Ten years after the events of The Phantom Menace, in 22 BBY, the Galactic Republic is in the grip of a crisis: a group of systems lead by Count Dooku, a former Jedi (played by Christopher Lee), threaten to secede, potentially leading to a civil war. After an assassination attempt against Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), Senator and former Queen of Naboo and leader of the loyalist faction, Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are assigned to protect her. While tracking the assassins, Kenobi stumbles into the secret development of a clone army, ordered mysteriously ten years ago on the Republic's behalf. Meanwhile, Skywalker and Amidala fall in love. Kenobi tracks the assassin, bounty hunter Jango Fett, from the clone army to Dooku's separatist conspiracy, which is itself building up a droid army based on the Trade Federation's technology. To counter this threat, the Senate gives Supreme Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers, with which he calls the clone army into battle; the separatists are forced to retreat, but the Jedi suffer heavy losses and the galaxy is plunged into a civil war orchestrated by Dooku and the mysterious Darth Sidious.
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2 Filming 3 Critical Response 4 References 5 External link |
Plot elements
Geonosian style execution
Within the movie, Geonosian style execution is a form of capital punishment practiced on the planet Geonosis. The origin of the term is that it was originally employed by the Geonosians. The scene depicting this execution method takes place in the Geonosian arena. The persons to be executed are chained to a pole, awaiting execution. The beastlike creatures approach from the arena door, and attack and eat the condemned persons in the manner of a wild beast. (This scene appears to reference an execution method employed by the ancient Romans at the Colosseum where lions and other dangerous predator animals were permitted to have their way with condemned prisoners.) Count Dooku sentenced Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Padmé Naberrie Amidala to be executed in this method. However, the executions were nullified by the timely arrival of Jedi reinforcements, led by Jedi Master Mace Windu.
Filming
Filming primarily occured at 20th Century Fox studios in Australia, with additional location shooting in the Tunisian desert, at the Plaza de Espana in Seville, Spain, and in Italy at the Villa del Balbianello on the Lake of Como, and in the Royal Palace in Caserta.
Initial reviews of the film were mixed, with general admiration for the action sequences and special effects which are regarded as superior to The Phantom Menace, relief that Jar Jar Binks plays only a minor role and that the comic relief is somewhat less forced than that movie, but derision towards the poor direction and scripting of the romance between Portman and Christensen.
During the summer of 2002, Attack of the Clones earned a box-office gross of $302 million in the United States alone. While no mean feat, it marked the first time in the series that a Star Wars movie was not the highest-grossing film of the year. Spider-Man, which many movie reviewers regard as a superior film, pulled in over $400 million during the same summer moviegoing season; and during the winter of 2002 the fantasy film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers outperformed Attack of the Clones.
Critical Response
Preceded by:
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars films
Followed by:
Star Wars Episode III
References
External link