George Lucas
Star Wars Ep.II: L'attacco dei cloni

THE REVIEW

 Who would have thought that after Episode I, Episode II would also come out?

Practically everyone.

In fact, the now thirty-year-old saga of Star Wars, which has fascinated two generations with its lightsabers and its senseless and predictable lines to the point of exhaustion, has reached its penultimate chapter in chronological order.

For goodness' sake, the plot is good, the effects even better, and the battle with more than 300 Jedi, including Mace Windu and Yoda, is probably a scene that should have been repeated throughout the saga for its spectacle in acrobatics and the precision of movements.

But the thing that was the hardest to swallow (at least for me) was Lucas's clumsy idea of centering an entire episode around the love of Padmé and Anakin. For heaven's sake, it's crucial for the story that followed, which went to put a patch on that very important point that every so-called epic saga should have.

The presence of a pretty girl.

And don't come telling me that Princess Leia was a pretty girl because she was not, and above all, she did not play the role of the damsel in distress that she should have played, except in Episode VI, where her actions were far from portraying the pretty, good, and graceful princess.

Returning to the film, however, the most appalling thing was not the idea per se of including a love story which could have worked, but the way this love story was executed and especially handled.

In a love story, crucially important are the dialogues and the iconic lines that in many cases remain in the history of cinema for centuries and centuries... amen.

But we know that George Lucas managed to insert into the script of Episode IV the line "One thing's for sure, we're all going to be a lot thinner," which, every time I hear it, makes my skin crawl with its Argentine telenovela originality. And we also know that apart from Chewbacca's AAAARGHHHHs, his dialogues have never been masterpieces, in fact, let's say they have always kind of sucked.

Clichéd lines worn out to the point of becoming liquid, quotes and more quotes, and yet another "I have a bad feeling about this..." by Obi-Wan Kenobi do not make Lucas the great screenwriter he should be to create a love film.

So, in summary, a more than satisfactory plot, a more than good cast, especially regarding Natalie Portman as Padmé, formidable special effects, especially in the actual clone battle and spectacular action sequences.

But ruining it all are dialogues not suited to a love film, but it was to be expected.

 A useful film in terms of the story of this colossal High Concept, but it could have been executed better, perhaps with an external screenwriter. I'm sure even Spielberg would have known how to do better.