---
title: "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones"
year: 2002
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones"
fi1m_score: 54
critics_score: 55
critics_reviews: 15
published: "2026-09-18T11:54:07.371853+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-18T11:54:22.129057+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

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

Directed by George Lucas · 2h 22m · MPA PG · Adventure, Action, Science Fiction

**Fi1m score: 54** · Critics 55 from 15 reviews

*In a sentence:* The galaxy’s most awkward courtship, conducted in handsome rooms nobody was actually standing in

> A clear improvement on *The Phantom Menace*: the Coruscant chase is a proper set piece, Ewan McGregor and Christopher Lee know exactly what they are doing, and the last act delivers. Between them sits a romance so stiff it stalls the film for an hour.

## Synopsis

A decade after the events of *The Phantom Menace*, the Republic is splintering. Thousands of systems are threatening to leave under Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), and the senate is arguing about whether to raise an army. Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) arrives on Coruscant to vote against it, and her ship is blown apart on the landing platform. Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) assigns Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), who has not seen Padmé since he was a boy, to guard her. A second attempt on her life sends the two Jedi out of a window and through the night traffic after the bounty hunter Zam Wesell (Leeanna Walsman). Obi-Wan is left with a poisoned dart to trace; Anakin is sent to escort Padmé home to Naboo.

## Review

George Lucas’s second prequel picks up a decade after *The Phantom Menace*, with the Republic fraying and a senate arguing about whether to raise an army. It is a better film than its predecessor in almost every part that can be measured: the plot can be followed, the jokes are quieter, Jar Jar Binks has been reduced to a walk-on. It also stops dead for the better part of an hour to stage a courtship that would embarrass a school play. Both things are true for all of its 142 minutes.

Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) lands on Coruscant and her ship is blown apart on the pad; a second attempt comes through a bedroom window; Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) go out of that window after the assassin, Zam Wesell (Leeanna Walsman). Gavin Bocquet’s Coruscant is a city of stacked motorways and neon canyons, and Ben Burtt cuts the chase as a run of near misses rather than a blur, so we always know which speeder is which. McGregor is the film’s steadiest presence, dry, faintly exasperated, sounding more like Alec Guinness with every scene, and he carries the detective plot that follows: a poisoned dart, a missing planet, a world of rain and white corridors called Kamino where an army has been grown to order. Temuera Morrison’s Jango Fett, the man it was grown from, is watchful, unhurried and the best new character here.

Then the story splits, and half of it goes to Naboo. Anakin is sent to guard Padmé at a lakeside retreat, and the screenplay by Lucas and Jonathan Hales gives them a meadow, a fireside and a pear that floats. What it does not give them is a single line a person could say. Christensen is playing a young man meant to be gifted, arrogant and frightened of himself, and what comes across is sulk. Portman is wooed with a speech about sand, and she visibly does not know where to look. We squirmed, and then we felt sorry for both of them, because the failure is on the page.

Part of the trouble is that nobody is anywhere. Lucas shot this on high-definition digital cameras, and David Tattersall lights it cleanly and evenly, which is what the compositing needs and the opposite of what a love scene needs. Bocquet’s designs are handsome, the Kamino cloning halls above all, and Trisha Biggar’s costumes, all embroidery and structured collars, are often the only solid thing in the frame. But you can see the actors deciding where the wall is.

For ten minutes on Tatooine, the film finds something. Anakin goes looking for his mother, Shmi (Pernilla August), and instead finds Cliegg Lars (Jack Thompson), a moisture farmer with news. We will not say what happens next. What we will say is that Christensen, given a scene with no speeches in it, is good; that John Williams, who has spent much of the film at full volume, goes quiet; and that we were more affected than we expected to be by a film that had spent the previous hour losing us.

The last act moves to a desert world, an arena and a hangar, and it is where most critics who forgave this film found their reasons. Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku arrives late and is the one villain in the series who sounds as though he has read a book; he addresses Obi-Wan as one gentleman to another. Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu finally gets to stand up. Ian McDiarmid’s Palpatine watches from the senate and enjoys himself. There is a duel we will leave for you. Williams gives the battle a proper march, Burtt cuts it like a war film, and for half an hour it is the adventure serial the series was always meant to be.

The original three films had a scoundrel on hand to puncture the mythology; these have none, and it shows. See this one for the chase, the rain planet, McGregor, Lee and the final act. The hour on Naboo is where you make the tea. It carries a PG.

*Fi1m score 54, published 18 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics agree that Attack of the Clones is an improvement on The Phantom Menace, though fewer are willing to call it good. Praise clusters almost entirely on the final act: the Geonosis battle, Yoda’s lightsaber duel and Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku are named again and again as the moments the film comes alive. The digital effects and spacecraft design are admired even by reviewers who dislike everything else. Variety is the warmest, finding clearer storytelling and a real step forward in acting and score.

The reservations are just as consistent. Stiff performances, flat dialogue and a romance without chemistry appear in nearly every notice, with Roger Ebert dismissing the film as a technological exercise short on delight. The spread is wide, from Variety’s near-rave to Sight and Sound and Screen Daily, who find it exhausting and forgettable. A later piece in /Film argues the film was ahead of its time on politics and noir, a minority view.

