Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 39 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 417 Ratings

  • Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman
  • Summary: Ten years after the events in "The Phantom Menace," Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) and Anakin Sywalker (Christensen) are summoned to protect Padme Amidala (Portman) after an assassination attempt is made on her life. Anakin's love of Amidala grows when the pair returns to Naboo, and Obi-Wan's investigation of the death plot reveals sinister designs that threaten to bring the Galactic Republic to the brink of war. Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 39
  2. Negative: 5 out of 39
  1. Attack of the Clones celebrates a certain youthful spirit in both moviemaking and movie watching; because it's as much phenomenon as movie, audiences will either ride with or reject it. I was happy to take the ride.
  2. Reviewed by: Chris Gore
    80
    Clones is not a good movie -- but it is an incredibly awesome Star Wars movie! This is far from a perfect film, but the problems are almost dismissable based on the final result.
  3. Reviewed by: Ron Wells
    60
    You know, each and every person reading this right now will shell out their six bucks ($9-$14 in L.A./New York) to see this film no matter what I say. Hell, I feel ambivalent about it and I'm still going to pay to see it again.
  4. Watching Attack of the Clones is like getting rapped on the head with a rubber mallet -- no lasting damage (I pray and hope), but bad enough to bring on an acute bout of dizziness and disorientation. Definitely do not operate heavy machinery after viewing -- this behemoth is brutal.

See all 39 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 62 out of 217
  1. This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The locations are memorable and interesting; the craggy canyons of Geonosis and the torrential storms of Kamino were immediately imprinted in my head when I first saw them. The CGI strengthens the film-the action sequences look amazing, from the speeder chase at the film's beginning, to the ending confrontation between the Jedi and Count Dooku. Seeing Yoda finally whip out his lightsaber and fight was very exciting. I don't get why people complain about him jumping around during the fight, though; such acrobatics show an interesting contrast between Yoda's age, and his actual power in the Force, and skill in lightsaber combat. No one would expect a 874-year-old green troll to have such mobility. Each of the planets is a representation of what is happening on the planet. Coruscant is shrouded in fog, Kamino is shrouded in mystery, and Geonosis is shrouded in violence; each is part of the shroud of the dark side that is ever-present in the film-in one of the main characters, and in the events that move the story along. I liked the characters of Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Anakin, as well as each of the conflicts and struggles they faced in the film. Again, I didn't get the accusations of "wooden" acting and "boring" characters. When watching the film, I believed that the characters were the characters, not actors playing characters. Lucas delivered another good screenplay, with some help from Jonathan Hales, and the politics-as well as the machinations of the Sith, and the slow erosion of the Republic-are fantastically done. Not only that, but the characters are believable and realistic for the situations they are placed in. The romance between Anakin and Padmé has been ridiculed for being "cheesy" and "clichéd," but I think the moments and dialogue between them are perfect for their situation, as well as the universe that they live in. Besides, I love a romance between "star-crossed" lovers. Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a wonderfully-done film, and it is certainly worth your time to watch the second episode of the Star Wars saga. Expand
  2. Still nowhere near as good as any movie in the original trilogy, but unlike Episode I, at least this one is actually watchable if you can put up with the lame dialog. It's a mediocre movie but there are some really cool scenes in it so I have bumped it up to an 8/10. Expand
  3. George Lucas, similar to "The Phantom Menace", doesn't really give anything except for a high quality CGI battle in "Attack of the Clones".
  4. Even with the reduced Jar-Jar Binks screen time, Lucas' grueling, emo space opera some how achieves the dubious achievement of being worse than 'The Phantom Menace'. Even Though episode 1 was a bad movie, it contained a couple entertaining scenes e.g. The Pod race and The final duel. Episode 2 has the infuriating dilemma of having absolutely no engaging, memorable or even slightly entertaining scenes. Even the Yoda light saber scene reeks of desperate fan pleasing Expand

See all 217 User Reviews

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