Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

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Overview:

The sequel to the financially successful, and slightly controversial, Star Wars film the Phantom Menace. This film follows the events that lead up to the clone wars, the war that would transform the Republic from a peaceful Jedi-led government to the Empire, a Sith-led totalitarian and tyrannical government. This was considered the poorest of the three prequels, depending on who you ask, from Lucas and like the other two had its many scenes and choices from George Lucas that would anger the more hardcore fans.

Creation:

After a lukewarm response by fans and critics George Lucas was hesitant to start writing but finally finished his first draft of Episode 2 about three months before shooting began. Originally, during the production of Empire Strikes Back, Lucas has decided that Lando Calrissian was to be a clone and the planet he came from was to be a part of the Clone Wars mentioned in the first movie. But Lucas eventually came up with the concept of clone troopers which would eventually become the army for the Republic.

Plot Summary:

Starting up 10 years after The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones begin, like all the other Star Wars movies, in space. A Naboo starship is moving toward Coruscant and comes to a landing on one of the landing pads floating in the air. As Padme is exiting the ship, the ship explodes and is destroyed, killing Padme. However, we learn that Padme was actually in one of the Naboo Starfighters escorting the ship and the Padme killed was a stand-in.

Padme had come to Coruscant to vote on the matter of whether the Republic should raise a Grand Army of the Republic or not. She goes to visit Chancellor Palpatine and he gives her two Jedi bodyguards, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. They then journey to Padme's apartment and set up security measures to keep her safe. That night, the

Anakin in Padme's apartment

assassin makes another attempt and sends in a couple of poisonous centipedes/millipedes. Obi-Wan and Anakin feel that Padme is in danger so they rush in and Anakin kills the poisonous creatures with his lightsaber.

Obi-Wan sees the droid that brought the creatures was still outside the window. He jumps out the window and hangs onto the droid as it returns to the assassin. When Obi-Wan jumps out the window, Anakin runs downstairs and finds a speeder to use. He then goes after Obi-Wan. When Obi-Wan gets close to the assassin, she shoots the droid that Obi-Wan hangs onto and he plummets down toward the planet but Anakin catches him. They then chase after the assassin and eventually bring her speeder down near a business district in Coruscant. She escapes into a bar and Obi-Wan and Anakin chase after her. Once in the bar, the assassin stalks Anakin but Obi-Wan catches her and cuts off her arm with his lightsaber. They take her outside to interrogate her

Zam Wessel

but before she is able to say anything, she is killed by a mysterious person who uses a jetpack to escape.

After this, Anakin is assigned to escort Padme back to Naboo and Obi-Wan continues to search out the mysterious stranger. He first goes to the Jedi library and does not find any information about the dart in the archives. He then goes to a friend who runs a diner and learns that the dart was made on the planet Kamino, where the people are known to be excellent cloners. He searches for Kamino but realizes that the location of the planet was deleted after talking with Master Yoda, who was instructing Younglings.

Obi-Wan travels to Kamino to learn about this mysterious person and when he arrives, the Kaminoans ask him if he has come to inspect the army. Obi-Wan is very surprised and asks who came to start the creation of the army. The Kaminoan says that Master Sypho-Dias had it created. Obi-Wan is told that a bounty hunter called Jango Fett was the template for the clones and goes to talk with him. When he meets him, Obi-Wan suspects that this is the man who

Jango & Boba Fett and Obi-Wan

killed the assassin. Jango and his son, a clone he calls Boba Fett pack some things and move toward his ship, Slave 1. Obi-Wan intercepts Jango and tries to stop him but is thwarted by the skill of Jango and his weapons, which include his blasters, a missile on the back of his jet pack and Boba using the guns of Slave 1 against Obi-Wan. Before Obi-Wan falls off the platform, he throws a tracking beacon that hangs onto Slave 1 and he tracks Jango and Boba to the planet Geonosis.

On Naboo, Anakin and Padme begin to flirt with each other and eventually they fall in love. Throughout their time there, they spend time outside and just have a good time. However, Anakin begins to have visions of his mom, Shmi, who is

Obi Wan and Jango fight on Kamino

on Tatooine. Anakin goes to Tatooine even though Obi-Wan told him to stay put. When Anakin arrived on Tatooine, he went to see Watto, who was his owner before he left with Qui-Gon Jinn. Watto told him that he lost his mom in a bet with a Hutt and then eventually she ended up with a man with the last name of Lars. Anakin, Padme, R2D2 and C-3PO traveled to the Lars moisture farm to find his mother. He was met by Cliegg Lars, who had bought Shmi and then married her. Anakin also met Cliegg's son Owen and his wife Beru. Anakin was told that his mom had been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders a couple of days before Anakin arrived. Anakin then took a speeder bike and went in search of his mom, using the Force to find her. When he found her, she was close to death after being tortured and mistreated by the Raiders. His mom dies in his arms and because of the profound anger of the moment, he taps into the Dark Side of the Force and kills the entire tribe of Tusken Raiders. Anakin then tells Padme what he did to the Raiders and felt remorse but this is a foreshadowing of things that will come.

Obi-Wan follows Jango to Geonosis but is ambushed by him in an asteroid field that surrounds that planet. He evades Jango after a fight that causes many asteroids to be destroyed and his fighter to be damaged. He lands on the planet

Obi-Wan on Geonosis

and sneaks into a secret base. He sees many different groups like the Trade Federation talking about having an enormous army that is large enough to take on the Republic and they are led by Count Dooku, a Jedi who has turned to the Sith. Obi-Wan is caught snooping around and he is put into a stasis field and Count Dooku comes to try and convince him to join the Sith. Dooku also tells Obi-Wan that the Senate is being controlled by a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious but Obi-Wan does not believe him. Before he was caught, Obi-Wan got a message to both Anakin and Yoda. Anakin went to Geonosis with Padme and the droids while Yoda told Mace Windu to take some Jedi to Geonosis. Yoda then decided to go visit Kamino to see the Clone army. Dooku tries to appeal to Obi-Wan by saying that his master Qui-Gon would have joined Dooku in his event because he was Qui-Gon's master.

Back on Coruscant, Palpatine holds a special session of the Senate to decide what to do about what Obi-Wan has

Mace Windu and Jango Fett

found on Geonosis. He decides to ask the Senate for emergency powers that he can use during this crisis but he needs someone to place this idea before the Senate so it does not look like he is making a power grab. Jar Jar Binks puts the measure forth and the measure passes. Palpatine then says that he will create a Grand Army of the Republic that will help out the Jedi in their fight against the Separatists.

When Anakin and Padme land on Geonosis, they make their way into the droid production factory. They are chased through the factory by the Geonosians and other droids until they are captured by some Destroyer Droids. They are then brought into a coliseum with Obi-Wan to be executed by some of the wildlife on Geonosis. They all survive the fight with the creatures until Count Dooku brings hundreds, if not thousands of droids out onto the coliseum floor. They seem without hope but Mace Windu makes his way behind the main viewing point and puts his lightsaber to Jango's throat and tells Dooku to let them go. Dooku says no and an enormous battle erupts between Jedi and droids. As the battle goes on, more and more Jedi fall until just about 30-50 Jedi remain.

Dooku says they have fought bravely and asks them to surrender. Windu says no and Dooku orders the droids to continue their attack. However, Yoda arrives with the Clone army and saves the Jedi. The battle then moves to a plain on Geonosis and the Separatists lose the battle. Dooku escapes to his secret hangar but Anakin and Obi-Wan chase after him. They get into a lightsaber duel with him but both are defeated. Anakin loses one of his hands and Obi-Wan is thrown aside. As Dooku makes his move toward them, Yoda comes in and engages in a duel with his apprentice, Count Dooku. Yoda defeats him but does not capture him since Dooku pulls a huge energy pylon down toward Anakin and Obi-Wan. Dooku escapes from them and also has the plans for the 'Ultimate Weapon', that is shown to be the Death Star. The end of the movie shows that Dooku meets with Darth Sidious, Anakin marries Padme in a secret ceremony on Naboo and the Republic gears up for the Clone Wars, as Yoda calls it.

Critical Reception:

Despite being released to great box office success the movie was received mostly to mixed reviews. The film, to both critics and fans alike, was considered one of the worst in all the films made. The dialogue was considered boring and dull and the action scenes neither memorable nor exciting. To this day Attack of the Clones is considered the worst of all the Star Wars films.