engaging thing about the movie was watching Anakin struggle
with his pride, his hurt, and his anger. Hayden Christensen did a decent job of
playing a mix of the child in “Episode I” and the evil adult we know he’ll
become. One
thing that Christianity has in common with Eastern religion (where “Star Wars”
gets lots of its theology) is that both teach the danger of letting your fear
and anger control you. The Bible warns us when feeling anger not to sin--and
not to hold on to anger for more than a day (Ephesians 4:26). We’re also told
to get rid of anger, bitterness, and a desire to hurt other people (Colossians
3:8). Finally, we know that human anger will never accomplish anything good
(James 1:20). With
Eastern religion (and “the Force”), you’re told to control your anger on your
own, using the good within you. As Christians, we don’t believe we’re born with
any good inside of us (Isaiah 64:6). That’s why believers are given God’s Holy
Spirit to give us the power to control our anger and live in His peace. We
couldn’t do it without Him. “Episode
II” spends a lot less time talking about the Force than the last movie, but
it’s still there. The New Age teaching of “Star Wars” is just as much a lie as
the witchcraft and wizardry of “Harry Potter.” It’s just less obvious. As
always, Christians need to be aware of the worldview presented in a movie and
know the truth well enough to counter it. The Wrap-Up
“Star
Wars Episode II” doesn’t leave you with that “to be continued” feeling I thought
it would. You know there’s more to come, but it ends at a satisfying place.
Unfortunately, it didn’t leave me feeling much of anything all. George Lucas
has promised that “Episode III” will wrap everything up and answer all the
questions. Hopefully, it will also feel less like an animated movie surrounding
a few living actors. But
even if it doesn’t, I’m sure I’ll get that little thrill when the music starts
to play and those yellow words start scrolling into space. If
you see the movie, questions you can discuss with friends, parents, or just
think about yourself: • How would you rate “Attack of the Clones” on a scale from 1 to
10? • Do you think digital images have been good or bad for movies? • Will you look forward to the next “Star Wars” movie more or less
than you looked forward to this one? • How would you summarize the spiritual teaching of the Jedi’s
about the Force? • How is that teaching different from what you believe? • How hard is it for you to control your anger? What helps you the
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