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| OBI-WAN Obi-Wan does all the work this time out. Anakin gets to bounce around the galaxy, swept along on a sea of hormones and resentment, but it's Obi-Wan who's doing the legwork, piecing together the mystery that lies at the heart of the film. He's the one who first stumbles upon the clone factories on Kamino. He's the one who learns of the nature of the relationship between Jango Fett and Boba Fett. And it's he who leads the Jedi to their final confrontation with Count Dooku and the Trade Federation and the Commerce Guilds and the Geonosians, setting the stage for the titular attack of the Clones. Obi-Wan is given real personality, even if he is etched on the run. The fact that he's so familiar with Coruscant's underworld is a telling detail, and the way he digs into the mystery, doggedly following each lead says volumes about who he is. He's a man of action, his impulses disguised by his calm Jedi exterior. He butts heads with Anakin here, but there's a great deal of caring that's developed between them. I don't want to see Obi-Wan face off against Anakin. I dread it. Nothing good can come of it. In my mind, Obi-Wan is the biggest loser in all of this, the one who suffered the most. He is the witness of the destruction of the entire lifestyle he had given his life to, the last one alive, the one who remembers all the misery, who gets to carry all the scars. And that's just beginning here. We see him starting to realize that something's very, very wrong, but he still doesn't know what. COUNT DOOKU/DARTH TYRANUS Did Christopher Lee sign some sort of deal with the Devil to guarantee that he was going to close out his career on an impossible high note? Playing both Saruman and Count Dooku is one of the all-time great one-two punches in the history of geekdom. Dooku is my favorite new character in the prequels so far, a former Jedi who left the Order, only to become a leader in a movement that threatens to cause the collapse of the Republic. He's a presence in the film even before he appears, and it's a great build-up. And unlike Darth Maul, we don't lose this guy as soon as he comes interesting. He'll be back for the next film, and I can't wait to see what happens with him. He's the wild card, the thing we weren't counting on when imagining how Anakin took his final steps over to the Dark Side. If the climactic lightsaber battle involving Count Dooku doesn't become one of the highlights of the saga so far, I will be shocked. As written, it's got all the mythic power anyone could want. Dooku strikes one particular blow that will brings fans to their feet, and there is an elegance to his evil that should make him unforgettable. JAR JAR You knew we were going to have to talk about him at some point. The good news is that there's very little Jar Jar in the movie. The even better news is that he's used just right. Here's proof positive that Lucas listened to fan reactions. The introduction of Jar Jar is a direct response to fans, and once it happens, there's no way for the audience to bash Jar Jar. Lucas beats you to it, allowing the Galactic Senate to boo and hiss his introduction. It should also please Gungan haters to note that Jar Jar's major role here is as a decoy. He's set up to potentially die. Someone is trying to kill the Senator from Naboo. That's Amidala when the film begins, but it's Jar Jar after that. Laying him out there in the line of fire should give his biggest detractors hope that there might be a sudden, violent ending to his role in the prequels. And as Andy Dufresne once said, "Hope is a good thing." Also, Jar Jar's annoying speech patterns have been altered substantially. He's learned a diplomatic dialect that makes him sound much more conventional. His occasional slip is played for humor, but this is verbal, far more low-key than watching him step in shit or stick his tongue in power couplings. Overall, there's very little to worry about here. THE DARK SIDE The scene with the Tusken Raiders. When Anakin takes his first steps towards damnation in this film, it is surprising just how dark those steps are. We understand the rage that leads him to kill, but we can't justify it. It's murder, plain and simple. And no one sees it. Anakin is alone, and the only one who will ever judge him for these actions is him. It takes great restraint to define The Dark Side properly. Lucas doesn't fall into the easy trap of making it something flashy or superficial like magic powers. Instead, it's compromise and anger and fear that Anakin gives in to, and it's a lack of control that causes his downward spiral. The saddest part of all this is that he's being pushed toward it by unseen hands, and if he was able to step outside of his own frustration for even a moment, he'd realize it. Instead, Anakin lets himself be manipulated. He can't help himself. We see just how much he is held captive by his emotions in this film, and now it's obvious how Luke is his father's son. That impulsiveness, that impatience... it feels familiar. By making the greatest evil in this film something that we can relate to, Lucas takes an enormous risk. It's not popular to remind people of their own potential weaknesses. It's always more comforting to pretend that evil only ever comes from the outside, that it's something that can be fought back and killed, obvious because of how it looks. The truth is, we all carry the potential for great evil inside of us, just as we carry the potential for great good. Life is all about choice, and Lucas gently leads us down the path of compromise in this film. For escapism, this strikes surprisingly close to home. |