Truly, madly, awful

That was my verdict sadly after seeing the last forty-five minutes or thereabouts of Attack of the Clones on Sunday afternoon. Not that the film is terrible in its totality but it does have some truly, quite awful moments. The main failing of the whole film, and this was something which I wouldn't accept at first, is the fact that the romance between Anakin and Amidala doesn't work. It is limp; worse than that it has about as much spark as a spent match. It is therefore a complete mystery to me (and I am sure I am not alone in this) why Amidala has that sudden gushing speech before they enter the Geonosian arena, telling Anakin that she truly, madly loves him or something like that. The dialogue is risible and it might as well have been delivered by a pair of cardboard cut-outs for all the emotion and meaning there is in the words.

The problem is not really with the actors. Both Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman when I have seen them in other films have been competent actors and capable of delivering memorable performances. Indeed, I feel that Christensen did his best with the role of Anakin and there are moments when he rises above the daft script and imbues his character with the pathos and emotion that the part demands. Portman does less well on the whole although of all the moments with these two my favourite has to be that scene in Revenge of the Sith, when we see them both individually gazing across the cityscape of Coruscant and Anakin sheds that lonely tear. You see, emotion and love doesn't need to be represented by large gestures or gushing speeches; it can be portrayed eloquently and powerfully in a well chosen moment, when sometimes more is less.

So if not the actors, then what is the problem. Frankly I think it is with Lucas himself. The man is clearly a control-freak when it comes to Star Wars and over the years he appears to have surrounded himself with 'yes-men' who deliver on his every whim. No one seems to have the courage to point out what would be a bad idea.

Take the original three films and the favourite of the three amongst fans has consistently been The Empire Strikes Back (TESB), which was directed by Irvin Kershner with relatively minimal involvement of Lucas. In a lesser director's hands this film would not have worked. It is a difficult task to pull off to make the middle part of a three-act saga and deliver a film that both continues the story and sets up for the finale, while simultaneously making it self-contained and satisfying as a piece in itself. Kershner did that and while Lucas may have decried the fact that it was 'too dark' (whatever that would mean) it is the development of the characters that really makes TESB work so well and such a memorable film.

The problem with Attack of the Clones (AOTC) as I mentioned above is that the central arc, the love affair between Anakin and Amidala is stilted and forced. By the end of the film, there is no emotional resonance to their matrimony. We should at this point feel both elated and shocked, wondering at what consequences will necessarily follow. Instead, although AOTC tries to copy the end of TESB in that final scene on Naboo, it totally fails to match the earlier film in terms of drama, tension and excitement. Thus it is an empty ending and we neither care nor wish to know what will happen to Anakin and Amidala and this is why the film as a whole fails. The only moment that raises the spirit of something dark and spectacular to come is the scenes of the Clone Army embarking the Star Destroyers on Coruscant and those telling moments when the camera rests on the reactions of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and Bail Organa.