Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones

After The Phantom Menace, this film represents a significant improvement in every department, from plot to character and even in computer-generated special effects. Like the second film in the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, Clones introduces an ever-growing darkness into the prequel trilogy and splits up its leading cast to pursue separate adventures before reuniting them for a desperate stand against evil.

The climactic battle on Geonosis is a high point, as is a skirmish between Kenobi and the mysterious Jango Fett (Temura Morrison). However, the issues that plagued Menace are just as pronounced in Attack of the Clones, especially dialogue, which continues to clatter on the floor as soon as it leaves a character's mouth. Although Lucas worked with a second screenwriter on this film (Jonathan Hales), the most painful sequences, in which Anakin and Padme excruciatingly fall in love, seem to be pure Lucas. A subplot following Obi-Wan in galactic gumshoe mode trying to solve a key mystery is far more successful. If nothing else, the spectacle on display in Clones insures that it's easy to ignore the more squirm-inducing attempts at a romantic subplot and instead enjoy the big battles.