MASSACHUSETTS
- Boston – Simons IMAX at New England Aquarium
- Natick – AT&T Broadband IMAX at Jordan’s Furniture
MICHIGAN
- Dearborn – Henry Ford Museum IMAX
- Grand Rapids – Jack Loeks Celebration! IMAX
MINNESOTA
- Apple Valley – Imation IMAX at the Minnesota Zoo
MISSOURI
- Kansas City – Sprint IMAX at the Kansas City Zoo
NEVADA
- Las Vegas – Luxor IMAX
NEW YORK
- Gates – Cinemark Tinseltown USA IMAX
- New Rochelle – Regal New Roc City IMAX
- New York – Loews Lincoln Square IMAX
- West Nyack – Palisades Center IMAX
- Williamsville – Regal Transit Center IMAX
NORTH CAROLINA
- Raleigh – Exploris IMAX
NOVA SCOTIA
- Halifax – Empire IMAX
OKLAHOMA
- Tulsa – Cinemark IMAX at The Tulsa
ONTARIO
- Mississauga – Famous Players IMAX Coliseum Mississauga
- Toronto – Famous Players Paramount IMAX
- Vaughan – Famous Players IMAX Colossus Woodbridge
OREGON
- Portland – Oregon Museum of Science and Industry OMNIMAX Dome
PENNSYLVANIA
- Pittsburgh – Rangos IMAX at Carnegie Science Center
QUEBEC
- Montreal – Famous Players Paramount IMAX
RHODE ISLAND
- Providence – Feinstein IMAX at Providence Place
SOUTH CAROLINA
- Charleston – Aquarium Wharf IMAX
- Myrtle Beach – Discovery IMAX
TENNESSEE
- Nashville – Regal Opry Mills IMAX
TEXAS
- Dallas – Cinemark IMAX
- Galveston – Moody Gardens IMAX
- San Antonio – Rivercenter IMAX
VIRGINIA
- Hampton – Riverside IMAX at the Virginia Air & Space Center
- Richmond – Science Museum of Virginia IMAX
- Virginia Beach – Virginia Marine Science Museum IMAX
WASHINGTON
- Seattle – Boeing IMAX Theatre at Pacific Science Center
- Spokane – Riverfront Park IMAX
THE Q&A
Stephen Danley is host of the Star Wars at the Movies podcast.
W.R. Miller is the author of The Star Wars Historical Sourcebook (2018).
Richard Woloski is the author of Today in Star Wars History (2022) and co-host of the Skywalking Through Neverland podcast.
The interviews were conducted separately and edited into a “roundtable” conversation format.
Michael Coate (The Digital Bits): How do you think Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones ought to be remembered on its 20th anniversary?
Stephen Danley: It should be remembered as what very well may be the most pure, undiluted and completely unleashed George Lucas creation of them all, in both the best and worst ways. The pressures of re-introducing Star Wars with The Phantom Menace and wrapping the prequel (and at that point, entire saga) story up with Revenge of the Sith were nowhere to be found with Clones. And it shows! These days, I try to view it with the carefree attitude that Lucas seemed to have made it with, and it’s much more fun.
W.R. Miller: The original Star Wars had raised the expectation that the Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, were wise, noble, and good. Attack of the Clones subverts this expectation. The hope of the galaxy becomes… corrupted.
George Lucas had been enamored with the idea of false Messiahs. Damien in The Omen. Paul Muad’Dib in Dune. Now Anakin Skywalker.
So who are we rooting for this time? The Republic and its clone warriors, soon to become agents of the Jedi’s destruction? The Jedi, who turn out to be negligent and incompetent, outfoxed by Palpatine? Jar Jar Binks, who makes the motion to grant Palpatine emergency powers? Padmé Amidala, whom we are supposed to believe falls in love with a hothead? Obi-Wan Kenobi, constantly deriding Anakin, yet we’re supposed to believe they’re good friends? Anakin, destined to become the mass-murdering Darth Vader? The droids, who are along for the ride, with R2-D2 kicking C-3PO into an assembly line for no apparent reason, given rise to Threepio’s head being severed and later, dragged through the dirt for a lame joke, “What a drag”?
Whereas the story of Star Wars was clearly a battle of good vs. evil, Attack of the Clones and its sequel was not. The adventures of Luke Skywalker was becoming the tragedy of Darth Vader. Bait and switch.
By the next film, “there were heroes on both sides.” And, “There are no absolutes.” So much for good vs. evil. So much for Star Wars’ original purpose: fun.
Richard Woloski: Two schools of thought here. First, it should without a doubt be remembered as a great Star Wars film! It has so many phenomenal sequences. The Obi-Wan vs. Jango Fett battle on Kamino gets me excited every time I see it. Anakin’s decision to follow his own path as he defies the Jedi order over and over again. And the introduction of clones which we’ve been hearing about since 1977! Now we see Palpatine’s long game finally play out in an epic battle.
Then on the other hand, George Lucas heard The Phantom Menace complaints and tried to give fans the Star Wars film they wanted. But once you turn the asylum over to the inmates, there is no happy ending. He gave fans their favorite character in Boba Fett, however he made him into his father Jango. He decreased Jar Jar Binks’s role to a very minor character and even made the Gungan into the ultimate bad guy as he gave Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers to form the grand army of the Republic. Fans still weren’t happy. Sure there are questionable performances but Lucas still insists on going for the 1930s Flash Gordon acting style. It’s his film, he can do what he wants. Having grown up watching Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, I get a thrill at this throwback style.
The Digital Bits: What was your first impression of Attack of the Clones?
Miller: Having been impressed by the original Star Wars, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed, that the noble Jedi had instead become incompetent boobs, that George Lucas had strayed from the attributes that made the original so special. It was fun to root for Han, Leia, and Luke. The prequel cast? Not so much.
Woloski: I saw the second showing of Attack of the Clones on opening day, May 16th, 2002 at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. I would have seen the first show but I didn’t want to sleep on the sidewalk like I did for The Phantom Menace where I then felt overtired and grumpy. This time I wanted to be well rested and ready. I always look forward to the opening shot of a Star Wars film, and here Amidala’s royal starship flies through the Coruscant clouds. This is only second to the iconic opening shot of A New Hope.
Danley: This was my first experience with an opening night midnight screening among a rowdy group of fans and it’s one I’ll always cherish. I saw Episode II at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara with two of my best friends in high school and the energy of that initial viewing definitely carried over into a positive reaction. That night, a classic movie palace was overrun by (mostly young) people who were absolutely bonkers for Star Wars and thrilled to see where the story was going next. We all collectively went wild.
Woloski: In Attack of the Clones, you can really see that George Lucas loves to play in his digital sandbox. It doesn’t even matter that sand gets everywhere (one of my favorite Anakin lines), the style of the film, and prequels, stays consistent with a very clean look as opposed to the gritty feel of the original trilogy. My biggest takeaway from the first time I saw the film is the reaction to the Yoda vs. Count Dooku duel. I never heard a crowd roar like when Yoda pulled his lightsaber from under his cloak and lunged at Dooku. Everyone in that theater was having a great time and they were enjoying Star Wars once again.