### Reviews we read (15)

- **Variety**, Todd McCarthy (80/100, inferred): Lucas has produced a grand entertainment with clearer storytelling, exciting action set-pieces, a dramatic love story through-line and improved acting and score. McCarthy calls it a big leap beyond the prior installment and a satisfying balance of the series' qualities. [Read](https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones-1200549814/)
- **The Telegraph**, Tim Robey (75/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a pleasant surprise and an improvement on Episode I, noting it meets expectations without overhyping and darkens effectively in later acts. They single out the improved Yoda action sequence and Christopher Lee's Count Dooku for praise. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-clones-review-pleasant-surprise/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (***): The critic finds the script clunky and many performances poor, singling out Jar Jar Binks and Natalie Portman's acting for complaint, but praises the remarkable effects and the rousing final act with Christopher Lee as Count Dooku. Overall, it is called an improvement on The Phantom Menace and a watchable, entertaining spectacle. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/may/10/artsfeatures)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (70/100, inferred): The film improves on its predecessor with considerable visual style, beautiful spacecraft and grand digital invention, despite an incomprehensible plot and stiff acting. Lane highlights the delirious fun of the action sequences and the potential of liberated digital technology. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2002/05/20/star-struck)
- **Slant Magazine**, Ed Gonzalez (60/100, inferred): The critic calls it a modest step up from The Phantom Menace thanks to trimmed fat, visceral action, and better pacing in places, but faults the soulless factory-like production, rudimentary character links, hokey romance, and uneven storytelling. The Geonosis battle sequences earn particular praise for being riveting. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones/)
- **Time Out**, DW (3/5): After a slow start in the prior film, this entry delivers thrilling early action and strong turns from Christensen and McGregor, though it suffers from heavy exposition as a bridge in the saga; the final act with lightsaber battles and Yoda provides exciting payoff. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones)
- **Empire**, Colin Kennedy (50/100, inferred): The review finds the film patchy with flat dialogue and an awkward romance but praises the restored spectacle and action in the final act, especially Yoda's lightsaber fight, positioning it as a functional if unvital bridge in the saga. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-clones-review/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (2/4): The film disappoints as a technological exercise lacking juice, delight, memorable dialogue or emotional depth. Ebert praises the computer imagery but criticizes the stiff, formal performances and clichéd romance. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones-2002)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Kirk Honeycutt (50/100, inferred): The critic notes improvements over The Phantom Menace, including reduced Jar Jar Binks, stronger action sequences, and a more adult tone, but finds it fails to recapture the spirit and fun of the original trilogy due to slow exposition, stilted dialogue, wooden performances, and overreliance on CGI. The standout praise goes to the rousing rescue and climactic battle in the final quarter. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/star-wars-attack-clones-review-752674/)
- **Total Film** (50/100, inferred): Better than The Phantom Menace thanks to more rounded characters and sharper dialogue in places, but still inferior to the originals because action and effects take precedence over script and characters. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (45/100, inferred): The prequel is a bit better than the last but still lacks heart, with off-putting characters, stiff line readings and a romance burdened by lack of chemistry. Turan praises some action sequences and the climactic Yoda appearance but finds the film emotionally empty overall. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-attack-of-the-clones-review-20151202-story.html)
- **The New York Times**, A. O. Scott (40/100, inferred): The prequel is more a demo reel for digital effects and an action-figure commercial than a compelling movie with interesting characters or storytelling. Scott notes some strong battle scenes but finds the saga lacking in human psychology and genuine pleasure. [Read](http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9B01EFDA1030F933A25756C0A9649C8B63)
- **Screen Daily** (30/100, inferred): An improvement on Episode I with astonishing visuals and some strong acting, but the film is pretentious and exhausting, lacking humour or suspense; sloppy storytelling and colourless characters drain the adventure despite impressive design and spectacle. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones/409175.article)
- **Sight and Sound**, Andrew O'Hehir (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film enjoyable enough as derivative space opera with strong action sequences and digital settings, but ultimately forgettable and discontented, criticizing the sulky teen romance, abysmal dialogue and Lucas's inflated mythopoetics that fail to recapture the original's spirit. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-clones-archive-review-its-hard-be-jedi-love)
- **/Film**, Rafael Motamayor (65/100, inferred): The critic views the film as a flawed but ambitious mess that was ahead of its time in tackling political themes and noir elements within a blockbuster. They single out the detective subplot following Obi-Wan and the introduction of Count Dooku for praise while noting it does not fully succeed. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/864137/revisiting-attack-of-the-clones-20-years-later-a-mess-but-one-ahead-of-its-time/)

## Details

- **Director:** George Lucas
- **Director:** George Lucas
- **Screenplay:** Jonathan Hales, George Lucas
- **Story:** George Lucas
- **Cinematography:** David Tattersall
- **Editor:** Ben Burtt
- **Music:** John Williams
- **Production design:** Gavin Bocquet
- **Costume design:** Trisha Biggar
- **Producer:** George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Lorne Orleans
- **Cast:** Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker; Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi; Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala; Christopher Lee as Count Dooku; Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu; Frank Oz as Yoda (voice); Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine; Pernilla August as Shmi Skywalker
- **Runtime:** 2h 22m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 16 May 2002
- **Genres:** Adventure, Action, Science Fiction
- **Budget:** $120 million
- **Box office:** $649 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYbW1F_c9eM

## Where to watch in the US

- Disney+: streaming, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Apple TV: rent $5.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $9.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-18.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2003: Best Visual Effects (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *The Empire Strikes Back* (1980), Fi1m 92: The same saga with people in it, and the romance written by adults. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-empire-strikes-back.md)
- *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (1938): The swashbuckler Lucas keeps trying to remake, with real swords and real chemistry.
- *Blade Runner* (1982), Fi1m 85: Where the night-time flying-car city came from, built by hand and rained on. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/blade-runner.md)
- *Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow* (2004): Another film made almost entirely in a computer, and honest about being a cartoon.
- *Dune* (2021), Fi1m 76: Desert worlds, imperial politics and a young man’s destiny, staged with weight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/dune.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones