I sat to watch Clones with greater trepidation than C3PO boarding the Millennium Falcon. After all, this is the fifth outing for a franchise on a scale of diminishing returns. From the benchmark of A New Hope to the risible Phantom­, the worst of this evil has been perpetrated by the Dark Lord himself. Any director who could make both Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor look like they’ve failed their first year at Nida should take a long, hard look at himself. And it seems that that is just what Lucas has done.

Although it should have been a shoe-in, Clones is still easily the best Star Wars film since Empire. Had Lucas not been at the helm, or allowed his actors to act, it might have been the best film of the series. Clones has all the elements of a rousing epic: good vs. evil, love vs. deceit, matinee battles and the plot stirrings of so much more (there are pointers a-plenty to Eps 4-6) - all brought to life by ILM’s trade-mark, ground-breaking effects.

In short, the former Queen Amidala is on the run from a Republican splinter group bent on universal domination. Anakin is dispatched to guard her while Chancellor Palpatine’s murky business threatens peace. The Jedi fight to retain order.

As the elements of the Star Wars universe fall into place (both past and future), tension builds as only it can. Although lazy dialogue, some preposterous plot turns (the death of Anakins’ mother for instance) and Lucasfilm’s trade-mark wooden acting is difficult to ignore; the finale should leave you considering more (especially the new-improved Yoda, though perhaps less of the insipid love interest). An urge to see it all finally come together in Ep.3 is more than Phantom ever managed. 

// COLIN FRASER